The Virginia baseball team opens NCAA tournament action Friday (June 2) at 4 p.m. ET against Dallas Baptist in the opening game of the NCAA Fort Worth Regional.
Junior righthander Derek Casey (4-2, 3.78 ERA) will get the start for the Cavs.
The double-elimination tournament is hosted by No. 6 national seed TCU, which battles Central Connecticut State in the nightcap Friday at 9 p.m. ET.
The losing teams from Friday meet at 3 p.m. Saturday in an elimination game, while Friday’s winners square off at 8 p.m. ET. The second elimination game is slated for 4 p.m. Sunday, with the championship game at 9 p.m. Sunday. If necessary, a second championship game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday.
Broadcast Information
ESPNU has the Friday broadcast, while the television broadcasts the remainder of the weekend will be announced following the conclusion of play each day. All games in the tournament will be streamed online via ESPN3, WatchESPN and the ESPN app.
WINA Radio (1070-AM/98.9-FM) has the live radio broadcasts. Links to live statistics also can be found on VirginiaSports.com.
Things to Know
• The Fort Worth Regional features three of the nation’s winningest teams from the 2010s: No. 1 Virginia (373), No. 7 TCU (356) and No. 22 DBU (311).
• Virginia is 27-19 away from home all-time in NCAA tournament play (23-15 neutral, 4-4 road).
• Virginia recorded its most regular-season wins since 2014 and has its 11th 40-win season in the last 14 years.
• UVA ranks fifth nationally in batting (.324) and has five players among the ACC’s top 20 in batting.
• Pavin Smith owns a UVA-record 72 RBI this year and ranks second in career RBI with 173.
• Adam Haseley has reached base safely in 54 of 55 games, including a current streak of 37 straight (most at UVA since Dan Grovatt – 43 in 2009).
• UVA has hit 60 home runs – second most in the O’Connor era and tied for fourth most in school history.
The Basics
The Cavaliers are ranked 11th nationally this week in the USA Today Coaches poll. TCU is No. 7 in that poll, while Dallas Baptist is receiving votes. UVA leads the ACC in batting at .324, which ranks fifth nationally. The Cavaliers rank seventh in the ACC in ERA (4.04) and sixth in fielding (.974). UVA is ninth nationally in scoring at 7.9 runs per game.
Virginia in the NCAA Baseball Championship
Competing in its 17th NCAA tournament, Virginia is 53-36 in NCAA play. UVA owns six regional championships (2009, ‘10, ‘11, ‘13, ‘14, ‘15). UVA is 41-20 in the NCAA tournament since 2009, the second-most NCAA wins in that span (Vanderbilt, 46). Under Brian O’Connor (since 2004), UVA is 47-30 in the NCAA tournament and 32-21 in regional play.
UVA advanced to the College World Series in 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2015, taking runner-up honors to Vanderbilt in the 2014 CWS Finals before winning the program’s first national championship in 2015 in a finals rematch with Vandy.
Virginia One of Four Schools in Last 14 NCAA Tournaments
Virginia is one of four Division I baseball programs to reach the NCAA tournament each of the last 14 seasons (including 2017). The top current NCAA tournament streaks: Florida State (40), Cal State Fullerton (26), Rice (23) and Virginia (14). The UVA streak is tied for the 12th longest in Division I Baseball history.
A Lone Star Welcome
Virginia is playing its first games in program history in the state of Texas. UVA has never played Dallas Baptist, and its lone game against TCU came in the 2014 College World Series, a 3-2 Cavalier win in 15 innings. UVA played a three-game home series against Central Connecticut in 2004 in Brian O’Connor’s first year at Virginia, with the Cavaliers sweeping the series.
2017 NCAA Fort Worth Regional Schedule (all times Eastern and subject to change)
Friday, June 2
Game 1 – No. 2 Virginia (42-14) vs. No. 3 Dallas Baptist (40-19), 4 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 2 – No. 1 TCU (42-16) vs. No. 4 Central Connecticut State (36-20), 9 p.m. (ESPN3)
Saturday, June 3
Game 3 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 3 p.m.
Game 4 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 8 p.m.
Sunday, June 4
Game 5 – Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 4 p.m.
Game 6 – Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 4, 9 p.m.
Monday, June 5
Game 7 – Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary), 7 p.m.
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