Baseball: No. 19 Cavaliers begin 10-game homestand against Longwood

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Posted on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, 8:00 am

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Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Photo: UVA Athletics

No. 19 Virginia returns home on Tuesday to host in-state foe Longwood at Disharoon Park. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. and the contest is scheduled to air on ACCNX.

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: ACCNX | RADIO: VirginiaSports.com / Virginia Sports Mobile App | LIVE STATS: VirginiaSports.com

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP       

Longwood: RHP Dylan Saale (n/a)

Virginia: LHP Connelly Early (0-0, 10.80 ERA, 1.2 IP, 1 BB, 3 SO)

LEADING OFF

  • Virginia (3-0) is one of seven ACC schools to come out of opening weekend unbeaten. Going into Tuesday there are 54 schools in NCAA DI without a loss.
  • The Cavaliers are 3-0 for the ninth time under head coach Brian O’Connor.
  • UVA is looking to start the year 4-0 for the second-straight season and ninth time in the O’Connor era (2004-present)
  • As a team, Virginia batted .415 in the first three games, the third-highest average in the country. Texas St. (.437), UNLV (.432) and Alabama (.406) are the only other programs with a team average above .400.
  • Virginia leads the ACC and ranks fifth in the country with 49 hits.
  • Virginia has won its last five non-conference games at home.

EYE-POPPING OFFENSIVE NUMBERS

  • The 39 runs in three games are the most by a UVA team since posting 50 in the first three games of the 1911 season.
  • UVA’s 39 runs and 49 hits through the first three games are the most ever in the Brian O’Connor era.
  • The Cavaliers have yet to trail in a game in 2023.
  • UVA scored a run in each their first eight innings this year.
  • The UVA lineup has produced a base runner in all but one inning through the first three games and been retired in order twice.
  • Virginia has scored nine first-inning runs and plated at least two runs in the opening frame in all three games.
  • Virginia scored 14 runs in the fifth inning against Navy, the most in a single inning since 2004 and the most ever by a UVA team at Disharoon Park.

HOME OPENER PART TWO

  • Weather in Wilmington, N.C. last Friday forced game officials to move UVA’s season opener against Navy to Disharoon Park. Both teams departed for Wilmington after the game and played the remainder of the Hughes Bros. Challenge at UNCW.
  • The Cavaliers opened the season at home for only the fourth time since 2004. The only game to be played on an earlier date at Disharoon Park was the facility’s first game, on Feb. 16, 2002.
  • As a result of the bonus home game , Virginia is scheduled to play a total of 37 games at The Dish this season.
  • Virginia won 33 of its last 38 games at home
  • UVA went 29-5 at Disharoon Park in 2022.
  • The Cavaliers have won 77 percent (538-165) of their games over the course of 22 seasons at The Dish.

AGAINST LONGWOOD

  • Virginia is 16-2 all-time against Longwood (0-3) and 12-0 under Brian O’Connor.
  • The Lancers’ last victory in the series came in 1984, a 2-1 loss in Charlottesville.
  • UVA concluded its home schedule last season with an 8-3 victory over Longwood on May 11.
  • Tuesday will mark the earliest meeting ever between the two schools. Prior to the game, the two teams have not met in the month of February.

PLAYER NOTES

  • Kyle Teel’s 8 hits in three games are the most by any ACC hitter and the ninth-most in the country. He had 3 hits against both Navy and Ohio and added 2 more against UNCW on Sunday. The Cavalier backstop has started 113-straight games, including 61-straight at catcher for the Hoos.
  • Carrying over from last season, Casey Saucke has hit safely in 10-straight games. It’s his second double-digit hit streak of his young career. He began his collegiate career last year with a hit in his first 21 games, the second longest UVA single season hit streak since 2000.
  • Five players in the UVA lineup have hit safely in all three games this season – Teel, Griff O’Ferrall, Saucke, Gelof and Ethan O’Donnell.
  • Gelof, the program’s single-season RBI record holder, has 9 RBI in the first three games, tied for the sixth-most in the country and right behind Nick Kurtz (10) of Wake Forest for the ACC lead.
  • Gelof has homered in back-to-back games after a two-run go-ahead homer against Ohio on Saturday and a three-run shot in the first inning against UNCW on Sunday. He homered in three-straight games, twice last season, a stretch of four-straight games in the final four games of February and three-straight in mid-march.

PITCHING & DEFENSE

  • The Cavaliers have committed just one fielding error in 98 chances over the first three games of the season. Virginia is one of 48 teams nationally with either one or no errors this season.
  • All three starting pitchers were credited with wins and all three pitched into the fifth inning.
  • The Cavalier bullpen allowed three earned runs over 10.2 innings pitched (2.53 ERA).
  • Nick Parker was recognized on Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s National Team of the Week after matching a career-high with 10 strikeouts against Ohio. He fanned the final seven batters he faced.

CHASING HISTORY

  • It took just three games to move up two spots on UVA’s all-time home run list. He enters Tuesday’s game with 27 career homers, tied with UVA Baseball Hall of Famer Ryan Gilleland for the ninth-most in school history.
  • It has taken Gelof just 99 games to crack the top-10

Most Career Home Runs in UVA History

Rk Player HR
1. E.J. Anderson (1995-98) 37
2. Mark Reynolds (2002-04) 35
Jon Benick (1998-01) 35
4. Mike Lindner (1987-90) 33
5. Brian Buchanan (1992-94) 30
6. Pavin Smith (2015-17) 28
Steven Proscia (2009-11) 28
Bill Narleski (1984-87) 28
9. Ryan Gilleland (1995-98) 27
Jake Gelof (2021-present) 27
11. Jarrett Parker (2008-10) 26
Joe Koshansky (2001-04) 26
Alex Tappen (2018-22) 26