No. 5 Virginia Hosts ODU in Midweek Showdown

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Disharoon Park will be the site of a matchup between two 20-win teams, No. 5 Virginia (22-2) and ODU (20-4) on Tuesday (March 28). First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. and the game will air live on ACCNX and can be heard on WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM).

HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: ACCNX
RADIO: WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM/WINA.com)
LIVE STATS: VirginiaSports.com

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
Tuesday – 3 p.m.
ODU: LHP Robert Cook (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 11 IP, 9 BB, 13 SO)
Virginia: LHP Connelly Early (5-0, 1.71 ERA, 26.1 IP, 5 BB, 34 SO)

TACO TUESDAY
Fans can enjoy $3 tacos at the Disharoon Park concession stands all game long.

PARKING INFORMATION

• Due to an event at JPJ on Tuesday evening, free parking for baseball will only be available in the JPJ South Lots as well as Emmet Ivy Garage.

LEADING OFF

• Virginia and ODU are two of the eleven 20-win teams in college baseball. It will mark the second time two 20-win teams have played one another this season (LSU/Arkansas – March 24-25).
• UVA has matched its best start in program history with 22 wins in 24 games. The Cavaliers were also 22-2 in 2013 and 2022. Virginia has been 23-2 through 25 games, three times – 2011, 2013 and 2022.
• The Cavaliers come into the contest with a 17-game win streak at home dating back to last season, two shy of the school mark established last season. UVA is a perfect 16-0 at Disharoon Park this season.
• Virginia has won 16-straight games against non-conference opponents at home dating back to last season.
• UVA is ranked No. 5 in the country by D1Baseball, it highest of the season and highest since rising to No. 3 in April of last season. The Cavaliers cracked the top-5 one year ago Tuesday when it rose to No. 4 on March 28, 2022, its highest regular season ranking by D1Baseball since week five of the 2015 season.
• Virginia’s 22 wins are tied with Wake Forest and Florida for the second-most in the country. South Carolina tops all programs with 23 wins.
• Virginia is ranked second in the country in team batting average (.335) and team ERA (2.57). UVA and LSU are the only two programs to rank in the top-10 in the country in batting average, ERA and fielding percentage (UVA – 9^th – .983).

THE ALL-TIMES SERIES VS. ODU

• The Monarchs hold a slight edge, 34-36-2, in the all-time series that was first played in 1965.
• Under head coach Brian O’Connor, UVA has won 11 of the 19 meetings including six of the last seven.
• Virginia and ODU met for the first time in the postseason in 2021 at the NCAA Columbia Regional. The Cavaliers won two consecutive games against the Monarchs to advance to the Super Regionals and eventually to the program’s fifth College World Series.
• UVA pitchers struck out 24 batters, the most in any NCAA nine-inning baseball game in 28 years to force a winner-take-all Regional Championship game. The Cavaliers advanced two days later on a walk-off home run in the 11th inning by Devin Ortiz.
• On UVA’s current roster, only Kyle Teel and Jake Gelof played against ODU in the 2021 NCAA Columbia Regional.
• ODU snapped UVA’s six-game series win streak last year with a 9-2 victory in Charlottesville.

A LOOK INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

    National Rankings at a Glance

• Tuesday’s pairing will feature two of the top offenses in the country. The Cavaliers and Monarchs each rank in the top 10 in the county in batting average, hits, runs and runs per game.
• A total of five schools (UVA ODU, UTSA, LSU & Northeastern) rank in the top-20 in both batting average and ERA.
• ODU has hit 57 home runs in its first 24 games, the

 Highest DI Scoring Margin/Run Differential

ON THE MOUND

• For the sixth-straight Tuesday, lefthander Connelly Early will toe the mound for the Cavaliers. The junior has won five-straight starts and is tied for fifth in the country with five wins.
• Early had his best outing as a Cavalier last Tuesday against High Point after he pitched into the seventh inning and recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts in 6.2 innings. Beginning in the second inning, Early retired 11-straight batters until a lead-off single in the sixth. He had a strikeout in six of the seven frames he pitched in and sat down 15 of the final 17 batters he faced.
• Early ranks in the top-10 in the ACC in ERA (3rd – 1.71), WHIP (4th – 0.91), walks allowed per nine innings (4th – 1.71) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (5th – 6.80).

SWEEP SUCCESS

• Virginia has the longest winnings streak (5) in the ACC thanks to a three-game sweep of Florida State this past weekend. The Cavaliers have now won three-straight ACC series to start the season and will head to Virginia Tech for three this weekend.
• The Cavaliers played their first extra inning ballgame of the year in game one. The Cavaliers rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth and won it on a walk-off with graduate transfer Chris Baker at the plate.
• Virginia outscored FSU 27-8 in the final two games of the series to complete the first sweep of FSU since 2013. The 15 runs in the series finale matched the most ever against an FSU.

THE HOME RUN CHASE

• Gelof climbed into a tie for fourth place on UVA’s all-time home run list hitting a pair of dingers last week. He hit a solo home run in the first inning against Georgetown and ignited a eight-run rally in the third inning of game three with a three-run blast.
• Gelof leads the team with eight home runs this season, tied for the sixth-most in the ACC.
• He has homered in his last seven ACC series dating back to last season.
• Only six players in UVA history have 30 career home runs and the last Cavalier to eclipse the 30-home run mark was Mark Reynolds (2002-04).

Most Career Home Runs in UVA History

PLAYER NOTES

• Kyle Teel has reached base safely in all 24 games this season and leads the ACC with a .452 batting average. Only eight players in the country who have played 20 or more games sport a higher batting average.
• Despite being held hitless in the finale against FSU, Teel went 10-for-21 (.476) with five runs scored, a home run and three RBI in five games last week.
• Teel ranks 10th in the nation in hits with 42. He leads the team with 13 multi-hit efforts including four-consecutive multi-hit games last week.
• Freshman Henry Godbout has started the last four games at second base, a stretch where he is 5-for-13 with a double, triple and three RBI. His .373 batting average is the ninth-highest in the ACC.
• Anthony Stephan continues to take advantage of opportunities at the plate. In just 23 at bats he has 11 hits, including five doubles. Additionally, he’s drawn nine walks and sports a .647 on-base percentage. In three-starts against FSU this weekend, Stephan went 4-for-6 with doubles, three RBI and three walks.
• To go along with some outstanding defensive efforts at shortstop, Griff O’Ferrall batted .400 (8-for-20) with three runs, three doubles and six RBI in five games last week. He has started 82-straight games at shortstop since arriving on grounds last season.
• Ethan O’Donnell recorded his team-best, fourth outfield assist of the season in Saturday’s game. He also helped preserved a shutout against NC State with a throw to the plate from center field.