CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – To close out the opening homestand of the 2026 season, the Virginia baseball team (3-3) is set to host VMI (4-0) at Disharoon Park on Tuesday (Feb. 17). First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. and will be carried on ACCNX and WINA.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Watch: ACCNX
Listen: WINA (98.9/1070 AM/WINA)
Live Stats: VirginiaSports.com
Probable Starting Pitchers:
Tuesday – 3 p.m.
VMI: RHP Clark Driscoll (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.0 IP, 0 BB, 0 SO)
Virginia: RHP John Paone (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.0 IP, 0 BB, 0 SO)
LEADING OFF
- To close out the Opening Season four-game home stand, the Virginia Cavaliers will host the VMI Keydets at Disharoon Park on Tuesday afternoon. UVA is 112-32 against VMI and has won the last eight meetings dating back to 2018.
- Dating back to the start of the 2021 season, the Cavaliers are 35-6 in February.
- The opening weekend sweep of Wagner was highlighted by a 31-run outburst in the series finale. Saturday’s 31 runs set a new program record.
- UVA’s 69 runs on opening weekend are the most ever by Virginia over the opening three games of a season in program history. The previous high was 59 runs over the opening three games in 1889.
BREAKING IN THE NEW VIDEO BOARD
- To go along with the debuts on Davenport Field, a new state-of-the-art video board also made its debut on opening weekend and it had plenty to display.
- Over the course of the opening weekend, UVA plated 69 runners in three games. The most ever in a three-game stretch to start a season. The previous high was set in 1889, when the baseball team representing the University of Virginia scored 59 runs in the first three games ever played.
- The weekend was capped off by a 31-8 victory in the Saturday nightcap. The 31 runs broke the previous program for most runs in a game, which was when the Hoos dropped 29 runs on Niagara in 2007.
- Crozet native Noah Murray broke the run record with a three-run blast in the eighth inning. With the home run, Murray became the 15th Cavalier to score five times in the same time.
- Chris Pollard became just the third head coach in program history to win his first three games. The other two coaches were H.H. Lannigan in 1918 and Brian O’Connor in 2004.
ON THE MOUND
- In the first midweek of the season, freshman John Paone will get the ball for the Cavaliers.
- A highly touted prep arm from the commonwealth of Massachusetts, Paone was ranked the 134th best draft prospect by MLB.com in 2025.
- Perfect Game had Paone as the number one player in Massachusetts and the 138th best right-handed pitcher.
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.
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 136-37 in the friendly confines of Disharoon Park.
- Entering the midweek, Virginia is riding an 11-game win streak at Disharoon Park that goes back to the end of the 2025 season.