UVA Baseball first among all non-SEC host sites in regional attendance

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Posted on Wednesday, Jun. 7, 2023, 11:31 pm

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By Jerry Ratcliffe

Photo: UVA Athletics

Of the 16 hosts of NCAA Baseball regionals last weekend, Virginia finished seventh in total attendance and first among all four ACC host sites. UVA also led among all non-SEC hosts in both total attendance and home game average attendance.

A total of 29,755 fans crammed into Disharoon Park for six games last weekend, Virginia playing in three of those. The Cavaliers averaged 5,775 fans in each of those three games vs. Army and two contests against East Carolina.

Clemson drew 27,403 fans in its regional, Miami 16,501 and Wake Forest 12,638.

“The UVA fans were great for us this entire weekend,” said Coach Brian O’Connor. “You can definitely see how well we played just because our fans are there supporting us. In big moments, you hear them going nuts for us. This is why we invested $25 million in a stadium renovation a few years ago, so we could host this many fans for big games.”

Virginia reached a capacity of 5,919 for both its games against ECU. The Cavaliers host Duke in an NCAA Super Regional this weekend beginning at noon on Friday. The weekend is sold out.

LSU won the attendance battle in the opening weekend, no surprise for the top-rated program in the country, as the Tigers drew 69,293.

Arkansas was second with 63,345, followed by four other SEC schools: Florida 41,789; South Carolina 36,037; Kentucky 33,919; and Alabama 63,345.

According to one betting site, Virginia has a good chance of winning the College World Series. Of course, the Cavaliers have to win this weekend to advance.

O’Connor’s team has been given an 8-1 chance of winning the CWS by betonline.com, the fourth-best odds of the 16 remaining teams.

Wake Forest is rated a 3-1 favorite to win the CWS, followed by LSU at 5-1, and Florida 6-1. UVA’s upcoming opponent, Duke, is rated at 33-1.