CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The Virginia baseball team makes its first trip to Tallahassee since 2005 this weekend as it battles No. 2 Florida State in a three-game series at Dick Howser Stadium. The Cavaliers and Seminoles have not faced off in any game since the 2006 ACC Tournament. Game one is at 7 p.m. Friday, with the second game scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday. The finale is at 1 p.m. Sunday. The first two games will be webcast on ACC Select.
Virginia (24-6, 8-4 ACC) is coming off a 12-game homestand in which it went 10-2, including three-game sweeps of ACC rivals Boston College and Virginia Tech. The Seminoles (25-3, 11-1) will pose a decidedly larger challenge and will be the first ranked opponent on the Cavaliers' schedule this season. The Seminoles lead the nation in hitting with a .357 team batting average, highlighted by ACC batting leader Buster Posey (.439).
While Posey leads the conference in hitting, Virginia has two players ranked in the top five. Dan Grovatt (.421) and Jeremy Farrell (.400) rank second and fifth, respectively, in the conference in hitting. As a team, the Cavaliers are hitting .313, which is fourth best in the ACC.
The pitching figures to be key this weekend. Virginia boasts a team ERA of 3.08, while Florida State maintains a 3.90 ERA. The pitching matchups for the weekend are Virginia's Jacob Thompson (4-0, 2.72 ERA) vs. Florida State's Matt Fairel (6-0, 1.58 ERA) Friday, UVa's Pat McAnaney (3-1, 1.44 ERA) vs. FSU's Geoff Parker (2-1, 2.33 ERA) Saturday and UVa's Andrew Carraway (2-2, 3.19 ERA) vs. FSU's Elih Villanueva (3-0 4.30 ERA) Sunday.
Florida State holds a 39-11 edge in the all-time series.
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Courtesy: David Petkofsky/UVa Media Relations
