Home Game Notes: No. 11 UVA baseball heads to No. 10 Clemson
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Game Notes: No. 11 UVA baseball heads to No. 10 Clemson

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uva baseballThe No. 11 UVA baseball team hits the road for the second straight weekend to open ACC play, taking on No. 10 Clemson Friday through Sunday (March 17-19) in a three-game series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson, S.C. It marks UVA’s first trip to Clemson since the 2013 season.

VIRGINIA CAVALIERS (14-3, 1-2 ACC)
Probable Starting Rotation
Fri. – So. LHP Daniel Lynch (3-1, 5.73 ERA)
Sat. – So. RHP Evan Sperling (3-1, 4.22 ERA)
Sun. – Jr. LHP Adam Haseley (3-0, 2.16 ERA)

CLEMSON TIGERS (14-3, 3-0 ACC)
Probable Starting Rotation
Fri. – Jr. LHP Charlie Barnes (1-1, 0.69 ERA)
Sat. – So. RHP Alex Eubanks (2-1, 2.96 ERA)
Sun. – Sr. LHP Pat Krall (2-0, 5.14 ERA)

Broadcast Information
The Saturday game will be broadcast by the ACC’s Regional Sports Networks (Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic) in Charlottesville and Virginia). All three games will air on ACC Network Extra, which is available to authenticated subscribers of ESPN3 through WatchESPN and the ESPN app.

The Saturday and Sunday games will be broadcast on WINA 1070-AM and 98.9-FM in the Charlottesville area, while the audio for all three games will be streamed on VirginiaSports.com. A link to live statistics also can be found on VirginiaSports.com.

Things To Know
• Adam Haseley in sixth in the ACC in batting average and 11th in ERA.
• UVA owns a .979 fielding percentage (second in ACC).
• The UVA defense has turned 19 double plays this year (fourth in ACC).
• Jake McCarthy leads the ACC and is second nationally with 13 stolen bases.

Virginia and Clemson Renew Rivalry
Clemson holds a 104-53 edge in the series with Virginia. UVA has won its last seven series and eight of the last nine against Clemson during the Brian O’Connor era, as UVA is 25-7 (.781) against the Tigers during that span.

The teams have not played in the regular season since 2014, while the last meeting at Clemson was in 2013 (UVA has won eight of its last 10 at Clemson). Clemson downed UVA, 5-4, last season in pool play in the ACC tournament.

Digging the Long Ball
Virginia already has ripped 19 home runs, its most homers through 17 games in the Brian O’Connor era. The Cavaliers did not hit their 19th homer last year until April 17 (38th game). Eight Cavaliers have gone yard this year.

Consistent Haseley Paces Offense
Adam Haseley is off to a strong start to the 2017 campaign, putting up team highs in batting (.400), extra-base hits (12) and on base percentage (.500) while hitting in the 3-hole. Haseley owns a team-high seven home runs – six of which have gone to the opposite field. That marks the most home runs for a UVA player at this point in the season since Joe Koshansky hit seven in the first 17 games in 2004. He has reached base safely in every game this season and 22 straight dating to 2016. Haseley also is 3-0 with a 2.16 ERA in 25 innings on the mound.

Cavaliers Ignite Running Game
Virginia is 31-for-33 in base thievery this year (tied for ACC high). Jake McCarthy has an ACC-best 13 steals, more than double what any Cavalier had in the entire 2016 season (Ernie Clement led team with six). McCarthy is second nationally in stolen bases to Campbell’s Drew Butler (17). It also is the most steals for a UVA player since Jared King had 13 in 2012.

UVA stole 27 bases in 60 games last year, its fewest stolen bases during the Brian O’Connor era.

Noting Clemson
Clemson is 14-3 on the year after a two-game midweek sweep over Yale. The Tigers swept Notre Dame last weekend to open ACC play. Reigning ACC and National Player of the Year Seth Beer leads the team with five home runs, while Chase Pinder tops the team in batting at .393. Clemson is batting .274 as a team. The Tigers’ pitching staff has been strong, posting a 2.89 ERA while limiting opponents to a .232 batting average.

Up Next
Virginia returns home to Davenport Field Tuesday and Wednesday (March 21-22) for a two-game midweek series against Towson before playing host to Duke next weekend (March 24-26) in a three-game ACC series.

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