Virginia baseball’s final regular season series begins today, when the Hoos take on Atlantic Coast Conference rival Boston College (20-26, 9-21 in the ACC). UVA, which is coming off a 3-game sweep of Wake Forest, has won 12 of its last 17 conference games and carries a 25-21 overall record, including a 16-17 mark in ACC play, into Chestnut Hill.
UVA has rallied from a subpar first half of the season to become a legitimate contender to make the NCAA Tournament field. Baseball American and D1Baseball.com had the Cavaliers on the wrong side of the bubble prior to last weekend’s home series with Wake Forest. A sweep of the Demon Deacons has both national publications including UVA in their latest tournament projections.
– Baseball America (Click here for the full projection)
Virginia is projected as the No. 3 seed in the Lubbock, Texas Regional hosted by Texas Tech. Michigan is No. 2 and Abilene Christian is No. 4.
UVA is the last school in the Last Four In category.
– D1Baseball.com (Click here for the full projection)
Virginia is projected to be in the Greenville (N.C.) Regional hosted by East Carolina. South Carolina is the No. 2 seed, UVA is No. 3, and Campbell is No. 4.
Virginia is not in D1 Baseball’s Last Four In category. Analyst Aaron Finn feels the Cavaliers could be a dangerous team in the postseason.
𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Does @UVABaseball have a chance to get an at-large bid?@aaronfitt 👇 👇 👇
[FULL CHAT: https://t.co/0AP6KojjCm] pic.twitter.com/Uq3rvFARNi
— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) May 19, 2021
Virginia has clinched a berth in the 2021 ACC Tournament, but the Cavaliers have no room for error in order to make the NCAA field. UVA must at least take two of three from the Eagles to further solidify its postseason prospects.
Star senior left-handed pitcher Andrew Abbott takes the mound for UVA in the lead game, which is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. EST and will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra. Abbott sparkled in the opener against Wake Forest, striking out 16 Demon Deacon batters as part of a combined no-hitter. His 115 strikeouts are first in the ACC and third in the nation.
Cavalier right-hander Mike Vasil takes the mound on Friday at 2 p.m. EST. Vasil, a Massachusetts native who attended Boston College High School, has had a good season (6-4, 4.40 ERA) but did not make it to the third inning in either of his past two outings. Lefty Nate Savino is the projected starter for the Hoos in the third and final game, which is scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. EST. Games 2 and 3 will also be streamed on ACCNX.
Meanwhile, Boston College is expected to start 6’5” right-handed pitcher Emmet Sheehan in the series opener. Sheehan has turned in a quality 2021 campaign, compiling a 5-4 record, a 3.89 ERA, and 102 strikeouts in 71.2 innings pitched. Sheehan as nine or more strikeouts in seven of 12 outings and has pitched at least six innings in 11 games.
