Central Virginia Times

ACC Play Begins Friday for No. 17 Virginia in Chapel Hill

 No. 17 Virginia (12-0, 0-0 ACC) will open up its Atlantic Coast Conference slate this weekend with a three-game road series at No. 14 North Carolina (11-3, 0-0 ACC). . The series opener is scheduled for a 5 p.m. first pitch and Saturday’s doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m. All three games will air live on ACCNX.

HOW TO FOLLOWTV: ACCNX | RADIO: WINA 98.9 FM/1070 AM/WINA.com (Fri/Sat- 1) / Virginia Sports App/VirginiaSports.com (Sat – 2) / | LIVE STATS: VirginiaSports.com

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS

Friday – March 10, 5 p.m.Virginia: RHP Nick Parker (2-0, 4.60 ERA, 15.2 IP, 3 BB, 22 SO)North Carolina: RHP Max Carlson (0-0, 2.89 ERA, 18.2 IP, 5 BB, 21 SO)

Saturday – March 11, 1 p.m.Virginia: RHP Brian Edgington (3-0, 1.76 ERA, 15.1 IP, 3 BB, 22 SO)North Carolina: RHP Connor Bovair (1-0, 1.76 ERA, 15.1 IP, 7 BB, 14 SO)

Saturday – March 11, 45 mins after conclusion of game 1Virginia: RHP Jack O’Connor (1-0, 1.72 ERA, 15.2 IP, 8 BB, 14 SO)North Carolina: RHP Jake Knapp (2-0, 3.00 ERA, 15.0 IP, 5 BB, 13 SO)

LEADING OFF

• Virginia is one of three unbeaten teams remaining in college baseball – Alabama (14-0) & NC State (13-0). It marks the second-straight year, the Cavaliers are one of the last three undefeated teams in the country.
• UVA is ranked higher in five of the six major college baseball polls. D1Baseball is the only poll to list North Carolina higher (No. 14).
• This weekend marks the first time since 2017 that both Virginia and North Carolina are ranked in their annual Coastal Division showdown. Either Virginia and/or North Carolina has been nationally ranked when playing one another in each of the last 18 ACC series.
• Friday’s series opener will be UVA’s second true road game of the year and only third game away from Disharoon Park this season.
• Virginia is 12-0 for the fourth time under head coach Brian O’Connor (2009, 2013, 2022 & 2023. The Cavaliers won their first 14 games in 2009, 2013 & 2022 and have only been 15-0 to start the season once in program history (2009).
• The Cavaliers rank third in the country in team batting average (.365), fifth in team ERA (2.29) and sixth in fielding percentage (.988). Virginia is the team in the country to rank in the top 20 in all three categories.

NATIONALLY ACCLAIMED

• Virginia enters the weekend with the most doubles of any NCAA team with 39.
• The Cavaliers currently boast the third-highest scoring offense in the country, averaging 11.7 runs per game.
• UVA’s 161 hits are the seventh most of any team in the country. It has posted single-game hit efforts of 25 (vs. Longwood) and 20 (vs. Navy) this season.
• On the pitching side the Cavalier hurlers rank second in the country in shutouts (3), 13th in hits allowed per game (6.62), seventh in WHIP (1.01) and seventh in walks allowed per nine innings (2.46).

AGAINST THE HEELS

• North Carolina is the only opponent that Virginia has played 300 games against. The all-time series dates back to 1891 with the Tar Heels holding a 188-116-4 advantage.
• Virginia hasn’t taken a series in Chapel Hill since sweeping the Tar Heels in 2015.
• Head coach Brian O’Connor owns a 30-30 mark against North Carolina since taking over in 2004.
• The series was highlighted by a seesaw, 10-inning battle in the series-clinching game on Saturday. Devin Ortiz hit a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the tenth to punctuate a UVA victory.

Original source can be found here