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Battle For ACC Coastal Division Supremacy Begins Friday

Published

2 years ago

April 7, 2023

Battle For ACC Coastal Division Supremacy Begins Friday

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 7 Virginia (25-4, 8-4 ACC) will host a three-game sequence towards No. 20 Miami (20-9, 8-4 ACC) this weekend at Disharoon Park. Each the Cavaliers and Hurricanes are in a tie for first place within the ACC Coastal Division. First pitch for the sequence opener on Friday (April 7) is scheduled for six p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: ACCNX
RADIO: Fri: Virginia Sports activities App/VirginiaSports.com | Sat/Solar: WINA – 98.9 FM/1070 AM/WINA.com
LIVE STATS: VirginiaSports.com

WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
Friday

Customized Virginia Baseball Decal Giveaway (go to the advertising and marketing desk)
Glad Hour – $5 scorching canine/drink combo starting at 5 p.m. and concluding by way of the first inning.
“Inform Me One thing Good Friday” – Be looking out for random acts of kindness, together with prizes and concessions vouchers for followers all through the sport.

Saturday

Youth Day – Deliver any and all younger Cavaliers to Saturday’s recreation. Get pleasure from inflatables, a balloon artist, face painter and extra.
Postgame Easter Egg Hunt – For all youth eighth grade and underneath within the outfield after the sport

Sunday

Postgame autographs and youngsters run the bases after the sport.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday – 6 p.m.
Miami: RHP Gage Ziehl (4-3, 4.58 ERA, 39.1 IP, 12 BB, 48 SO)
Virginia: RHP Brian Edgington (5-0, 1.64 ERA, 38.1 IP, 12 BB, 43 SO)

Saturday – 1 p.m.
Miami: RHP Alejandro Rosario (2-3, 8.27 ERA, 32.2 IP, 19 BB, 43 SO)
Virginia: RHP Nick Parker (3-0, 4.32 ERA, 25.0 IP, 10 BB, 34 SO)

Sunday – 1 p.m.
Miami: TBA (n/a)
Virginia: RHP Jack O’Connor (2-1, 3.27 ERA, 33.0 IP, 15 BB, 28 SO)

LEADING OFF

The winner of this weekend’s sequence will take over sole possession of first place within the ACC Coastal Division. Miami was picked to win the Coastal Division and Virginia was picked to complete second within the ACC Preseason Coaches Ballot.
The Cavaliers have gained all 17 video games at dwelling this season and 18-straight relationship again to final season. A win within the sequence opener would tie UVA’s program file of 19-straight dwelling wins established final season.
A sequence victory this weekend would mark the primary time UVA has gained double-digit ACC video games by way of its first 15 ACC video games since 2013 and the fifth time in program historical past.
Miami would be the first ranked opponent to go to Disharoon Park this season. UVA is 4-2 towards ranked foes in 2023. The final matchup of two ranked groups at The Dish was final season in a three-game sequence that featured then-No. 7 Virginia and then-No. 11 Virginia Tech.
Virginia gained its twenty fifth recreation of the 12 months on Tuesday and is considered one of six groups within the nation with 25 or extra wins. UVA’s 4 losses are the second fewest within the nation, solely 5 school baseball packages have 4 or fewer losses.
Friday commences an eight-game homestand for the Cavaliers. Of the subsequent 23 video games on the schedule for Virginia, 19 might be performed at Disharoon Park. UVA has seven true street video games left to play this season.
Virginia comes into the weekend because the nationwide chief in hits (349) and doubles (83).
As a workforce, the Cavaliers rank second the nation in workforce batting common (.333), fourth in ERA (3.09) and eleventh in fielding proportion (.981). UVA is the one workforce in school baseball to rank within the top-10 within the nation in each ERA and batting common. Solely Virginia and consensus No. 1 LSU are the one groups within the nation to at the moment rank within the top-20 in workforce batting common, ERA and fielding proportion.

DOUSING THE FLAMES

Virginia held Liberty scoreless for the primary seven innings and held on for a 4-1 victory in Lynchburg on Tuesday. A season-high seven pitchers mixed to strike out 12 batters within the contest.
Freshman Cullen McKay made his first collegiate begin and struck out a season-high six batters in three innings pitched.
The Cavaliers scored all 4 of its runs with two outs.
UVA improved to 16-0 towards non-conference opponents in 2023 and have gained their final 20 video games towards non-ACC foes relationship again to final season. Virginia’s final misplaced to a non-conference workforce got here on April 19, 2022, a 9-7 extra-inning loss at VCU.

