Virginia to Host ACC Series Against Duke

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (17-18, 9-15 ACC) will host a three-game series against ACC Coastal Division foe Duke (17-16, 8-13 ACC) beginning Friday (April 23) at Disharoon Park. The first two games of the series are scheduled to air on ACCNX while the finale on Sunday (April 25) will be carried live on ESPNU. Friday’s opener is scheduled for a 4 p.m. first pitch.

*Note Friday’s series opener was originally scheduled for 6 p.m. but moved to 4 p.m. by game officials.

Game Coverage: ACCNX is available to authenticated subscribers of ACC Network via the ESPN App. In addition, Friday’s and Sunday’s can be heard locally on WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM) and anywhere on WINA.com. Links for the broadcast and in-game live stats are available on VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also follow the Virginia baseball official twitter account (@UVABaseball) for in-game updates.

TICKET INFORMATION

Due to the limited number of tickets, the current attendance policy includes pre-sale ticket access for UVA students, 2020 baseball donors and season ticket holders.  If any tickets remain after the pre-sale process, they will made available to the general public on Friday (April 23) at 10 a.m.

Fans must purchase a pair of tickets. All tickets regardless of location will be $5. Tickets can be purchased on UVATix.com or from Monday – Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. by calling the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office at 434-924-8821.

PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS

Friday – 4 p.m.
Duke: TBA
Virginia: LHP Andrew Abbott (3-5, 3.86 ERA, 53.2 IP, 22 BB, 77 SO)

Saturday – 4 p.m.
Duke: RHP Jack Carey (2-1, 5.85 ERA, 32.1 IP, 20 BB, 34 SO)
Virginia: RHP Mike Vasil (5-3, 3.58 ERA, 50.1 IP, 6 BB, 49 SO)

Sunday – 2 p.m.           
Duke: RHP Cooper Stinson (2-2, 5.60 ERA, 35.1 IP, 20 BB, 31 SO)
Virginia: LHP Nate Savino (1-2, 3.38 ERA, 21.1 IP, 7 BB, 14 SO)

LEADING OFF

• Virginia is in the midst of an eight-game stretch in which seven will be played at home. Virginia will not leave the Commonwealth for a game for more than a month (4/16-5/20) until the final series of the year at Boston College.
• Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor is 299-195-1 all-time in ACC play and is looking to become the eighth ACC coach ever to reach the 300-win plateau.
• Duke is the first unranked ACC opponent to come to Disharoon Park this season, the previous four opponents at home have been inside the D1Baseball Top 25.
• Virginia is 10-10 at home this season and 3-9 against ACC foes in its home ballpark.

AGAINST DUKE

• The Blue Devils have taken the last two ACC series against the Cavaliers including their first ever series win in Charlottesville in 2019.
• Duke took both games of a doubleheader in 2019, 2-1 and 6-8 to clinch the series.
• The Cavaliers own a 102-62-1 advantage in the all-time series against Duke that was first played in 1926, an 8-2 Virginia victory.
• Under head coach Brian O’Connor, Virginia owns a 35-16 mark against Duke. The Cavaliers won all but one game in a 16-game stretch from 2009-14.
• The last seven meetings have all been decided by three or less runs including three one-run affairs.

MIDWEEK REVIEW

• In its final non-conference road game of the season Virginia dropped a 5-3 decision against VCU at The Diamond.
• VCU scored three first inning runs and never trailed in its fourth win in 25 tries against Virginia since 2004.
• Reliever Zach Messinger kept the game at bay, tossing a career-high 4.1 innings of scoreless baseball. The righthander fanned 10 batters, the third most in a single game by a UVA pitcher this season.
• The two teams will wrap up their home-and-home series on May 4 in Charlottesville.

ON THE MOUND

• The Virginia pitching staff comes into the weekend with a 4.02 ERA, the third lowest in the ACC and its 362 strikeouts rank 15^th in the NCAA.
• Virginia has struck out 10 or more batters in six of the last 10 games. Opponents have struck out 10 or more times on 21 different occasions this season and Virginia is 12-9 when compiling 10 or more strikeouts in a game.
• Friday’s starting pitcher, Andrew Abbott, is tied for the ACC lead and ranks fifth in the nation with 77 strikeouts. The lefthander fanned 11 last week against then-No. 7 Louisville, his second 10+ strikeout performance of the season.
• Abbott moved into the top 10 of UVA’s career strikeout list and now sits at No. 9 with 242 career strikeouts one behind current Cincinnati Reds reliever Sean Doolittle for 8^th. Abbott has averaged 13.44 strikeouts per nine innings over the course of his career, the second highest of any active NCAA pitcher.
• Junior Mike Vasil is scheduled to make his 26^th career start in a Cavalier uniform on Saturday, the most starts of anyone on the staff.
• Vasil is tied for the league lead with five wins. His 1.07 walks allowed per nine innings and 8.17 strikeout-to-walk ratio are tops in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
• Abbott and Vasil have each struck out 23 batters looking the season, the second only to Florida State’s Parker Messick’s 24.
• Closer Stephen Schoch is second in the ACC with six saves and is sitting at 11 saves in two seasons at UVA, one shy of cracking the program’s all-time top-10. His 24 career saves are the fourth most of any active NCAA pitcher

NOTES/TRENDS

• The one-run affair in the opener against Louisville was Virginia’s seventh in ACC play and the Cavaliers improve to 4-4 in one-run games against league opponents. So far in 2021, 11 of Virginia’s 24 conference games have been decided by one or two runs.
• Duke and Miami are the only two teams in the Coastal Division not to play 24 games this season. Only Florida State has reached the 24-game mark in the Atlantic Division.
• Devin Ortiz had his 14-game hit streak come to an end on Tuesday at VCU. It was the longest by a Cavalier since 2018. Over the course of the streak Ortiz is batted .411 (23-for-56) with 15 runs scored, five doubles, three homers and 13 RBI.
• For the third-straight game, Brendan Rivoli put forth a two-hit game with a 2-for-4 effort against VCU on Tuesday. The senior leads the team with 14 multi-hit games this season.
  • Nic Kent reached base in all four trips to the plate against VCU and went 2-for-2 with a pair of walks and two runs scored. It was his first multi-hit effort since going 2-for-4 with a grand slam against Georgia Tech on April 2. The Cavalier shortstop also stole his ninth base of the season, tied for the seventh most in the ACC.
• Zack Gelof has enjoyed his time as the team’s table setter of lineup. He’s batted first in the last 11 games and is 18-for-53 (.340) with three homers and 11 RBI.

RECORD SETTERS

• Since 2000, no Cavalier relief pitcher has ever struck out 10 or more batters in a game until Zach Messinger fanned 10 on Tuesday against VCU.
• Logan Michaels threw out four out of five runners attempting to steal in Saturday’s loss against Louisville, the most in a single game by a UVA catcher since 2000.