CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Riding one of the best home win streaks in the country, the No. 14 Virginia baseball team (14-3, 2-1 ACC) will welcome the Virginia Tech Hokies (8-7, 1-2 ACC) to Disharoon Park for a three-game series that starts on Friday (March 13) as part of the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Watch: ACCNX
Listen: WINA (98.9 FM/1090 AM) | Virginia Sports TV YouTube Channel (Saturday)
Live Stats: VirginiaSports.com
Probable Starting Pitchers:
Friday – 4 PM
Virginia Tech: RHP Ethan Grim (0-2, 8.31 ERA, 13.0, 10 BB, 18 SO)
Virginia: LHP Henry Zatkowski (2-0, 6.38 ERA, 18.1 IP, 10 BB, 20 SO)
Saturday – 1 PM
Virginia Tech: RHP Brett Renfrow (0-2, 6.00 ERA, 15.0 IP, 5 BB, 20 SO)
Virginia: LHP Max Stammel (1-0, 3.24 ERA, 16.2 IP, 8 BB, 16 SO)
Sunday – 1 PM
Virginia Tech: TBA
Virginia: RHP John Paone (1-0, 3.24 ERA, 16.2 IP, 3 BB, 18 SO)
SMITHFIELD COMMONWEALTH CLASH
- This weekend’s series is part of the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash. Originally called the Commonwealth Challenge (2005-2007), this has been a part of the UVA-Virginia Tech rivalry since 2014. It is an all-sports, points-based program with the Commonwealth Clash trophy presented to the winning school each year for its dominance in head-to-head competitions.
- The Cavaliers lead the 2026 clash, 10-4.
LEADING OFF
- Virginia enters the weekend having won the last 16 home games dating back to the end of the 2025 season. The 16-game heater is the longest in all of the Power 4 and the second longest in all of Division I baseball.
- Entering the second weekend of ACC play, Virginia is averaging 10.5 runs per game, which ranks ninth in the country and fifth in the league behind Georgia Tech, Miami, NC State and Pittsburgh.
- The power surge has been powered by 31 home runs through the first 17 games of the season. The 31 dingers rank 14th nationally and fourth in the ACC. In 2025, the Cavaliers did not hit their 31st home run of the year until the 32nd game.
NOTING THE CLASH
- Friday’s series opener will be the 207th meeting between the two schools. Virginia Tech is one of the three schools that UVA has played 200 games against - North Carolina (314 games), NC State (208 games).
- The Cavaliers have won 15 of 20 all-time series since Virginia Tech joined the league in 2005.
- This year’s version of Clash weekend is the earliest that the two schools have played each other in baseball since 2015, when the Hokies took all three games from the Cavaliers on March 13-15.
- In the overall 2025-26 Smithfield Commonwealth Clash race, Virginia leads 10-4.
ON THE MOUND
- Henry Zatkowski will get the ball to start the weekend. The lefty is 2-0 with a 6.38 ERA in seven innings with a team-high 18.1 strikeouts. In the ACC opener, Zatkowski threw 5.1 innings against UNC and allowed three runs on five hits.
- Max Stammel will go on Saturday. Over the first four starts of the season, Stammel is 1-0 with a 3.24 ERA in 16.2 innings with 16 strikeouts. In his start against the Tar Heels, Stammel tossed six innings of one-run ball to pick up his first quality start of the season.
- To close out the weekend, freshman John Paone will be handed the rock. The right-hander from Massachusetts is 1-0 with a 3.24 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 16.2 innings of work.
- Out of the bullpen, grad student Lucas Hartman is tied for third in the nation with 10 appearances, while Tyler Kapa’s trio of saves is good enough for 19th nationally.
RANKING THE HOOS
- After a historic start to the 2026 campaign, Virginia ranks top 40 nationally in multiple categories including walks (116/6th), hits (177/34th), home runs (31/14th), home runs per game (1.82/16th), on-base percentage (.432/28th), runs (179/8th), scoring (10.5/9th) and slugging percentage (.521/34th).
CAROLINA CONQUERED
- For the opening weekend of ACC play, Virginia took two of three games from No. 8 North Carolina in Chapel Hill. The Cavaliers outscored the Tar Heels 29-13 during the weekend set.
- In game one, UVA rode monster offensive performances from Harrison Didawick, Noah Murray and Eric Becker to a 13-3 victory in seven innings. Henry Zatkowski held North Carolina to five hits over 5.1 innings of work.
- To claim the series, Max Stammel had his best game in a Virginia uniform, surrendering one run in six innings. Zach Jackson and Sam Harris each homered in the 9-2 victory.
SPRING CLEANING
- On the third weekend of the season, Virginia swept the VCU Rams in a three-game series that saw the first two games played at Disharoon Park with the finale at The Diamond in Richmond.
- UVA took the series opener by a score of 5-3 and was powered by a career-high eight-strikeout performance by Henry Zatkowski and a leadoff home run from Eric Becker.
- Saturday’s game two saw UVA win its first walk of the season as the Cavaliers won 7-6 in 11 innings. AJ Gracia homered while Eric Becker was in the middle of the game-tying play in the ninth and the walk-off in the 11th.
- Sunday’s series finale included eight innings of one-run ball from the freshman trio of John Paone, Noah Yoder and Jayden Stroman. Gracia, Sam Harris and Zach Jackson all homered to secure the sweep.
FUN IN THE SUN
- For the first road trip of the 2026 season, Virginia headed south for a round robin tournament hosted by Stetson. The Hoos dismantled the Monmouth Hawks on Friday before falling in walk-off fashion to Stetson on Saturday. UVA rode late-inning heroics to a victory over North Dakota State in the weekend finale on Sunday.
- On Friday, the Hoos smashed seven home runs en route to a 21-8 win over Monmouth. The seven dingers were the most by UVA in a game since hitting eight against George Washington in 2024.
- In the weekend opener against Monmouth, the UVA trio of Noah Murray, Sam Harris and AJ Gracia each hit multiple home runs, becoming the first trio of Cavaliers to hit multiple home runs in the same game this century.
BREAKING IN THE NEW VIDEO BOARD
- To accompany the debuts on Davenport Field, a new state-of-the-art video board also made its debut on opening weekend, displaying plenty of content.
- 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.