AGAINST MIAMI

The all-time sequence towards Miami has been a story of two eras. From 2010-2017, Virginia gained 19-of-27 matchups towards the Hurricanes together with eight straight video games from 2011-2013. The pendulum has swung again in favor of Miami which has gained 12 of the final 13 conferences. Of these 13 conferences, seven have been determined by one or two runs.
The Hurricanes personal a 37-29 benefit within the all-time sequence that was first performed in 1985, an NCAA regional matchup in Coral Gables.
Since becoming a member of the ACC full time in 2005, the Hurricanes maintain a slight, 24-28 edge ACC common season motion.

ON THE MOUND

With the return of Nick Parker to the rotation, Virginia can have used the trio of Edgington, Parker and O’Connor in seven of the eight weekend sequence this season.
Brian Edgington will make his third series-opening begin of the season and is coming off considered one of his greatest performances of the 12 months final weekend at Virginia Tech. The righthander fanned eight batters over six innings of labor and didn’t permit an earned run. It was his staff-best, third high quality begin of the season.
Edgington enters Friday with 229 profession strikeouts, second to solely Rhett Lowder (237) for essentially the most by an lively ACC pitcher. Edgington and Parker have essentially the most profession strikeouts of any pitching duo within the nation with a mixed 445.
Parker returns to the mound after exiting within the first inning of recreation one towards Florida State when a line drive struck him within the head. In 5 of his six begins this season, he has pitched at the very least 4 innings, with FSU being the lone exception.
Parker has 46 profession begins to his credit score over the course of his collegiate profession at Coastal Carolina and UVA, the second most of any lively pitcher in D-I baseball.
First 12 months Jack O’Connor will make his eighth-straight Sunday begin. He’s considered one of three UVA freshman to earn begin a recreation on the mound for UVA. After not strolling a batter in consecutive begins towards NC State and Florida State, the righthander issued three and hit a batter at Virginia Tech in his shortest outing of his younger profession (1.2 innings).
O’Connor enters the weekend with a 3.27 ERA, the 14th lowest within the ACC and the fourth lowest of any certified Energy-5 freshman.
Regardless of the three video games in Blacksburg by which UVA issued 19 walks and surrendered 31 hits, Virginia ranks eleventh within the nation in WHIP (1.23). The Cavaliers have pitched an ACC-best 4 shutouts in 2023 and restricted opponents to 2 runs or much less 10 occasions.

PRODUCTION AT THE PLATE

The Cavaliers are averaging 9.3 runs per recreation, twelfth most within the nation and have the fourth largest scoring margin in school baseball.
Virginia has struck out 184 occasions as a workforce this season, the fewest of any workforce within the ACC.
UVA has 4 batters ranked within the top-10 within the ACC in batting common, no different faculty has two.

Highest DI Scoring Margin/Run Differential

1.	LSU	+7.2
2.	Wake Forest	+6.5
3.	South Carolina	+6.4
4.	Virginia	+5.3
5.	Kentucky	+5.2

MIDSEASON ACCOLADES

Kyle Teel and Jake Gelof have been each named to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch Listing on Wednesday. Solely 15 groups within the nation had a number of gamers on the listing. Gelof, a semifinalist for the award final season, was considered one of seven 2022 semfinalists included on this 12 months’s midseason watch listing.
Teel garnered midseason First Staff All-America honors from Good Sport and D1Baseball. Gelof was a 3rd workforce All-America choice by Good Sport on the third base place.

PLAYER NOTES

Teel leads the ACC with a .440 batting common and has reached base safely in all 29 video games this season. He’s 10 hits shy of matching his total season hit whole from a 12 months in the past. There are 9 gamers in school baseball to eclipse the 50-hit plateau in 2023.
Teel leads the workforce with 17 multi-hit efforts this season. He has two or extra hits in eight of his final 10 video games.
Griff O’Ferrall put collectively his fourth, four-hit recreation of his profession in a 4-for-6 day on the plate towards Liberty on Tuesday. Two of his four-hit video games have are available in 2023. The Cavalier shortstop has reached base safely in 20-straight video games.
Ethan O’Donnell had a monster weekend in Blacksburg and has the workforce’s longest lively hit streak (8 video games) after a single towards Liberty on Tuesday., the longest lively streak on the workforce. O’Donnell went 7-for-12 with three doubles, a house run and 5 RBI in three video games towards Virginia Tech. 4 of his seven dwelling runs have are available in convention play.
O’Donnell is batting .408 (20-for-49) in ACC play this 12 months and has scored a team-high 14 runs.
Jake Gelof, who leads the ACC in RBI, has pushed in 21 towards league foes.

