Series Notes: #11 Virginia, #7 Virginia Tech set to battle at The Dish

No. 11 Virginia (32-10, 13-8 ACC) will host No. 7 Virginia Tech (29-9, 12-7 ACC) in the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash at Disharoon Park beginning Friday at 6 p.m. The three-game series continues Saturday with a 4 p.m. first pitch and concludes on Sunday at 1 p.m. All three games will air on ACCNX and WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM).

Weekend Promotions

Friday: UVA students will be allowed to enter the stadium at 4:30 p.m. for a tailgate that features free BBQ sandwiches, chips and Pepsi products on the right field porch. It will be a Sabre Rewards event and the first 200 students in attendance will receive a free koozie.

Saturday: The Virginia baseball program will retire the No. 11 in a special pregame ceremony at approximately 3:30 p.m. Every fan in attendance will receive a free Ryan Zimmerman Shirsey and the first 500 fans can pick up a voucher at either the RF plaza entrance or the Klöckner Ticket Office gate to get an exclusive Ryan Zimmerman Bobblehead. Gates will be open to the public at 2:30 p.m. Fans can also enjoy an $8 combo deal offer that includes a hot dog, chips and 20 oz soda throughout the game on Saturday. The food trucks Sombrero’s and Got Dumplings will also be stationed near the left field entrance.

Sunday: Youth Day at the Dish will feature an inflatable obstacle course/slide in left field, a balloon artist, poster giveaway, and kids can run the bases as well as collect autographs from the Cavaliers after the game.

Game Coverage

ACCNX is available to authenticated subscribers of ACC Network via ESPN.com and the ESPN app. Additionally the contest can be heard locally in Charlottesville on WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM) or anywhere on WINA.com. Links to live stats can be found on VirginiaSports.com. Fans can get in-game updates on the team’s official twitter page (@UVABaseball).

Probable Starting Pitchers

Friday – 6 p.m.

• Virginia Tech: RHP Griffin Green (6-1, 3.44 ERA, 52.1 IP, 15 BB, 43 SO)
• Virginia: LHP Nate Savino (4-3, 3.76 ERA, 55.0 IP, 19 BB, 59 SO)

Saturday – 4 p.m. (Gates open at 2:30 p.m.)

• Virginia Tech: RHP Drue Hackenberg (8-0, 2.10 ERA, 60.0 IP, 10 BB, 55 SO)
• Virginia: LHP Brian Gursky (6-0, 2.47 ERA, 47.1 IP, 23 BB, 57 SO)

Sunday – 1 p.m.

• Virginia Tech: TBA
• Virginia: LHP Jake Berry (5-2, 3.95 ERA, 41.0 IP, 15 BB, 55 SO)

Series Notes

• Virginia and Virginia Tech are both ranked for the in their annual regular season meeting for the first time since 2010. The Cavaliers were the No. 1 team in the country at the time taking on a then 20th ranked Hokie club.
• The weekend series will feature two of the top hitting teams in the country. UVA is currently hitting .323 as team, the third-best batting average in the country. Virginia Tech ranks fourth nationally with a .320 average.
• UVA is 24-2 at home this season and has won 77 percent of its games at Disharoon Park since the facility opened in 2002.
• Virginia remained at No. 11 in this week’s D1Baseball.com top-25. The Cavaliers are ranked has high as No. 5 (Baseball America) and as low as No. 16 (Collegiate Baseball Newspaper) among the major polls.

UVA Notes

• Virginia is the No. 2 scoring offense in the country, averaging 9.7 runs per game. The Cavaliers have totaled 409 runs in 42 games, second only to UNLV’s 421.
• The Cavaliers have scored 10 or more runs in a game 21 times this season, including 19 of the 26 games at Disharoon Park in 2022.
• Virginia has scored five or more runs in a single inning 23 times this season. The seven runs in the 10th against UNC last Saturday marked the ninth time UVA has scored seven or more in a single frame.

Virginia Tech Notes

• Spotlight Sluggers:  Two of the nation’s top sluggers will collide at Davenport Field this weekend when Virginia Tech’s Jack Hurleycrosses bats with Virginia’s Jake Gelof. While Hurley leads the ACC with the country’s fourth best batting average (.430), Gelof ranks sixth nationally in slugging percentage (.822) – three positions ahead of his Blacksburg counterpart. With a pair of two-baggers hit during Wednesday’s 11-8 victory against James Madison, Hurley became the first Tech player since 2017 to eclipse 20 doubles (Tom Stoffel), putting him in a tie for second nationally this season behind UNLV’s Joey Walls (22). Where Hurley has edged Gelof in doubles, Gelof has outperformed him in home runs, rounding the bases 16 times to Hurley’s 11 trips. Behind Hurley and Gelof are two equally dominant lineups in the Hokies and the Cavaliers. Virginia Tech’s .320 team batting average ranks as the fourth highest in the country – one position behind third-ranked Virginia (.323).
• All We Do Is Win:  Virginia Tech is chasing its first 30-win season since 2013 when the Hokies posted a 40-22 record on their way to hosting the NCAA Blacksburg Regional. Tech’s 29 victories this season are the most the program has achieved under fifth-year head coach John Szefc, who has eclipsed 30 wins on 10 occasions. Since March 19, the Hokies have won 19 of their last 22 games, including a 12-3 mark against the ACC and a 7-3 record against opponents ranked in D1Baseball’s top 25. During the stretch, weekend starters Griffin Green and Drue Hackenberg have combined to lead Tech to a 10-0 record during their appearances. Heading into the Virginia series, Hackenberg is one of six NCAA Division I pitchers with a record of 8-0 or better and has thrown the most innings (60) among freshmen with eight or more winning decisions this season.