No. 14 Virginia Hits the Road for Top-25 Showdown in Raleigh

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 14 Virginia (15-1, 2-1 ACC) will be on the road for its second-straight ACC Rseries when it takes on No. 23 NC State (14-3, 1-2 ACC) beginning Thursday (March 16). The two teams will lead off ACC Network’s slate of eight conference baseball games on Thursday nights this season. First pitch for the series opener is scheduled for 7 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: ACC Network (Thursday) | ACCNX (Friday/Saturday)
RADIO: WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM/WINA.com)
LIVE STATS: VirginiaSports.com

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS

Thursday – 7 p.m.
Virginia: RHP Nick Parker (2-0, 4.58 ERA, 19.2 IP, 4 BB, 24 SO)
NC State: RHP Logan Whitaker (2-0, 4.82 ERA, 18.2 IP, 1 BB, 16 SO)

Friday – 1 p.m.
Virginia: RHP Brian Edgington (3-0, 2.57 ERA, 21.0 IP, 5 BB, 26 SO)
NC State: RHP Matt Willadsen (2-1, 2.31 ERA, 23.1 IP, 6 BB, 25 SO)

Saturday – 2 p.m.
Virginia: RHP Jack O’Connor (1-1, 2.61 ERA, 20.2 IP, 12 BB, 17 SO)
NC State: LHP Dominic Fritton (1-0, 0.90 ERA, 20.0 IP, 7 BB, 20 SO)

LEADING OFF

• Virginia is amid its longest stretch away from Disharoon Park this season. After departing Raleigh on Saturday, UVA will have played six of seven games on the road.
• UVA was the last undefeated team in the country winning the first 14 games of the 2023 season. There are four one-loss teams in college baseball – South Carolina, LSU, Louisville & Virginia.
• Virginia is seeking its first back-to-back regular season series wins over Top-25 opponents since 2016, after it took two out of three against then-No. 13 North Carolina and then-No. 1 Miami.
• Virginia climbed three spots in the D1Baseball Top-25 to No. 14. The Cavaliers are inside the top-10 in four of the six major college baseball polls and are as high as No. 4 according to Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
• The Cavaliers rank second in the country in team batting average (.354), ninth in team ERA (2.74) and sixth in fielding percentage (.986). Only Virginia and the consensus No. 1 team in the country, LSU, rank in the top-20 in all three categories.
• The ACC series features two of the top offenses in the country. UVA ranks fourth in the nation in scoring (10.9 runs per game) and NC State ranks 14^th, averaging 10.0 runs per game. NCST leads the nation in doubles with 50, the Cavaliers rank third with 49.

MIDWEEK REVIEW

• The Cavaliers produced their third 20-run offensive output of the season in a 20-5 win over George Washington on Tuesday night. It marks the fourth time in program history UVA has scored 20-runs three times in a season and first time since 1905.
• Virginia did its scoring in bunches, scoring four runs in the first, third and sixth innings. It also added a five-run inning in the fifth, the ninth time in 16 games UVA has scored five or more runs in an inning.
• The Cavaliers rolled out seven pitchers, the most in a game this season. Starter Connelly Early got the win, pitching three scoreless frames and fanning three batters.
• Eight of the nine batters in the lineup collected at least one hit and 11 different Cavaliers were responsible for the 17 hits on the day.
• UVA was 10-for-18 (.556) with two outs and scored 10 of the 20 runs with two outs.

EARLY OFFENSE

• Virginia has scored 29 runs in the first inning the season, its most potent frame.
• The Cavaliers have scored in the first inning in nine of the 16 games this season.
• UVA scored the first six runs of the series opener against North Carolina last weekend, knocking out Friday starter Max Carlson after 1.2 innings.
• Virginia trailed for only the second time in 2023 in game two, erased a three-run deficit and clinched the series with an 8-4 win.

AGAINST NC STATE

• Virginia played every ACC team last season except for NC State. The two programs that reached the College World Series in 2021 haven’t played one another since 2020, shortly before the season was cut down due to the COVID19 pandemic.
• In the 2020 meeting, the unranked Cavaliers upset a then-No. 7 Wolfpack squad by taking two out of three in Charlottesville. It marked the first series win over NC State for the Cavaliers since 2013.
• Current senior Jacob Hodorovich did not pitch in the 2020 series but is the only player remaining from the 2020 roster for Virginia.
• The Wolfpack own a 121-77-1 all-time record against Virginia in an all-time series that was first played in 1903, a 4-0 Cavalier victory.
• Virginia will play in Raleigh for the first time since 2019. The Cavaliers have not taken a road series at Doak Field at Dail Park in Brian O’Connor’s tenure (2004-present)

ON THE MOUND

• The UVA weekend rotation features two of the most experienced pitchers in college baseball. Nick Parker and Brian Edgington have combined to start 80 games on the mound, the most of any active pitching duo in college baseball. Of the 80 starts, only eight have come in a Cavalier uniform.
• UVA is also the only staff in the country that features two pitchers with 200 career strikeouts (Parker – 209; Edgington – 212). Both reached the 200-strikeout plateau on back-to-back outings against Rhode Island. Edgington’s 212 career Ks trails only Wake Forest’s Rhett Lowder (215) for the most of any active ACC pitcher.
• Parker is scheduled to make his 45^th career start, the third-most among active NCAA DI pitchers. He also ranks in the top-10 among active pitchers in innings pitched (9^th – 238.2).
• Of the 12 weekend starts by the Cavaliers this season only three have been less than five innings, none less than four.
• The Cavaliers are one of 18 teams in the country and one of three in the ACC (Duke & NC State) with three shutouts on the year.
• Jake Berry has yet to allow an earned run in 13.2 innings of relief. The lefty has pitched in two of UVA’s three shutouts, has a hold and two saves to his credit.
• Virginia’s bullpen has inherited 11 runners this season, only two have come around to score.

PLAYER NOTES

• The four-hit performance by Ethan O’Donnell on Tuesday was his fourth of his career and first as a Cavalier. He went 4-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI. His solo home run in the second moved him into a tie with Jake Gelof for the team lead. In his last five games, O’Donnell is 11-for-22 with three home runs and eight RBI.
• O’Donnell, Ethan Anderson and Teel have each reached base in all 16 games this season.
• Anderson has a 13-game hitting streak coming into the series against NC State. He’s looking to become the 25^th Cavalier since 2000 to put together a hit streak of 15 games or more. Anderson has eight doubles this season, the second-most of any ACC hitter and the 17^th most in the country.
• Despite being held hitless in his last two games, Kyle Teel leads the ACC with a .492 batting average. He’s statistically the toughest batter in the ACC to strike out, going down on strikes once every 14.8 plate appearances.

30 HOME RUN CLUB

• Cavalier third baseman Jake Gelof became the sixth of the UVA 30 career home run club and is now tied with UVA Hall of Famer Brian Buchanan for the sixth-most career homers in program history.
• Gelof capped off an eight-run offensive output in the series opener against North Carolina with a solo shot to right center in the sixth inning. He has homered in his last five ACC series dating back to last season.
• The milestone home run came in Gelof’s 100^th start of his career. He has now started 97-straight games for the Cavaliers.

Most Career Home Runs in UVA History