Fresh off of a successful season opening series against UCONN, the Hoos host VMI on Tuesday in their first midweek contest of the young season. The game also doubles as VMI’s season opener as the Keydets had to cancel their weekend visit to Raleigh due to an internal COVID issue. The game also serves as UVA’s final nonconference game before ACC play begins.
Team Records
Virginia (2-1)
VMI (0-0)
Game Schedule
Tuesday, February 23 – 3:00 PM
Poll Watch
Only two of the seven major polls are out yet for this week.
In the Collegiate Baseball Top 30, the Hoos held steady at 14.
In the Baseball America Top 25, the Hoos moved up from 5 to 2.
Series History
VMI and UVA will play their 140th game against one another on Tuesday. First played in 1889, the Hoos have a 107-32 record against the Keydets in the series.
Winners of three in a row against VMI, UVA has also taken nine of the last twelve matchups as well.
During the Brian O’Connor era, the teams have played eighteen times. The Hoos hold a 13-5 lead in the series under O’Connor.
VMI’s last win over UVA came in the 2018 home opener. The Keydets won that game 9 to 4.
Last season, UVA defeated VMI 4 to 3. The Hoos scored all of their runs during the bottom of the 7th inning. Prior to that, VMI held a 3 to 0 lead after plating their three runs in the top of the 5th inning.
Projected Starting Pitchers
VMI LHP Nathan Light vs UVA LHP Nate Savino
Light is a redshirt sophomore from Enterprise , Alabama. He’s played his entire career at VMI.
During the 2020 season, Light made 3 starts in 4 total appearances. He posted a 1-1 record and 2.45 ERA while throwing 14.2 innings.
During those 14.2 innings, Light struck out 16 while walking just 8 batters. Of his 11 hits surrendered, only 2 were of the extra base variety. Both of those were doubles.
Opposing batters hit just .204 against Light during the 2020 season.
During UVA’s 9 to 0 win over VMI in 2019, Light pitched the final 3.1 innings of the game for the Keydets. He struck out 5 of the 11 batters faced while giving up no runs, hits, or walks.
Weather Forecast (Courtesy of Weather.com)
After the frigid temperatures of the past weekend, Mother Nature appears to be giving the Hoos decent baseball weather.
Temps should be in the upper 50s at first pitch. They’ll dip into the mid to lower 50s by the end of the game.
Skies should be sunny throughout. And winds should range from 10 MPH to 15 MPH.
Media Coverage
The ACC Network will air the broadcast on television.
WINA (1070 AM / 98.9 FM) will air the radio broadcast in the Charlottesville market.
Keydet To Watch
Last season, outfielder Will Knight had this spotlight and that has not changed. The redshirt sophomore was named First Team Preseason All-Southern Conference by league coaches. He was the only Keydet to be voted onto the preseason first or second teams.
During the 2020 season, Knight hit .431 in 15 games. His slash line was .431 (batting average) / .484 (on base percentage) / .586 (slugging percentage). That’s good for an OPS (on base plus slugging) of 1.07.
Knight’s 25 hits and 7 doubles led the team. His 1 triple was tied for the team lead as well.
Last season against UVA, Knight went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI. Two of Knight’s three hits were doubles.
Prediction
The annual game against VMI is one of my favorites each season. The Keydets aren’t afraid to throw their best pitcher against UVA. And they’ll make the Hoos work for all 27 outs.
It’s a game that often serves as an eye opener among the younger regulars on the team. VMI shows those players how hard work and perseverance can make a less talented team competitive on the diamond.
Of course, this is a veteran UVA team without any newcomers among its regulars. Everyone expected to be in the lineup has played against the Keydets at least once. And while projected UVA starter Nate Savino did not appear in the game against VMI last year, he was at least part of the team and was able to observe up close and personal.
This particular VMI team will have to maximize effort and will to an extreme degree to overcome the talent disparity. Both the coaches and media picked them to finish last in the Southern Conference this season.
The Hoos will almost certainly want to button up any issues revealed against UCONN prior to conference play beginning this week. And they’ll want to enter the first ACC series with momentum.
This veteran group is unlikely to overlook VMI, but perhaps they’ve been reading their headlines a little too much?
I doubt that proves to be an issue here. Even if VMI pushes UVA deeper into the game than players and fans alike expect, the Hoos will ultimately emerge victorious.