CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia baseball team will open its 138th season and the first of the Chris Pollard era with a three-game series against the Wagner Seahawks. Friday’s (Feb. 13) Opening Day game is slated for a 3 p.m. first pitch and will be followed by a doubleheader on Saturday.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Watch: ACCNX
Listen: WINA (98.9/1070 AM/WINA) – Friday Only
Live Stats: VirginiaSports.com
Probable Starting Pitchers:
Friday – 3 p.m.
Wagner: RHP Colin Trizuto (4-3, 4.96 ERA, 61.2 IP, 19 BB, 41 SO)
Virginia: LHP Henry Zatkowski (5-2, 4.82 ERA, 59.2 IP, 12 BB, 58 SO)
Saturday – Noon
Wagner: LHP Chase Brandt Freshman
Virginia: LHP Max Stammel (0-1, 4.09 ERA, 22.0 IP, 12 BB, 25 SO)
Saturday – 45 minutes after game one
Wagner: RHP Gavin Townsend Freshman
Virginia: RHP Michael Yeager (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3.1 IP, 4 BB, 4 SO)
TICKET INFORMATION
After evaluating conditions with emergency management teams, seating for all three games will be converted to general admission. This will allow all guests to choose from the safest and most accessible seating areas upon arrival.
All tickets for this weekend’s series will still be honored. Gates will open at the regularly scheduled time and we encourage fans to arrive early to secure their preferred seats within the available sections. Field level club seats will operate as normal.
If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact us at (434) 924-8821 or by email at uvatickets@virginia.edu.
LEADING OFF
- Virginia embarks on its 138th season of baseball on Friday afternoon and the first under the direction of head coach Chris Pollard.
- After missing the postseason in 2025, the Cavaliers are looking to return to the NCAA tournament and make a run at the program’s eighth trip to the Men’s College World Series.
- Dating back to 2016, UVA is 7-2 on Opening Day, including a record of 3-0 at Disharoon Park.
- Since 2004, Virginia is 51-16-1 in games played on the Opening Weekend of the season.
- Dating back to the start of the 2021 season, the Cavaliers are 32-6 in the month of February.
A NEW ERA OF VIRGINIA BASEBALL
- Director of Athletics Carla Williams announced the hiring of Chris Pollard as the University of Virginia’s Head Baseball Coach on June 10, 2025.
- Pollard arrives in Charlottesville after spending the last 13 seasons at Duke, leading the Blue Devils to a 420-296 record, seven NCAA tournament berths, four Super Regional appearances and two ACC Baseball Tournament championships. His 420 wins are the most by a head coach in Duke baseball history.
HOO ARE THESE CAVALIERS?!
- After a successful run at Duke, Pollard has brought his entire Blue Devil coaching staff with him from Durham including Brady Kirkpatrick (pitching), Derek Simmons (Infielders), Eric Tyler (Hitting), Brian Sakowski (Director of Recruiting) and John Natoli (Director of Player Development).
- To complement the staff, Pollard also brought in Casey Scott (Director of Operations), Bailey Hill (Athletic Training) and 2025 UVA Bullpen mainstay West Arrington (Assistant Director of Operations & Player Development).
- On the field, 27 new Cavaliers arrived on Grounds in the fall to make up a top ten transfer class and a top 10 high school recruiting class.
ON THE MOUND
- Newcomer Henry Zatkowski will get the ball in the Season Opener for the Cavaliers. The Lefty appeared in 21 games for Duke last season compiling a 5-2 record with a 4.83 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 59.2 innings.
- In game one on Saturday, Max Stammel will open the doubleheader. The other Duke lefty in rotation had an ERA of 4.09 in 18 appearances for the Blue Devils in 2025.
- Round out the weekend, Michael Yeager will take the mound in Saturday’s second game. The righthander fanned four batters in four innings during the 2025 campaign for UVA.
PRESEASON HONORS
- Headlined by consensus Preseason All-American AJ Gracia, a total of four Cavaliers landed on Preseason All-American teams.
- Eric Becker was named to two teams while Joe Tiroly and Lucas Hartman each landed on one team.
- Along with Preseason All-American accolades, Gracia and Becker were each named to the Golden Spikes Watch List. Becker also found himself on the Baseball America Preseason Player of the Year Watch List while Hartman was added to the Stopper of the Year Watch List.
- Virginia is ranked in four of the five major national polls with the Cavaliers checking in at 14 for Baseball America and Perfect Game.
- In a poll of the Atlantic Coast Conference coaches, the Virginia baseball team was picked to finish seventh in the league.
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
- The home opening series of 20225 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 in 2025 saw 16,301 fans packed Disharoon Park. The most for a regular season home series in program history including the earliest sellout in program history in the weekend finale.
- UVA ranked 18th in the NCAA in total attendance, fourth highest in the ACC during the 2025 season. The per-game average of 4,482 ranked 16th in the country and third in the ACC.
- Virginia went 20-8 at Disharoon Park in 2025 including an eight-game win streak to end the year.
- Dating back to the start of the 2021 season, UVA is 133-37 in the friendly confines of Disharoon Park.