No. 5 Virginia Clashes With Virginia Tech This WeekendNo. 5 Virginia Clashes With Virginia Tech This Weekend

No. 5 Virginia Clashes With Virginia Tech This Weekend

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 5 Virginia (23-2, 7-2 ACC) will be on the road for a three-game series at Virginia Tech (15-9, 2-7 ACC) beginning Friday (March 31). The series opener will air live on ACC Network with first pitch scheduled for 8 p.m. The series continues Saturday (April 1) with a 7 p.m. start and concludes Sunday at 1 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: ACC Network (Fri.) | ACCNX (Sat. & Sun.)
RADIO: WINA – 98.9 FM/1070 AM (Sat. & Sun.) | Virginia Sports App/VirginiaSports.com (Fri.)
LIVE STATS: VirginiaSports.com

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
Friday – 8 p.m.
Virginia: RHP Brian Edgington (4-0, 1.95 ERA, 32.1 IP, 9 BB, 35 SO)
Virginia Tech: RHP Drue Hackenberg (1-3, 5.13 ERA, 33.1 IP, 12 BB, 38 SO)

Saturday – 7 p.m.
Virginia: LHP Connelly Early (6-0, 1.59 ERA, 28.1 IP, 6 BB, 36 SO)
Virginia Tech: RHP Griffin Green (1-1, 6.33 ERA, 27.0 IP, 14 BB, 27 SO)

Sunday – 1 p.m.           
Virginia: RHP Jack O’Connor (2-1, 2.59 ERA, 31.1 IP, 12 BB, 28 SO)
Virginia Tech: RHP Anthony Arguelles (0-1, 5.18 ERA, 24.1 IP, 15 BB, 26 SO)

LEADING OFF

  • Virginia’s 23-2 mark through the first 25 games is tied for the best start in program history. UVA has been 23-2 four times in its history (2009, 2013, 2022, 2023), all under head coach Brian O’Connor.
  • The Cavaliers come into the weekend winners of six-straight games, the longest active win streak in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Virginia sits atop the Coastal Division standings with a 7-2 mark in league play, tied with No. 2 Wake Forest for the best ACC record.
  • Under head coach Brian O’Connor, Virginia has had at least seven wins through its first nine conference games six times (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2022, 2023).
  • Virginia has won each of its first three conference series, including two on the road against top-25 opponents. The Cavaliers are looking to win its first four ACC series of the year for the second-straight 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.
  • Virginia’s 23 wins are tied with Wake Forest for the second-most in the country. South Carolina tops all programs with 23 wins. There are 15 teams in the country with 20 wins while UVA and South Carolina are tied for the fewest losses of any team in the nation.
  • Virginia is ranked second in the country in team ERA (2.51), third in team batting average (.334) and seventh in fielding percentage (.984). UVA and consensus No. 1 LSU are the only two programs to rank in the top-20 in the nation in all three categories.
  • The Cavaliers lead the nation with 71 doubles in 25 games while Virginia Tech has collected 61 in its 24 contests this season, tied for the seventh most in college baseball.

AGAINST VIRGINIA TECH

  • Sunday’s series finale against the Hokies will be the 200th all-time meeting between Virginia and Virginia Tech in a series that first began in 1900, with a 12-0 UVA win in Charlottesville.
  • The Cavaliers hold a 107-90 advantage in the all-time series and a 34-15 mark in regular season ACC competition.
  • Virginia has won 13 of the 17 all-time ACC series since Virginia Tech joined the league in 2005.
  • The last time UVA visited Blacksburg it took two out of three from Virginia Tech in a pivotal series for both teams late in the 2021 season. It was the second of four-straight ACC series UVA won to close out the regular season.
  • Virginia won the 2021 weekend opener, 18-1, the largest margin of victory in the history of the series between the two programs. The Cavaliers won the rubber match behind an incredibly efficient pitching effort by Nate Savino (7.0 IP, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 64 pitches).
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ON THE MOUND

