CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia baseball team (35-20, 14-16 ACC) is set to open the 2026 ACC Baseball Championship on Wednesday (May 20) with a second-round game against Duke (26-30, 10-20 ACC) at Truist Field.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Watch: ACC Network
Listen: WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM)
Live Stats: VirginiaSports.com
Probable Starting Pitchers:
Wednesday – 9 AM
Duke: RHP Aiden Weaver (4-8, 6.49 ERA, 59.2 IP, 32 BB, 78 SO)
Virginia: LHP Henry Zatkowski (7-1, 4.12 ERA, 74.1 IP, 23 BB, 88 SO)
LEADING OFF
- Entering the postseason, Virginia is averaging 7.9 runs per game, which ranks 37th in the country and ninth in the league. Overall, UVA has scored the 28th-most runs in the country at 437.
- UVA’s 91 home runs have powered the power surge throughout the season. The 91 blasts rank 21st nationally and third in the ACC. In 2025, the Cavaliers hit 69 home runs in 50 games as a team.
- A pair of Cavaliers were named to the All-ACC teams when the league announced its league awards on Monday. AJ Gracia landed second team honors, while Eric Becker garnered.
- In the opening game of the Louisville series, the Cavaliers claimed their 35th win on the season. The 2026 season is the 19th time that Virginia has cleared that benchmark in the last 25 seasons. In the same time span, only Florida State and North Carolina have more than 35-win seasons in the ACC.
IN THE ACC TOURNAMENT AND AGAINST DUKE
- Virginia has been part of every ACC Tournament since its inception in 1973 and will make its 52nd appearance. Only Virginia and Clemson have participated in every ACC Tournament.
- UVA is the eighth seed for the third time in program history and the first time since 2021. The Cavaliers are 3-3 all-time as the eight seed.
- In ACC Tournament play, UVA is 2-7 all-time against Duke.
- In a series that dates back to 1926, the Cavaliers and the Blue Devils have played a total of 184 times. UVA leads the all-time series with
- a record of 110-73-1.
- Virginia has 100 all-time wins against five schools: North Carolina (123), Virginia Tech (117), Maryland (115), VMI (113) and Duke (113).
ON THE MOUND
- Henry Zatkowski will get the ball on Wednesday. The lefty is 7-1 on the year with a 4.12 ERA in 15 appearances.
- The sophomore leads the Hoos with 88 strikeouts in 74.1 innings pitched.
- The big lefty ranks fifth in the ACC with 88 strikeouts and ninth in wins.
ON SENIOR WEEKEND
- To close out the home ACC slate for 2026, the Virginia Cavaliers dropped a weekend senior weekend.
- UVA’s lone win of the series came in game two behind a strong pitching performance from John Paone. The freshman went a season-long 7.2 innings with nine strikeouts. The nine strikeouts were the most by a UVA freshman in a game since Tomas Valincius fanned 10 against Rice on Feb. 16, 2025, as part of the Puerto Rico Challenge.
- In the weekend finale, Joey Tiroly became just the seventh player in program history to homer three times in the same game and the first to do it at home since Henry Ford in 2024.
THE LAST WEEKEND IN THE VILLE
- To close out the regular season slate for 2026, the Virginia Cavaliers dropped a weekend senior weekend at Louisville.
- UVA’s lone win of the series came in game one behind a strong pitching performance from Henry Zatkowski and the return of Eric Becker to the lineup. Zatkowski picked up his seventh win of the campaign by tossing six innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts. Becker led the Virginia offense by going 3-for-6 with a double and a run driven in.
- In the weekend finale, UVA went down 7-0 before the Cavaliers mounted a furious comeback and cut the lead down to 7-5. The five-run eighth inning was highlighted by a bases-clearing triple by Harrison Didawick.
FELL INTO THE PITT & WENT UNDRAFTED
- For the final ACC series in April, Virginia was swept by the Pitt Panthers at Charles L. Cost Field.
- The series opener on Friday saw Zach Jackson and Joe Tiroly each homer to push the season team total to 76. With the 76 long balls, the 2026 squad passes the 2022 team for the third-most home runs in a season.
- Saturday was the first game since a 4-0 win over Miami on March 27, 2021, that the Virginia offense was held to a single base knock.
- Pitt became the first ACC team to sweep UVA in a three-game series on the road since Notre Dame in 2023.
TAMING THE TIGERS
- To claim its fifth ACC series victory of the season, the Virginia Cavaliers took the opening game and the rubber match from the Clemson Tigers.
- It was the ninth series win for the Cavaliers over the Tigers in 12 tries since the start of the 2006 season.
- In game one, Henry Zatkowski tossed seven innings of two earned run ball while tying a career-high in strikeouts with 10. AJ Gracia homered in the contest, while Jake Weatherspoon’s bases-clearing three-run double in the sixth proved to be the difference in the 6-4 contest.
- With Eric Becker and AJ Gracia both out of the lineup, UVA got a pair of home runs from Harrison Didawick and 4.1 innings of one-run ball from John Paone to clinch the series win with a 5-4 victory.
ON SENIOR WEEKEND
- To close out the home ACC slate for 2026, the Virginia Cavaliers dropped a weekend senior weekend.
- UVA’s lone win of the series came in game two behind a strong pitching performance from John Paone. The freshman went a season-long 7.2 innings with nine strikeouts. The nine strikeouts were the most by a UVA freshman in a game since Tomas Valincius fanned 10 against Rice on 16, 2025, as part of the Puerto Rico Challenge.
- In the weekend finale, Joey Tiroly became just the seventh player in program history to homer three times in the same game and the first to do it at home since Henry Ford in 2024.
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 found themselves on 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.