The No. 1-ranked UVa baseball will play of pair of midweek games this week, traveling to VCU for a 7 p.m. Tuesday game at The Diamond in Richmond and playing host to Richmond at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Davenport Field.
Broadcast Information
wina 1070-AM and WINA.com will carry the live radio broadcast of both games; broadcasts also will be streamed online on VirginiaSports.com (available through a Cavaliers Live subscription). Links to VCU’s live video broadcast and live stats are available on VirginiaSports.com.
A video broadcast for the Wednesday game against Richmond is available on VirginiaSports.com through a Cavaliers Live subscription.
The Tuesday audio broadcast and Wednesday video broadcast also can be accessed through the Virginia Sports app, which is available through iTunes.
Virginia in the Latest National Rankings
Baseball America, NCBWA, Perfect Game, USA Today Coaches – 1
Collegiate Baseball – 2
Virginia Cavaliers (33-7, 16-5 ACC)
Probable Starting Pitchers
Tue. – Sr. RHP Artie Lewicki (3-0, 1.12 ERA)
Wed. – Fr. RHP Alec Bettinger (4-0, 1.46 ERA)
VCU Rams (28-9, 9-4 A-10)
Probable Starting Pitcher
RHP Daniel Concepcion (4-2, 4.04 ERA)
Richmond Spiders (15-21-1, 6-9 A-10)
Probable Starting Pitcher
TBA
Virginia-VCU Series
Virginia holds a 36-19 lead in its all-time series with VCU. UVa has won the last 13 meetings with the Rams, all during the tenure of the current coaching staff (since 2004). VCU’s last win against UVa came in 2003. The Cavaliers have won their last four trips to The Diamond, including an 11-3 victory last year. UVa also defeated VCU 17-3 last May in Charlottesville.
Virginia-Richmond Series
Virginia leads its series with Richmond, 80-58-2, and has won 11 straight games against the Spiders. UVa’s last loss against Richmond was March 3, 2003, when the Cavaliers were swept in a road doubleheader against UR. UVa is 10-0 against Richmond under head coach Brian O’Connor and defeated the Spiders 6-2 on April 23, 2013, in the teams’ last meeting, one year to the day of the game this season.
Virginia Against In-State Foes
Under the current coaching staff (since 2004), the Cavaliers have a 100-16-1 record against in-state opponents, including a 10-1 mark this year. UVa was 9-3 last year against foes from the commonwealth of Virginia in 2013.
Richmond Natives Return to Back Yard
Four Cavaliers hail from the Richmond vicinity. Nathan Kirby (Midlothian HS), Austin Young (Atlee HS), Tyler Allen (Powhatan (HS) and Jack Roberts (James River HS) each attended high school in the Richmond area.
Road Tests Await to End Regular Season
Virginia will play five of its final six games heading into finals break on the road. Eight of UVa’s final 14 regular-season games are away from home. Each of the eight road games are against top-60 RPI teams. UVa is 9-3 in true road games this season and 10-4 in games away from Davenport Field. The Cavaliers are 6-3 in ACC road games entering their big series against No. 4 Florida State in Tallahassee this weekend.
Noting VCU
Coming off a home series win over LaSalle, VCU boasts a potent offensive attack with a .315 team batting average. Eight regulars are batting over .300 while the nine regular starters all boast averages of at least .292. Chris Ayers leads the team in batting at .351, while James Bunn is hitting .344. The Rams have a 3.61 ERA as well as a .972 fielding percentage.
Scouting Richmond
Richmond is 15-21-1 following a three-game series sweep at Saint Louis last weekend; all three games were decided by two runs or fewer. Tanner Stanley leads the team in batting at .315, while Doug Kraeger is hitting .305; UR is batting .264 as a team. The Spiders own a 5.21 team ERA and a .959 fielding percentage.
Up Next
Virginia heads to No. 4 Florida State Friday through Sunday (April 25-27) for a three-game conference series. UVa then travels to Old Dominion next Tuesday (April 29) for a non-conference game at Harbor Park in the Cavaliers’ final contest before its exam break.
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Chris Graham
