‘Hoos News: Baseball Picked to Finish Second in Coastal, Lacrosse Season Starts Today

Courtesy UVA Sports Media Relations

In a poll of the 14 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball coaches, Virginia was picked to finish second in the Coastal Division, accumulating 64 points and one first-place vote.

Defending Coastal Division Champion North Carolina was picked to repeat with 13 of the 14 first place votes while Louisville was voted as the top team in the Atlantic Division. The Cardinals were also selected as the preseason overall ACC champion.

The Cavaliers return 21 letterwinners from its 2018 roster and welcome in 16 newcomers (13 freshman & three transfers). Among the returners is outfielder Cameron Simmons who sat out the 2018 season with a shoulder injury. The fourth-year batted .352 as a sophomore with nine home runs and 57 RBI. He was selected in the 15th round by the Texas Rangers despite missing all of last year.

On the mound Virginia will look to sophomore Andrew Abbott, a 2018 Freshman All-American. The lefthander struck out 78 batters in 51 innings pitched. Right-handed pitchers Noah Murdock and Evan Sperling both return from limited work last season due to injury.

The Cavaliers open up the 2019 season on Friday, Feb. 18 in Scottsdale Ariz. as part of the inaugural MLB4 Collegiate Baseball Tournament at Salt River Fields, spring training home of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. The first game of the season will pit the Cavaliers against the nation’s No. 1 Team Vanderbilt, in a rematch of the 2014 & 2015 College World Series Finals. The contest will air live on MLB Network at 7 p.m. EST.

Virginia will return home to open up a 13-game home stand on Feb. 20 against VMI. First pitch at Disharoon Park is slated for 3 p.m.

Fans may purchase season tickets, flex packages and single-game tickets online at VirginiaSports.com/tickets or through the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office in Bryant Hall at Scott Stadium. The ticket office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. for in-person or telephone purchases. Telephone purchases can be made by calling 1-800-542-UVA1 (8821) or locally at 434-924-UVA1 (8821).

Atlantic Division

1. Louisville (7) – 90

2. Florida State (6) – 86

3. Clemson (1) – 71

4. NC State – 53

5. Wake Forest – 49

6. Notre Dame – 24

7. Boston College – 19

Coastal Division

1. North Carolina (13) – 97

2(T). VIRGINIA (1) – 64

2(T). Duke – 64

4. Miami – 61

5. Georgia Tech – 59

6. Pitt – 24

7. Virginia Tech – 23

No. 6 UVA Opens 90th Season at No. 4 Loyola

The Virginia men’s lacrosse team, ranked No. 6 in the preseason USILA coaches and Inside Lacrosse/Maverik media polls, opens the 2019 campaign on the road Saturday against the Loyola Greyhounds. Loyola is ranked No. 4 in the coaches and media polls. The game will be contested at the Ridley Athletic Complex Stadium with faceoff slated for 12 p.m.

Live stats of Saturday’s game will be available at VirginiaSports.com. The contest will be broadcast on television via Stadium/Charge. It will stream live on the Patriot League Network. Brett Hollander will call the play-by-play, while Chris Gunkel and Dave Cottle provide analysis.

Saturday marks the 23rd all-time meeting between the Cavaliers and the Greyhounds in a series that began in 1938. The series took a 23-year hiatus before being rekindled for the 2014 season. Saturday marks the fourth time in five seasons these teams have met in Baltimore. Virginia leads the all-time series with a 15-7 margin and the Cavaliers have a 4-2 record in the series since 2014.

Loyola head coach Charley Toomey is in his 14th season at the helm of his alma mater and returns 33 letterwinners from last year’s 13-4 squad that fell in the NCAA quarterfinal round to Yale, the eventual national champion.

UVA and Loyola clashed twice in 2018. Dox Aitken scored in the second overtime to secure the season-opening win over the Greyhounds, 13-12. Ian Laviano added five goals and was named ACC Player of the Week in his collegiate debut. The Greyhounds bested UVA in the second meeting of 2018, a 14-12 triumph in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Cavaliers are 51-33-1 (.606) all-time in season openers, including a mark of 17-16 (.515) when opening up the season at the road, including winning the last six. Saturday’s game will mark the eighth time in the last 20 seasons the Cavaliers have opened the season on the road.

Virginia enters 2019 after finishing with an 12-6 record in 2018 and falling to the Greyhounds in Baltimore in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. UVA returns 33 lettermen and seven starters from its 2018 squad.

Virginia returns to action on Feb. 16 when the Cavaliers return to Charlottesville for their home opener against No. 13 Lehigh. The game will faceoff at 12 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra.

No. 16 Virginia Hosts No. 13 Navy to Open 2019 Season

The No. 16 Virginia women’s lacrosse team (0-0) opens the 2019 season at home, hosting No. 13 Navy (0-0) at Klöckner Stadium on Saturday.

HOW TO WATCH

Saturday’s game will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra through ESPN3 or the WatchESPN app. Follow live updates on Twitter through @UVAWomensLax.

PARKING

Fans attending Saturday’s 1 p.m. women’s lacrosse match vs. Navy can park in the Blue Lots adjacent to the McCue Center and University Hall or John Paul Jones Arena lot. All lots must be vacated by 3:30 p.m. Towing will be enforced in those areas starting at 3:30 p.m.

PROMOTIONS

Admission to Saturday’s game will be free by showing a Virginia men’s basketball vs. Duke ticket. There will also be 1,000 tickets given away at ESPN’s College GameDay set for 11 a.m. in John Paul Jones Arena on Saturday.

CAVALIER TIDBITS

• Virginia advanced to the NCAA second round in 2018.
• 12 of UVA’s 17 opponents are ranked in the IWLCA Preseason Top 25.
• The Cavaliers have three of their top four scorers back from last season, including All-American Sammy Mueller.
• Mueller, a junior, led UVA with 74 points on 59 goals and 15 assists. Mueller scored multiple goals in 17 games.
• Senior Avery Shoemaker had 62 points on 51 goals and 11 assists in 2018. Shoemaker recorded 16 multiple goal games and 12 hat tricks.
• Senior Kaitlin Luzik led the Cavaliers with 35 caused turnovers and was second with 46 ground balls.
• Senior Maggie Jackson had a team-high 97 draw controls, tying the UVA single-season record. Jackson was second on the team with 64 points (32 goals, 32 assists).

SERIES INFO

• This will be the fifth meeting between Navy and Virginia.
• UVA leads the series 3-1 and is 2-0 in games played at Klöckner.
• The Midshipmen won last year’s meeting, 16-13, in Annapolis, Md.
• Every game of the series has been decided by four goals or less.
• This is the first time the teams have met before the month of April.

NAVY

• Navy was picked to finish second in the Patriot League Preseason Poll.
• The Midshipmen had three players selected to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team.
• Kelly Larkin, a two-time Inside Lacrosse All-American, returns as the top scorer for the Midshipmen. Larkin has 225 total points (116 goals and 109 assists).
• Marie Valenti returns on defense after leading Navy with 33 caused turnovers in 2018.
• Last season, Navy won the Patriot League tournament title and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.

TICKETS

Fans can purchase tickets single game tickets in advance on VirginiaSports.com or by calling the Virginia Ticket office at 800-542-UVA1 (8821) or 434-924-UVA1 (8821). Advanced tickets are $8 (reserved) and $5 (general admission). Tickets at the gate will be $10 (reserved) and $8 (general admission).

UP NEXT

Virginia will begin its first of two straight road games as it travels to Elon on Saturday, Feb. 16 for a 1 p.m. opening draw.