THE HOME RUN CHASE

Jake Gelof is on their lonesome in fourth place with 34 profession dwelling runs at UVA. The junior hit a 459-foot blast within the center recreation towards Virginia Tech final weekend.
Gelof leads the workforce with 9 dwelling runs this season, tied for the sixth-most within the ACC.
He has homered in his final eight ACC sequence relationship again to final season.
Solely six gamers in UVA historical past have 30 profession dwelling runs and the final Cavalier to eclipse the 30-home run mark was Mark Reynolds (2002-04).

Most Profession Residence Runs in UVA Historical past

Rk	Participant	HR
1.	E.J. Anderson (1995-98)	37
2.	Mark Reynolds (2002-04)	35
	Jon Benick (1998-01)	35
4.	Jake Gelof (2021-present)	34
5.	Mike Lindner (1987-90)	33

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Virginia Tech Football: Where do Hokies Finish in Final ACC Power Rankings?

Published

3 hours ago

January 10, 2025

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Virginia Tech Football: Where do Hokies Finish in Final ACC Power Rankings?

Just a few months ago, before the 2024 season ever officially kicked off, Virginia Tech seemed like a program that was trending up. They finished the 2023 season strong and were returning a ton of starters from that team and seemingly had a favorable schedule in front of them. They were talked about as the dark horse to win the ACC and make the college football playoff, but it wasn’t long before that was proven to be false.

The Hokies started the season with an upset loss to Vanderbilt, lost to Rutgers a few weeks later, and had the controversial loss to Miami to drop them to 2-3. After rallying to win three straight to get to 5-3 and still have a shot at the ACC Championship, the Hokies collapsed, losing four of their last five, including the bowl game to Minnesota last Friday. Not only was this season very disappointing, but the Hokies are losing most of their contributors from this team to the transfer portal or the draft. RB Bhayshul Tuten, OL Xavier Chaplin, Braelin Moore, and several members of the secondary. They are working to fill those holes in the portal and quarterback Kyron Drones is coming back, but there is not as much optimism heading into this offseason as there was for last season

While all eyes might be on moving forward to the 2025 season, where did Virginia Tech finish in the final ACC Power Rankings From 247Sports analyst Grant Hughes?

“Bowl Result: Lost Duke’s Mayo Bowl to Minnesota, 24-10

“Virginia Tech entered the 2024 season with ACC championship aspirations but failed to live up to expectations after dropping three of its first five games. A 1-4 finish to the campaign secured the Hokies’ fourth losing season in the last five years. The good news is that starting quarterback Kyron Drones is returning for the 2025 season, and the Hokies have already replaced star running back Bhayshul Tuten via the portal with former top-100 recruit and Tennessee transfer Cameron Seldon.”

Aug 31, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies head coach Brent Pry watches from the sideline against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second half at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

All of that has led to speculation about head coach Brent Pry being on the hot seat going into 2025. Pry has gone 3-8, 7-6, and 6-7 in his three seasons in Blacksburg. Earlier this week, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg listed Pry as a coach on the hot seat going into 2025 and listed him in the “Don’t backslide” category alongside Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman, Florida’s Billy Napier, and Cal’s Justin Wilcox:

“The hot-seat talk bubbled up around Pry in November, and if the Commonwealth Cup had gone differently, Virginia Tech could have had a decision to make after a disappointing fall. Pry’s second consecutive 6-6 regular season got him to a bowl game, but he will enter Year 4 with a new defensive coordinator and a staff that will include former longtime Hokies DC Bud Foster as an advisor/analyst.

Pry is halfway through his contract and Virginia Tech isn’t in the best position to eat a seven-figure buyout. Virginia Tech should be more competitive in a very winnable ACC, especially with quarterback Kyron Drones back. The Hokies have eclipsed seven wins just once since 2017.”

Will Pry need to improve upon his record in 2025 to be ensured of another season in Blacksburg? Virginia Tech opens the season against South Carolina in Atlanta and the Gamecocks are likely going to start the season with a lofty ranking. They also face Miami, Georgia Tech, Florida State, and Louisville next season, but it is not a murderers row of a schedule. Needless to say, the Hokies need to see some progress next season.

