CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – After taking a road series at Notre Dame on the weekend, the No. 9 Virginia baseball team (26-11) heads down I-64 for a midweek showdown with the VCU Rams (21-14) at The Diamond.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: WINA (98.9 FM/1090 AM)
Live Stats: VirginiaSports.com
Probable Starting Pitchers:
TUESDAY – 3 PM
Virginia: RHP Christian Lucarelli (1-1, 0.93 ERA, 9.2 IP, 11 BB, 14 SO)
VCU: RHP Fenix DiGiacomo (0-2, 3.77 ERA, 14.1 IP, 6 BB, 15 SO)
LEADING OFF
- Entering the midweek, Virginia is averaging 9.1 runs per game, which ranks 14th in the country and fourth in the league behind Georgia Tech, Miami and Pittsburgh. Overall, UVA has scored the eighth-most runs in the country at 336.
- The 67 home runs have powered the power surge through the first 37 games of the season. The 67 dingers rank 12th nationally and third in the ACC. In 2025, the Cavaliers only hit 69 home runs as a team.
AGAINST VCU
- Tuesday will be the 80th all-time meeting between Virginia and VCU, whose two fields are separated by 73 miles of I-64. The Cavaliers lead the series 54-25.
- UVA enters the midweek having won 10 straight games against the Rams, including a weekend sweep during the opening month of the 2026 season.
- Virginia took the first and third games by the same score of 5-3 and needed a walk-off error in 11 innings to secure the middle game.
- The Cavaliers head to Richmond on Wednesday looking to finish off the season sweep of VCU for the fourth consecutive season and for the 11th time since 2007.
ON THE MOUND
- Freshman Christian Lucarelli will make his first career start on Tuesday at the Diamond.
- The Beaver Falls, Pa. Native is 1-1 with a 0.93 ERA this season with 14 strikeouts in 9.2 innings pitched.
- Lucarelli picked up his first collegiate win on February 25 against George Washington with a pair of scoreless innings.
SOUTH BEND SLUGGERS
- En route to its first series at Notre Dame since 2019, the Virginia offense came alive by crushing 10 home runs over the course of the weekend.
- In game one, Harrison Didawick cemented his place in the Virginia Blue & Orange as the senior moved to second all-time on the career home run list with a pair of dingers. With the game tied at four in the ninth, a Zach Jackson long ball opened the floodgates as Virginia won 8-4.
- To take the series, UVA exploded for 20 runs on 18 hits, including six home runs from five different Cavaliers in a 20-5 thrashing.
MIDSEASON HONORS FOR THE HOOS
- As the calendar turns to April, several Hoos have garnered national attention for their stellar play over the first half of the season.
- Four different Hoos were named to the various Perfect Game Midseason All-American teams when the publication announced its selections on Wednesday. AJ Gracia led the way on the first team while Lucas Hartman and Eric Becker landed on the second and third teams, respectively. Noah Yoder was named to the Freshman second team to round out the Virginia quartet.
- D1Baseball also announced its midseason accolades on Wednesday as Lucas Hartman earned second team Midseason All-American honors.
- To go along with his midseason All-American honors, Gracia was named to the Golden Spikes Midseason Watch List. The UVA outfielder was one of 45 amateur baseball players who were named to the watch list.
FRED NATED & BIRDBALLED
- Virginia bookended its four-game road swing with a pair of wins over Maryland in Fredericksburg and Boston College in the weekend series finale.
- During UVA’s annual contest with Maryland at Virginia Credit Union Stadium, UVA picked up its ninth comeback victory of the year while also collecting its fifth run-rule victory of the season.
- After dropping the first two games of the weekend series at Boston College, the Cavaliers notched a 3-1 victory to salvage the weekend. The win was UVA’s 10th comeback victory of the season and the first win of the year when Virginia trailed in the seventh inning or later.
DEFORESTATION AT THE DISH
- For its seventh-straight ACC series win dating back to the end of the 2025 season, Virginia took two of three from the then-No. 24 Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
- With the series win, UVA improves to 38-12 in the last 50 games that the Cavaliers have played on the baseball diamond.
- In the series opener, Kyle Johnson made his UVA debut on the mound and set the tone with an electric 10-pitch inning. In the bottom of the frame, the Virginia offense exploded for five runs and cruised to a 10-6 victory.
- Sunday’s rubber match saw Virginia collect its eighth come-from-behind victory behind another offensive eruption and 4.2 shutout relief innings from the bullpen duo of Noah Yoder and Lucas Hartman.
CLASH POINT SECURED
- For the opening home weekend of ACC play, Virginia took two of three games from in-commonwealth rival Virginia Tech at Disharoon Park.
- In game one, UVA rode a career-high performance from Henry Zatkowski as the lefty fanned 10 Hokies. The Virginia office exploded for eight runs over the middle third to take the series opener.
- To claim the series, four different Cavaliers homered, led by Sam Harris, who did it twice, as Virginia got a trio of shutdown innings from Kevin Jaxel and Noah Yoder in relief.
- The Saturday series clincher gave Virginia a share of the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash. UVA exited the weekend leading 11-4, with seven sports remaining.
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.