  • Righthander Brian Edgington will get the start on Friday night, his first appearance in game one of a weekend series since serving as the team’s opening day starter.
  • Edgington has allowed one earned run over his last 16 innings pitched dating back to the second inning of his start against North Carolina. He has pitched in two of UVA’s league-high four shutouts, including a 6.1 scoreless inning effort against then No. 23 NC State on March 11. Edgington and Saturday starter Connelly Early co-lead the Cavaliers with a two quality starts each.
  • Edgington enters the weekend ranked 15th among active pitchers with 223 career strikeouts. Only Wake Forest’s Rhett Lowder has more career strikeouts among active ACC pitchers.
  • Early enters the weekend rotation for the first time as a Cavalier after he was nearly flawless in six Tuesday midweek starts. The Army transfer is one of five pitchers in the country with six wins this season.
  • In six midweek starts, he’s been credited with six wins and has allowed two runs in 26.2 innings pitched (0.68 ERA). His best performance came against High Point on March 21 when he struck out 10 batters in 6.2 innings.
  • Saturday will be his second start of the week after he faced the minimum in the first two innings against ODU on Tuesday (March 28). He has not allowed a run in his last 7.2 innings pitched.
  • Early ranks in the top-10 in the ACC in ERA (4th – 1.59), WHIP (5th – 0.88), walks allowed per nine innings (6th – 1.91) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (5th – 6.00).
  • The Cavaliers will conclude the weekend with first year Jack O’Connor on Sunday. The righthander registered his first win since his collegiate debut against UNCW on Feb. 19 after UVA completed a series sweep against Florida State.
  • O’Connor sports a 2.59 ERA, the second lowest of any qualified Power-5 freshman in the country.

PRODUCTION AT THE PLATE

  • The Cavaliers lead the country in both hits (300) and double (71) coming into the contest.
  • UVA ranks in the top-15 in the country in batting average (3rd – .334), on-base pct. (9th – .434) runs scored (9th – 240).
  • The Cavaliers are averaging 9.6 runs per game, 11th most in the country and have the fourth largest scoring margin in college baseball.
  • Virginia has struck out 157 times as a team this season, the fewest of any team in the ACC.
  • UVA is the only team in the league with multiple players ranked in the top-10 in the ACC in hits – Kyle Teel (44), Ethan Anderson (39) & Ethan O’Donnell (36).

Highest DI Scoring Margin/Run Differential

1. LSU +8.0
2. Wake Forest +7.3
3. South Carolina +7.1
4. Virginia +6.7
5. ODU +5.7

MIDWEEK REVIEW

  • Six Virginia pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts and limited ODU to just five hits in an 8-1 victory.
  • The Monarchs came into the contest as the No. 4 scoring team in the country (10.6 runs per game) and their 57 home runs were the fourth-most of any team in the country. The Cavalier arms limited ODU to just one extra-base hit in the contest.
  • Virginia used a seven-run, second inning to take control of the game early. The knockout blow was a three-run home run by Ethan O’Donnell, his sixth of the season. UVA has scored five or more runs in an inning 12 times in 2023.

PLAYER NOTES

  • Kyle Teel has reached base safely in all 25 games this season and leads the ACC with a .449 batting average. Only nine players in the country who have played 20 or more games sport a higher batting average. His 44 hits are the ninth most of any player in college baseball.
  • Teel leads the team with 13 multi-hit efforts and has two or more hit in five of his last six games.
  • No Cavalier is swinging a hotter bat than Anthony Stephan who has started the six games as the designated hitter. He has put together three-straight multi-hit efforts and over the last five games is 6-for-12 with five walks, five runs scored and three RBI.
  • Leadoff man Griff O’Ferrall has reached base in 16-straight games and kept the Cavaliers big inning against ODU alive with a two-out RBI single on an 0-2 pitch. The next batter, Ethan O’Donnell hit a three-run homer to make it 6-0.
  • In 25 games this season Ethan Anderson has 10 doubles, two shy of his season total all of last year (50 games). The 10 doubles are the most on the team and are tied for the 5th most in the ACC.
  • Freshman Henry Godbout has started the last four games at second base, a stretch where he is 6-for-14 (.429) with a double, triple and six RBI. His .366 batting average is the 11th-highest in the ACC.
  • 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.

THE HOME RUN CHASE

  • Gelof climbed into a tie for fourth place on UVA’s all-time home run list by hitting a pair of dingers last week. He hit a solo home run in the first inning against Georgetown and ignited an 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

Rk Player HR
1. E.J. Anderson (1995-98) 37
2. Mark Reynolds (2002-04) 35
Jon Benick (1998-01) 35
4. Mike Lindner (1987-90) 33
Jake Gelof (2021-present) 33

SMITHFIELD COMMONWEALTH CLASH

  • The rivalry between Virginia Athletics and Virginia Tech Athletics has a long and storied history dating back more than 125 years within the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Cavaliers and Hokies first faced off on the gridiron in Charlottesville in 1895. First coined the Commonwealth Clash during the 2014-2015 season, the rivalry has expanded and intensified across the 22 sports the two institutions face off in head-to-head competition.
  • The winner of the three-game series will earn one point in the Clash
  • Virginia currently leads this year’s clash, 7-6.