Virginia Set to Host Pitt For Heroes Appreciation Weekend

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –  After a four-game road swing, the Virginia baseball team (18-13, 7-8 ACC) is set to welcome the Pitt Panthers (17-14, 4-8 ACC) to Disharoon Park for Heroes Appreciation Weekend starting on Friday (April 11).

HOW TO FOLLOW
Watch: ACCNX
Listen: WINA (98.9/1070 AM/WINA)
Live Stats: VirginiaSports.com

Probable Starting Pitchers:
Friday – 6 p.m.
Pitt: LHP Ryan Reed (3-3, 3.80 ERA, 42.2 IP, 14 BB, 46 SO)
Virginia: RHP Jay Woolfolk (2-2, 4.35 ERA, 39.1 IP, 15 BB, 50 SO)

Saturday – 4 p.m.
Pitt: LHP Patrick Gardner (1-1, 6.00 ERA, 24.0 IP, 11 BB, 14 SO)
Virginia: LHP Evan Blanco (1-2, 6.75 ERA, 18.2 IP, 4 BB, 18 SO)

Sunday – 1 p.m.
Pitt: RHP Drew Lafferty (1-1, 6.53 ERA, 30.1 IP, 17 BB, 19 SO
Virginia: LHP Tomas Valincius (2-1, 6.00 ERA, 39 IP, 10 BB, 48 SO)
 

PITT SERIES PROMOTIONS: HEROES APPRECIATION WEEKEND

Friday, April 11: Military Appreciation Day opens the weekend at the Dish. University and local community military members and families are invited to the game with discounted tickets. In-game videoboard elements and recognitions will also honor our military heroes. A youth Evoshield Red, White and Hoo headband giveaway will take place at the marketing table located behind section 108 while supplies last.

Saturday, April 12: First Responders Appreciation Day at the Dish is set for Saturday.  University and local community first responders and families are invited to the game with discounted tickets. In-game videoboard elements and recognitions will also honor our first responder heroes. The spring football game is also slated to be held at Scott Stadium before baseball.

Sunday, April 13: Youth Day presented by Flow is back to conclude the Pitt weekend series with inflatables, a balloon artist, face painting, bubbles, and post-game kids running of the bases along with autographs with the team. The fifth of six sets of 2025 Virginia Baseball trading cards will be given out to the first 500 fans, at the marketing table.

BASEBALL PARKING

Friday & Saturday: Fans are encouraged to arrive early with an increased amount of traffic with simultaneous Olympic sports occurring in the athletic precinct.

Sunday: Due to a concert at John Paul Jones Arena on Sunday night, all JPJ lots must be vacated by 5 p.m. on Saturday. Parking will be available in the Emmet/Ivy Garage with no vacate time.

LEADING OFF

• To close out the road trip, UVA blanked VCU 13-0 in the midweek behind a career night from Bradley Hodges and an offensive onslaught orchestrated by Eric Becker.
• March 29’s win over Stanford was coach Brian O’Connor’s 900th career victory. With the win, O’Connor became the 15th active head coach in Division I with 900 career wins.
• Entering the weekend, 11 of UVA’s 18 wins on the season are of the comeback variety including the Friday night victory to open the series at NC State.
• Virginia is 11-6 at the friendly confines of Disharoon Park this season including a three-game sweep of Stanford in the last ACC home series.
• UVA is 8-2 on the season when junior Aidan Teel is batting leadoff for the Cavaliers.
• Since the start of the Stanford series on March 27, the Cavaliers are 6-2 overall and are averaging 9.4 runs per game over the eight-game stretch.
• A total of 10 former Hoos found themselves on MLB Opening Day rosters, which ranks second in the country only behind Vanderbilt (11).

 AGAINST THE PANTHERS

• The Cavaliers and Panthers have played 37 previous times with Virginia leading the all-time series, 26-11.
• In the 2024 series, Virginia swept Pitt on the road. The Cavaliers outscored the Panthers 36-8 for the three-game series.
• The last time that the two ACC foes played at Disharoon Park, Pitt took the first two games in the 2023 series before Virginia salvaged the weekend with an 8-5 victory on Sunday.
• UVA is 21-9 against the Panthers under coach Brian O’Connor.

 RANKING THE HOOS

• Entering the weekend, UVA’s arms ranked 32nd nationally and ninth in the ACC with an average of 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings. Virginia has also turned 25 double plays this season, which ranks third in the ACC. As a team, UVA is batting .301, which ranks 54th nationally and sixth in the league.

ON THE MOUND

• Jay Woolfolk will get the ball to open the series for UVA. The righthander has fanned a combined 29 batters throughout 22 innings in his four starts at home this season. Woolfolk’s 50 Ks on the season are the most on the squad and rank 10th in the ACC.
• Evan Blanco will get the nod in the middle game. The Preseason All-American struck out five batters and allowed two earned runs against Stanford in his last home start.
• To close out the weekend, Virginia will turn to Tomas Valincius. The freshman has struck out six or more in five of his eight starts this season. Entering the weekend, Valincius owns a Strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.80 to rank seventh in the league and 52nd nationally. His 48 strikeouts are the fifth most by any freshman in the country.

 PLAYER NOTABLES

• Henry Ford ranks 14th in ACC with a batting average of .369 and sixth with 48 total base knocks. The sophomore also is averaging 1.55 hits per game to rank sixth in the league and 59th nationally.
• Aidan Teel’s team-leading 14 doubles ranks the junior with the fourth-most two-baggers in the league and 18th nationally. Teel has also been hit by a team-high 11 times over the opening 31 games of the season, which ranks the junior eighth in the ACC.
• Elsewhere in the lineup, Henry Godbout and James Nunnallee are proving to be two of the hardest outs in the conference. Godbout has a strikeout rate of 10.7 to rank fourth in the ACC while Nunnallee enters the weekend with a K rate of 9.6 to place him seventh in the league.
• Along with the likes of Ford and Teel, Eric Becker ranks among the leagues when it comes to batting. The sophomore ranks sixth in the league with 12 doubles, eighth with 73 hits and 17th with a .364 batting average.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE

• The home-opening series against Dartmouth saw a combined attendance of 12,641, which was the largest crowd ever for a home-opening series.
• The ACC opening series against Boston College saw 16,301 fans packed Disharoon Park. The most for a regular season home series in program history including the earliest sell out in program history in the weekend finale.
• UVA ranked 14th in the NCAA in total attendance, second highest in the ACC during the 2024 season.  The per-game average of 4,197 ranked 18th in the country and third in the ACC.
• Disharoon Park was sold out a program single-season record, six times in 2024 including the final four games of the season.
• Virginia went 31-7 at Disharoon Park, the second straight season UVA has 30 or more wins at home. It was the ninth time the Cavaliers have posted 30 or more home wins.
• Nine of the largest 25 Disharoon Park crowds were in 2024.