Virginia Opens ACC Tournament With No. 3 FSU Thursday Night

PITTSBURGH – The sixth-seeded Virginia softball team (27-23, 13-11 ACC) opens play at the ACC Tournament on Thursday night (May 12) when the Cavaliers take on third-seeded and third-ranked Florida State (49-5, 19-5 ACC). First pitch is set for 7:30 p.m. at Vartabedian Field at Pittsburgh.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION
The game will be broadcast on ACC Network and streamed on ESPN.com and through the ESPN app. Live stats are also available. Links to the broadcast and the live stats are at VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get updates by following the program’s official Twitter account (@UVASoftball).

NOTING THE HOOS
• Virginia is appearing the ACC Tournament for the third time under head coach Joanna Hardin and for the first time since the 2019 season
• Virginia continues to be second in the ACC in fielding percentage (.975) and 15th nationally
• Leah Boggs leads the ACC in runners caught stealing (15) and ranks sixth nationally
• Madison Harris’s six saves is tops in the ACC this season and ranks second nationally. It set the single-season mark at UVA passing Coty Tolar (2006).
• Leah Boggs leads UVA in batting average (.288) and is one of four Hoos with 20+ RBI
• Freshman Sarah Coon is tied for the team lead in RBI (32) and leads the team in walks (25) and hit by pitch (11) for an on base percentage of .421
• Coon was named to the ACC All-Freshman team in a vote of the league’s coaches on Wednesday

THE SERIES WITH FLORIDA STATE
• Virginia and Florida State have faced each other 106 times with the Seminoles leading the series 88-18.
• The teams last met in the Charlottesville earlier this season with Florida State taking the three-game series.
• Virginia’s last win in the series came in the 2014 series when the Hoos won the first game 11-9 in Charlottesville.
• That win was the last over a top-10 team for the Hoos prior to this season’s win at Virginia Tech, as Florida State was ranked No. 9 at the time.

VIRGINIA IN THE ACC TOURNAMENT
• Virginia is making its 25th overall appearance in the ACC Tournament with its berth in the 2022 tournament
• The Cavaliers are 28-40 all-time in the ACC Tournament
• Virginia won the 1994 ACC Championship with a 3-0 victory over Florida State
• The Hoos have advanced to the title game six times – 1993, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2003
• UVA has gone 12-24 against its half of the bracket all-time with an 8-9 record against Georgia Tech and an 0-1 mark vs. NC State. UVA has not faced Duke in the tourney.

HOOS AGAINST THE NOLES IN ACC TOURNAMENT PLAY
• Virginia and Florida State have faced each other 18 times in the ACC Tournament
• The Seminoles lead those meetings 14-4 all-time with the last meeting coming in the 2017 tournament
• Virginia defeated Florida State in the 1994 ACC Tournament to claim the program’s lone title
• The teams have met in the ACC Tournament title game all six times the Cavaliers have advanced to the finals