No. 10 Cavaliers Set To Host VMI In Home Opener Tuesday

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –  To open the 2025 home slate, the No. 10 Virginia baseball team (3-3) will welcome the VMI (7-0) to Disharoon Park on Tuesday (Feb. 25). First pitch of the longest homestand of the year is slated for 3 p.m. and the game will air live on ACCNX.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Watch: ACCNX

Listen: WINA (98.9/1070 AM/WINA)/Virginia Sports App

Live Stats: VirginiaSports.com

Probable Starting Pitchers:

Tuesday – 3 p.m.

VMI: LHP Peyton Dhein (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 IP, 1 BB, 0 SO)

Virginia: LHP Evan Blanco (8-3, 3.62 ERA, 99.1 IP, 27 BB, 99 SO)

LEADING OFF

• Tuesday’s home opener marks the latest home opener since 2015 when the Cavaliers did not play at home until March 11.
• Virginia enters Tuesday’s midweek contest having won 29-straight home midweek contests at Disharoon Park dating back to the 2022 season.
• Virginia ended the 2024 season on an eight-game home winning streak including going a perfect 5-0 mark during NCAA postseason play.
• During the 2024 campaign, Virginia ranked 14th in the NCAA in total attendance, second highest in the ACC. The pergame average of 4,197 ranked 18th in the country and third in the ACC.
• Nine of the largest 25 Disharoon Park crowds were in 2024, including capacity crowds for both games of the Charlottesville Super Regional against Kansas State.
• The Cavaliers are coming off their third College World Series appearance in the last four years and their seventh overall. All seven trips to Omaha have been since 2009, tied for the second most of any college baseball program in that span.

AGAINST THE KEYDETS

• Separated by only 54 miles, Virginia and VMI are squaring off for the 144th time in program history.
• Virginia leads the all-time series, 111-32
• Dating back to the 2009 season, the Cavaliers have won 14 of the last 18 meetings including seven-straight.
• In the 2024 meeting between the two squads, UVA sprinted past VMI with a 16-4 victory. Jacob Ference had five hits on the day, including three doubles to tie the Virginia single-game record. Also at the plate, Harrison Didawick had a career-day collecting four hits and four RBIs.

 PRESEASON HONORS

• Headlined by consensus Preseason All-American Henry Godbout, a total of six Cavaliers landed on Preseason All-American teams.
• Henry Ford was named to three teams while Jacob Ference and Evan Blanco each landed on two. Chris Arroyo was named to D1Baseball’s squad and Harrison Didawick found himself on NCBWA’s team.
• Virginia is ranked top 5 in all five major College Baseball polls. The No. 2 ranking from D1Baseball is the program’s highest preseason slot in the poll since 2015.
• In a poll of the Atlantic Coast Conference coaches, the Virginia baseball team was picked to win the league. UVA was picked to finish first in the conference in 2015, prior to the program’s first National Championship.

ROSTER MAKEUP

• UVA added 20 newcomers (10 freshmen, 3 grad transfers, 4 four-year transfers, 3 junior college) to bolster its 2025 roster.
• The Cavalier offensive attack that broke single season records for team batting average (.333), runs per game (9.22), home runs (116), home runs per game (1.84), RBI (536) and total bases (1281) returns just over 50 percent of its at bats from a year ago. UVA returns 77 home runs from last year’s historic power surge, the most in the ACC.
• Virginia returns 13 pitchers that saw action in 2024. The Cavaliers return a total of 356 innings pitched from 2024’s College World Series squad, the most for a UVA pitching staff since 2020 and the second most in the ACC.

2024 YEAR IN REVIEW

• Reached the Men’s College World Series for the seventh time in program history and the third time in the last four seasons. The seven trips to Omaha are the second-most of any college baseball program since 2009. Only Virginia, Tennessee and Stanford have appeared in three the last four MCWS.
• Virginia swept through the NCAA postseason, going 5-0 for only the second time in seven trips to the MCWS.
• UVA was the No. 12 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and was the only team in the country to host NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals in back-to-back seasons.
• Virginia reached the Super Regional round for the ninth time since 2009, only two schools have more appearances in the span (Florida-10, Florida State-10).
• The Cavaliers racked up their 14th 40-win season, 13 of which have come under the direction of Brian O’Connor.
• Virginia’s 46 wins were tied for the fifth-most of any team in the country and marked the ninth time in program history UVA had 45 or more wins. All nine 45+ win seasons have come in O’Connor era (2004-present).
• The back-to-back 45-win seasons were the first since 2013 (50 wins) and 2014 (53 wins).
• Virginia lost back-to-back games once in the regular season. It’s only the fifth time since 2004 UVA has lost consecutive games once in regular season play – 2024, 2017, 2013 (0 times), 2011 & 2010.
• Virginia registered 23 come-from-behind wins in 2024 including nine in ACC play and three more in the NCAA Tournament.
• UVA went 22-2 in non-conference action during the regular season, one of six teams nationally with two or fewer non-conference losses.
• Virginia captured the inaugural Jacksonville College Classic title at 121 Financial Field in Jacksonville, Fla. After outlasting Wichita State in 10 innings on Friday, the Cavaliers downed then-No. 18 Iowa (12-9) and handed Auburn its first loss of the season with a 6-4 win on Sunday.