Baseball: No. 13 UVA hosts No. 20 Duke in crucial Coastal Division series

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Posted on Friday, Apr. 28, 2023, 1:29 pm

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Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Photo: UVA Athletics

No. 13 Virginia will host a three-game series against No. 20 Duke at Disharoon Park. The series opener is scheduled for Friday at 8 p.m. and will broadcast live on ACC Network.

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: ACC Network (Friday) | ACCNX (Saturday & Sunday)
RADIO: WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM/WINA.com) – Friday & Saturday only
LIVE STATS: VirginiaSports.com

WEEKEND PROMOS

Friday: Pajama Night – Youth Pillowcase Giveaway, UVA Student Fanny Pack Giveaway, Sabre Rewards Night
Saturday: Beach Party – Beachnik Giveaway to first 1,000 fans
Sunday: Youth Day

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP

Friday – 8 p.m.
Duke: RHP Alex Gow (3-2, 4.50 ERA, 38.0 IP, 20 BB, 42 SO)
Virginia: RHP Brian Edgington (6-2, 3.13 ERA, 54.2 IP, 17 BB, 55 SO)

Saturday – 4 p.m.
Duke: RHP Ryan Higgins (3-0, 2.97 ERA, 30.1 IP, 9 BB, 27 SO)
Virginia: RHP Nick Parker (3-0, 4.86 ERA, 37.0 IP, 14 BB, 46 SO)

Sunday – 1 p.m.
Duke: TBA
Virginia: RHP Jack O’Connor (4-2, 3.65 ERA, 37.0 IP, 14 BB, 46 SO)

TEXT ALERTS
Game officials are closely monitoring this weekend’s weather and will adjust game times in the event of inclement weather in the forecast. Sign up for UVA Baseball Text Alerts to receive latest baseball schedule changes. Text HOOSBASE to 226787

LEADING OFF

  • Duke (29-12, 12-8 ACC) will be the fourth nationally ranked team on UVA’s schedule this year. UVA boasts a 7-2 record against top-25 teams this season and are 3-0 against nationally ranked foes at home in 2023. The Cavaliers’ next ACC series is May 12-14 against Louisville, currently No. 21 in the D1Baseball national poll.
  • Virginia (No. 6) and Duke (No. 12) both rank in the top-15 in RPI. Along with Wake Forest (No. 3) and Boston College (No. 13), the ACC has four teams in the top-15.
  • UVA’s 34 wins this season are tied for the second-most in the country and trail only Wake Forest’s 35. Virginia was the first team in college baseball to eclipse the 30-win mark with a 16-4 win over Mount St. Mary’s on April 12.
  • UVA’s .791 winning percentage is the fifth highest of any program in the country. UVA is one of six teams nationally without double-digit losses.
  • Virginia and Duke are both ranked in the top-10 in team ERA. The Blue Devils are ranked fourth with a 3.42 ERA while the Cavaliers sport a 3.57 ERA, the seventh lowest in the country.
  • UVA is the only team in the country to rank in the top-15 in BOTH batting average (2nd – .335) and ERA (7th – 3.57)

HOME COOKING

  • Virginia (34-9, 12-9) boasts a 25-2 mark at home this season and is tied with Arkansas, Tennessee and Texas Tech for the most home wins in the country. Texas Tech is the only one of the four teams on the road this weekend.
  • UVA has won 25 or more games at home 14 of the last 20 seasons under head coach Brian O’Connor.
  • The Cavaliers have won over 77 percent of their games (562-167) at Disharoon Park since the facility opened in 2002.
  • UVA is amid an 11-game homestand, the longest stint at home this season. After returning home from Notre Dame, UVA will not leave the Commonwealth for 23 days until its final road series of the regular season against Georgia Tech (May 18-20).

AGAINST THE BLUE DEVILS

  • Virginia is 106-66-1 against Duke in an all-time series that was first played in 1926, an 8-2 Cavalier victory. Friday’s meeting will be the 173rd all-time meeting between the two schools.
  • UVA has 100 all-time wins against five schools, Duke (106), North Carolina (116), Virginia Tech (107), Maryland (113) and VMI (109).
  • Virginia has won 13 of the 14 ACC three-game series against Duke dating back to 1991.
  • The Cavaliers opened up ACC play last season by taking two out of three against the Blue Devils in Durham. UVA clinched the series with a 13-1 win over Duke in the opening game of a Sunday doubleheader. The Blue Devils halted UVA’s 14-game win streak and avoided the series sweep with a 7-6 win in the nightcap.

MIDWEEK SUCCESS

  • The Cavaliers went 2-0 in the midweek with a 7-4 win over Liberty on Tuesday and a 13-4 victory over Towson on Wednesday.
  • The potent Cavalier offense was held hitless over the first five innings against Liberty and trailed 4-1 after six innings. UVA scored seven unanswered runs to come away with the victory. UVA had lost its previous 24 games when trailing after six innings dating back to last season.
  • The Cavaliers pounded out 19 hits against Towson on Wednesday, the fifth time UVA has recorded 19 or more hits in a game this season. Kyle Teel became the third Cavalier since 2013 and the second this season to record five hits in a game.
  • Virginia is 22-0 this season against non-conference opponents and has won 26-straight regular season games against non-conference foes dating back to last season. The Cavaliers are the only team in the country without a loss in non-conference play in 2023.

OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER

  • Virginia enters the weekend No. 1 in the country in hits (515) and doubles (120). The Cavaliers .335 team batting average is the second highest of any team in NCAA D-I.
  • The Cavaliers have scored 399 runs this season the third-most of any team in the nation and are averaging 9.3 runs per game, the most in the ACC and the seventh-most in the country.
  • There are 37 players in D-I baseball batting over the .400 mark, two of them are in the Cavalier lineup – Kyle Teel (.424) and Griff O’Ferrall (.413). UVA is one of four schools with multiple players batting .400 (Omaha – 2, Sam Houston – 2, Wofford – 2).
  • No other duo in the country has more hits combined than Teel (73) and O’Ferrall (71). Teel is in a three-way tie for the national lead in hits.
  • Virginia has struck out 275 times as a team this season, the fewest of any team in the ACC.
  • Virginia has the fourth largest scoring/run differential in the country.

 Highest DI Scoring Margin/Run Differential

1. Wake Forest +6.2
2. South Carolina +5.7
3. LSU +5.5
4. Virginia +5.2
5. Campbell +4.9

ON THE MOUND

  • The Cavalier pitching staff boasts the seventh-lowest team ERA (3.57) in the country.
  • Of the 384 strikeouts (8th most in NCAA) recorded by Cavalier pitching, 146 have come looking, the most of any staff in the country.
  • The Cavalier hurlers also boast college baseball’s 8th-best strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.15) and rank 14th in WHIP (1.29).
  • Brian Edgington has gone five or more innings in eight of his 10 starts this season. He’s seeking his seventh win which would establish a new career-high in his fifth year of college baseball.
  • Edgington comes into Friday night with the ninth-lowest ERA in the ACC. Among active pitchers, his 241 career strikeouts are tied with LSU’s Paul Skenes for the 16h most in the college baseball. Only Rhett Lowder has more career Ks than Edgington of active ACC pitchers.
  • The Cavaliers are 7-2 in games that Nick Parker has started this season, only dropping a 6-4 decision against Pitt and a one-run loss last weekend at Notre Dame.
  • Parker has allowed 12 earned runs in ACC play this season, tied for the eighth-fewest among qualified ACC pitchers. Only one of the four runs that crossed against him at Notre Dame was earned in 4.2 innings of work, his longest outing since returning from injury.
  • Jack O’Connor got the nod in the opening game of last Sunday’s doubleheader at Notre Dame and struck out six over four innings of work. Five of the 10 hits he allowed went for extra bases, including a pair of homers.
  • O’Connor’s 3.65 ERA is the third lowest of any power-5 freshman this season and ranks 11th in the ACC.

PLAYER NOTABLES

  • Expected to make his 102nd-straight start as UVA’s catcher on Friday, Teelleads the ACC in batting average (.424), doubles (19), hits (73) and hits per game (1.70). He reached base safely in all but two games this season. Teel is in a three-way tie for the national lead in hits (Jonah Cox – Oral Roberts; Ryan Galanie – Wofford).
  • Casey Saucke has put together a multi-hit effort in five of the last six games and is 11 for 23 with eight runs scored, a home run and five RBI in that span. He game UVA one of its two leads in the series finale at Notre Dame with an opposite field, two-run homer.
  • Sophomore Griff O’Ferrall started all 101 of UVA’s games at shortstop the past two seasons and batted leadoff in 100 of them. He has scored a run in 19 of his last 21 games and ranks second in the ACC with 53 runs scored. O’Ferrall lead the team and ranks sixth in the ACC with 14 stolen bases. He’s been successful in 31 of his 34 career attempts (91 percent), the second highest of any Cavalier with over 30 stolen bases.
  • Ethan Anderson moved into second on the team in RBI with a four-RBI night against Towson, upping his season total to 44. He ranks fourth in the ACC in hits (67) and seventh in the ACC in RBI (44).

GELOF CHASING MORE HISTORY

  • Despite being limited to one RBI in his last four games, Jake Gelof maintains his national RBI lead with 68.
  • Already the program’s single-season record holder in RBI with 81 last season, he’s looking to become the first Cavalier with two seasons of 70 or more RBI. Currently only Gelof and UVA Baseball Hall of Famer Phil Gosselin are the only two Cavaliers to have two seasons of 60 or more RBI.

 Most RBI in Single Season in UVA History

1. 81 – Jake Gelof – 2022
2. 77 – Pavin Smith – 2017
3. 71 – Alex Tappen – 2022
4. 68 – Jake Gelof – 2023
5. 67 – Kenny Towns – 2015
67 – Joe Koshansky – 2004

Most Career RBI in UVA History

1. Steven Proscia (2009-11) 182
2. Pavin Smith (2015-17) 178
3. Sean Doolittle (2005-07) 167
4. Ryan Gilleland (1995-98) 166
Bill Narleski (1984-87) 166
6. Jake Gelof (2021-present) 163