The No. 1-ranked UVa. baseball team travels to fourth-ranked Florida State Friday through Sunday (April 25-27) for a three-game series at Dick Howser Stadium. The marquee matchup, featuring the preseason favorites in the ACC Atlantic and Coastal Divisions, opens at 6 p.m. Friday and continues with games at 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
The teams are tied with Miami atop the ACC standings with 16-5 league records with three weekends of ACC competition remaining.
Broadcast Information
ESPN3 will air video broadcasts of all three contests online, while a live audio broadcast will be available for all three games through a Cavaliers Live subscription on VirginiaSports.com. WINA 1070-AM and WINA.com will carry the live radio broadcast of all three games. SiriusXM Radio will carry the Saturday game on Channel 91.
The Saturday game also will air across several stations along the Virginia Sports Radio Network: 1340-AM (Petersburg), 97.9 FM (Lynchburg), 94.3 FM (Staunton) and 1370 AM (Martinsville).
Live statistics (GameTracker) also will be located on VirginiaSports.com. The audio and live stats also can be accessed through the Virginia Sports app, which is available through iTunes.
Virginia Cavaliers (35-7, 16-5 ACC)
Probable Starting Rotation
Fri. – So. LHP Nathan Kirby (8-1, 1.36 ERA)
Sat. – So. RHP Josh Sborz (4-2, 2.81 ERA)
Sun. – So. LHP Brandon Waddell (5-2, 2.93 ERA)
Florida State Seminoles (32-9, 16-5 ACC)
Probable Starting Rotation
Fri. – Jr. RHP Luke Weaver (6-3, 2.83 ERA)
Sat. – R-So. RHP Mike Compton (3-1, 3.70 ERA)
Sun. – Jr. LHP Bryant Holtmann (5-0, 3.24 ERA)
Virginia in the Latest National Rankings
Baseball America, NCBWA, Perfect Game, USA Today Coaches – 1
Collegiate Baseball – 2
Covering the Cavaliers
Virginia continues to lead the ACC in ERA (2.03) and fielding (.984). The Cavaliers rank fifth in the conference with a .277 team batting average.
Nathan Kirby leads the league in wins (8), ERA (1.36) and opponent batting average (.159), while Nick Howard tops the conference in saves (13).
Odds and Ends
• Virginia has won 280 games since 2009 (best in Division I).
• UVa is tied with Cal Poly for the second most wins in Division I (La.-Lafayette, 37).
• UVa is one of three teams to not have a losing weekend this year (Louisiana-Lafayette, Cal Poly).
• The Cavaliers have won 17 games this year when scoring five runs or fewer.
• UVa is 10-3 in one-run games, including 8-2 in league play.
Virginia-Florida State Series
Florida State owns a 48-24 edge in the all-time series against Virginia, including a 26-5 advantage in games played in Tallahassee. Virginia has won four of its last five series against FSU. The Cavaliers have won 13 of the last 19 meetings, including four straight victories last year (three-game sweep in Charlottesville and 7-4 win in 12 innings in ACC Tournament).
Ten of the last 15 meetings have been determined by three runs or fewer.
Road Tests Await to End Regular Season
Virginia will play its final four games heading into finals break on the road. Seven of UVa’s final 12 regular-season games are away from home. All of the road games are against top-50 RPI teams.
UVa is 10-3 in true road games this season and 11-4 in games away from Davenport Field. The Cavaliers are 6-3 in ACC road games, taking each series two games to one.
Fisher Returns to Lineup
Starting outfielder Derek Fisher returned to the Cavaliers’ lineup Sunday against North Carolina. He owns home runs in back-to-back games and is 4-for-12 since returning.
Fisher missed 25 games because of a broken hamate bone in his right wrist; he suffered the injury during the Duke series and had surgery on Monday, March 17. A 2014 Preseason All-American, Fisher started each of the Cavaliers’ first 14 games this season in left field.
Noting Florida State
Florida State is 19-3 this year at Dick Howser Stadium, including an 8-1 mark in league play. DJ Stewart leads ACC in batting at .359; he also has a team-high seven home runs and 47 hits this season. Casey Smit is batting 330, while John Nogowski stands at .310 for FSU, which is batting .283 as a team which is second in the ACC.
The Seminoles own a 3.06 team ERA (fourth in ACC) and field at a .968 clip (seventh in ACC).
Up Next
Virginia heads to Norfolk, Va., on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. game with Old Dominion at Harbor Park, home of the Norfolk Tides, the triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. The contest marks the Cavaliers’ final game before a week-long break for final exams; UVa is next in action May 9 at home against Liberty.
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Chris Graham