Virginia Tech Football: Hokies Get Commitment From New Mexico Safety Transfer Christian Ellis

Virginia Tech Football: PFF Grades and Snap Counts for every Hokies player in the 2024 Season

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Virginia Tech grads living in LA share wildfire experiences

Published

12 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

Virginia Tech grads living in LA share wildfire experiences

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) – Firefighters are continuing to battle the devastating fires in Los Angeles that have destroyed thousands of homes and led to the evacuations of over 180,000.

While the fires are thousands of miles away those flames have connections to our hometowns. WDBJ7 spoke with two Virginia Tech Alumni living in Los Angeles on Thursday. While neither of them have had to evacuate their homes, they shared what it’s like to be in LA during the fires and how people there are handling the destruction.

“It definitely feels like a little apocalyptic, just the sky being somewhat black and grey. Here it’s more like the sun is covered by the smoke so it’s just very eerie,” said Jillian Ostick, a 2017 Virginia Tech graduate who lives in Los Angeles.

Ostick lives in the South Bay area of Los Angeles about 10-15 miles from where the fires are.

“It’s close by but in terms of being evacuated or anything we’re very safe down here. We’re really just affected by the air quality and being worried about other people,” she said.

Ostick works in residential real estate and says many of her clients have lost their homes or evacuated and her team is currently working to help them find rentals.

“People have lost everything and they’re just scared but I think people have a place to stay and have resources. Our team is collecting blankets and clothes and is just messaging out to everybody ‘If you need help, no questions asked just fill out this form’,’” she said. “A lot of people did have to just pack up quick last night if they were in an evacuation area.”

Leah Gay is a 2014 Virginia Tech Graduate who is from the Blacksburg area. She lives in the West Hollywood area of LA and hasn’t had to evacuate yet but says she is prepared to do so if needed.

“Everything so far in our area has just been super smokey, there’s been ash on the ground, on the car, everything like that but in terms of actual fires our area is safe,” said Gay. “Last night we got a new fire that was in the Hollywood Hills. It’s since been contained so that’s good but we could see those flames, the second you open the door it smelled like you were right in a fireplace. It was super close to us so we could see it, especially with the night sky it was super illuminated with all that fire.”

Gay said that she is remaining alert and closely following the latest updates on the fires.

“There’s an app called Watch Duty that pretty much everyone in LA is using for updates. It gives you real-time information about where first responders are being placed and where needs to be evacuated, where the flames are even if they’re moving in a certain direction. It’s a really great app, it has an amazing map in it so you can see in real-time who is being affected and what you need to do next,” she said.

Gay said that she does know several people who have had to evacuate. She said that it is an emotional time in Los Angeles.

“It’s super heartbreaking, so many people’s lives have been affected by this. It feels almost like COVID outside how there are so many less people out on the streets, many people are wearing masks to stay safe from the smoke, so it’s kind of feeling like a completely different Los Angeles,” she said.

Both Gay and Ostick said that people are already doing everything they can to help those who have lost everything to the fires. They both noted that there are many places where people can donate to help those in need.

While not everyone in L-A has had to be evacuated from their homes, the smoke from the fires is causing major air quality problems that can be harmful to people. The air quality is being adversely affected as far as 100 miles from the fire.

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JUCO Edge Rusher Keenan Eck Sets Visit to West Virginia

Published

19 hours ago

January 9, 2025

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JUCO Edge Rusher Keenan Eck Sets Visit to West Virginia

Citrus College edge rusher Keenan Eck is one of several transfer portal recruits who will be in Morgantown this weekend for an official visit to West Virginia.

He began his career at Division II Black Hills State in South Dakota, and in his freshman season, he was responsible for 13 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, and 8.5 sacks. Eck then transferred to Citrus where he notched 6 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, and one forced fumble.

“I love it,” Eck said about the opportunity of playing at West Virginia. “A huge culture of winning is being built there; I would love to put in every bit of hard-hitting energy when it comes to rushing the passer for the mountaineers!”

Eck has had several conversations with head coach Rich Rodriguez and defensive coordinator Zac Alley, whom he looks forward to meeting in person this weekend.

“I really like how fired up they are for a turnaround. They’ve proven to be successful for many years, and they’re bringing the heat with this class of athletes. They want some dawgs that are ready to WORK!”

In addition to West Virginia, Eck has also heard from Eastern Illinois, Montana, San Diego State, Southern Utah, and Texas State. He will have three years of eligibility remaining.