Sitting at the top of the Coastal Division standings, just a half a game ahead of the Cavaliers, is No. 20 Duke, who will be paying a visit to Disharoon Park for a crucial three-game set Friday through Sunday.
After getting swept last weekend at Notre Dame, the Wahoos were facing a three-run deficit midway through the seventh inning Tuesday against Liberty when the Virginia bats began to heat up again. The Cavaliers (34-9, 12-9 ACC) reeled off seven unanswered runs to remain perfect in non-conference play this season, sweeping the Flames, 7-4.
Then on Wednesday, UVA registered 19 hits as part of a convincing, 13-4 win over visiting Towson. Junior catcher Kyle Teel went 5-for-5 against the Tigers, as his league-leading batting average climbed to .424.
“Certainly proud of our guys,” UVA coach Brian O’Connor said after Wednesday’s game. “You win back-to-back midweek games, that’s not easy to do, but our guys came ready to play and looking forward to ACC play again this weekend.”
The Hoos are now 22-0 in non-league contests in 2023, with three more such games on their schedule, all part of the current 11-game homestand.
Now, O’Connor’s squad will shift its attention over to the red-hot Blue Devils (29-12, 12-8), winners of their last seven games. Combined with the UVA losses to the Fighting Irish, Duke vaulted past the Cavaliers into first place in the Coastal with a three-game sweep of then-No. 12 Louisville last weekend in Durham, setting the stage for this weekend’s highly anticipated series.
Coach O’Connor will stick with his weekend rotation of Brian Edgington (Friday), Nick Parker (Saturday) and Jack O’Connor against the Blue Devils, who will counter with right-handers Alex Gow (3-2, 4.50 ERA) in Game 1 and Ryan Higgins (3-0, 2.97 ERA) in Game 2 (Duke has not revealed its Game 3 starter as of Thursday evening).
Edgington (6-2) ranks 10th in the conference with a 3.13 ERA, while Parker (3-0, 4.86 ERA), another grad transfer, continues to work his way back from taking a line drive to the face last month against Florida State. O’Connor (4-2, 3.65 ERA) has been impressive as well in his first collegiate season.
Offensively, the Cavaliers are still leading the ACC in batting average (.336), runs (398), hits (515), doubles (119), RBI (368) and total bases (814), while striking out a league-low 275 times. The 515 hits and 119 doubles both lead all Division I schools.
Teel also leads the ACC in hits (73; tied for first in the country), hits per game (1.70) and doubles (19; tied for first nationally). Second-year shortstop Griff O’Ferrall has also been extremely productive with his bat, as referenced by a .413 average and 71 hits. Teel and O’Ferrall’s combined 144 hits are the most among any duo in D-I baseball.
Junior third baseman Jake Gelof still leads the country in RBI with 68, and is on track to break his own UVA single-season record of 81, which he set last year. Gelof, who ranks second in the ACC with a team-high 17 home runs, needs just 20 more RBI to establish a new career school record. Steven Proscia (2009-11) holds the current mark with 182.
Sophomores Casey Saucke and Ethan Anderson, along with Northwestern transfer Ethan O’Donnell, will also be relied upon to help lead the offense against a Duke rotation that has given up the third-fewest hits in the ACC.
“We’ve always had great series with Duke,” said O’Connor. “They’ve got another really, really good ball club. They’re playing really hot as of late, and that’s because they have talent — both on the pitching staff and position-player wise. It appears to me that they’re playing very consistent, playing with a purpose, and certainly it’s going to take our best to win the series.
“We’ll look forward to Friday night and the opportunity that we have against a great ball club. We’re both right at the top of our division, and certainly this puts a lot of emphasis on this weekend with them.”
Duke’s pitching staff ranks second in the conference with a 3.42 ERA, just ahead of the Hoos (3.72), and have only allowed 27 home runs all season, fewest in the ACC (UVA has given up 55 of ‘em).
At the plate, Alex Mooney leads the Blue Devils with a .335 average, 47 runs scored and 55 hits on the season. Andrew Fischer ranks 10th in the conference with a slugging percentage of .669. Jay Beshears leads Duke with 43 runs driven in.
UVA has claimed the three-game series against Duke in 13 of the last 14 matchups since 1991, including taking two of three in Durham a year ago.
The Devils have two more ACC series left after facing the Hoos, hosting Georgia Tech May 12-14 before closing out their regular season at No. 16 Miami the following weekend. The Hurricanes enter Friday tied with Virginia for second place in the division at 12-9.
For fans planning on attending one or more games at The Dish this weekend, don’t be shocked if weather conditions affect first-pitch times, or cause delays throughout the contests. Rain is expected to fall up until about 6 p.m. Friday, just two hours prior to the scheduled start time of 8 p.m. Friday’s game will be broadcast on ACC Network, weather permitting.
Clearer skies are in the forecast for Saturday (4 p.m. first pitch), with a 90-percent chance of showers on Sunday (1 p.m.). Cavalier fans are encouraged to sign up for UVA Baseball text alerts (text HOOSBASE to 226787) for updates throughout the weekend.
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