The Hoos almost broke through and won their first ACC series of the season against Miami. But it wasn’t meant to be as the bats could not deliver winning hits with the game / series on the line.

With no time to lick their wounds, the Hoos hit the road to pay a visit to George Washington on Tuesday.

Game Schedule

Tuesday, March 30 – 3:00 PM

Team Records

Virginia: 10-13 (Overall), 4-11 (ACC)

George Washington: 9-7 (Overall), 0-0 (Atlantic 10)

Stat Comparison

The format will be raw stat and then rank in Division 1. Info is as of games played on March 28.

Batting

OBP = On Base Percentage

SLG = Slugging Percentage

Pitching

K/9 = Strikeouts Per 9 Innings

BB/9 = Walks Per 9 Innings

Miscellaneous

FLD % = Fielding Percentage

SOS = Strength Of Schedule

Note that all stats are from NCAA.com. RPI and strength of schedule data is from Warrennolan.com and is as of games played through March 28, 2021.

Series History

In a series that dates back to 1905, Virginia and George Washington will meet for the thirty-ninth time on the diamond.

The Hoos currently own a 26-12 advantage over the Colonials. Under Coach O’Connor, UVA is 15-1 against George Washington. GW last beat the Hoos in 2008, a 17 to 5 win for the Colonials.

Earlier this month, UVA hosted George Washington in what was the season opener for the Colonials. UVA won that game 11 to 1. Nic Kent, Max Cotier, Zack, Gelof, and Brendan Rivoli all had nice games for the Hoos on offense. Nate Savino was a standout on the mound, but Matt Wyatt picked up the win in relief.

Projected Starting Pitchers

George Washington RHP Harrison Cohen (2-1, 4.86 ERA, 16.2 IP, 13 walks, 24 strikeouts) vs UVA LHP Billy Price (0-0, 5.14 ERA, 7.0 IP, 7 walks, 6 strikeouts)

Cohen is a redshirt junior out of Syosset, New York.

During the 2020 season, Cohen was GW’s Friday night starter. He posted a 2-1 record in 4 appearances, all starts, for the Colonials. Cohen threw 25.2 innings where his ERA was 2.10. He walked 3 and struck out 24. Opposing batters hit .273 against Cohen in 2020. His numbers earned him team co-MVP honors.

So far in 2021, Cohen has started games on Friday once and Saturday three times for GW. This will be his first midweek start on the season. This past weekend, Cohen started against Delaware State on Saturday. He threw only 2.2 innings against the Hornets. In those 2.2 innings, Cohen gave up no hits, no runs, walked 1, and struck out 4.

This will be Cohen’s first appearance against the Hoos.

Weather Forecast Via Weather.com

The weather is looking nice for an afternoon of college baseball.

The sun will be out, there’s no threat of rain, and temps will be in the mid 60s. Winds will be between 10 and 15 MPH.

Media Coverage

Streaming will be available on ESPN + via ESPN’s streaming platforms. ESPN + is a subscription based streaming service.

Radio coverage will be available through WINA. They’ll have audio streaming on WINA.com. And in the Charlottesville area, you can find the broadcast on 1070 AM or 98.9 FM.

Colonial To Watch

Earlier this season, we featured 2nd baseman Noah Levin. In that game, Levin went 2 for 3 with a double.

For this matchup, George Washington 3rd baseman Steve Barmakian will get the spotlight.

Barmakian currently sports a slash line of .413 / .493 / .492. His batting average and on base percentage are tops on George Washington. And his slugging percentage is third on the roster. Barmakian’s OPS of .985 is also tops for the Colonials.

Barmakian has the fewest strikeouts (5) among GW’s regulars despite being third on the team with 63 at bats. He also leads the team in hits (26) and is tied for first in doubles (5). He’s also third on the roster with 14 runs.

In the prior game against UVA, Barmakian went 2 for 3 with a run scored.

Prediction

Since losing to UVA, George Washington has gone 9-6 with wins over Lehigh (4), Coppin State (1), Seton Hall (1), and Delaware State (3). They’ve also dropped games to Saint Joe’s (3), VMI (1), and Seton Hall (2).

George Washington’s offensive numbers look pretty good. But they’re against the nation’s 220th ranked schedule.

This is a game that UVA cannot afford to lose. GW is looking to cash in with one of their top starters (their other top starter was their opening day starter against UVA).

Despite that, the expectation is that UVA’s offense will handle this game reasonably well like they do against most of the lower level mid week competition. The Hoos will not be afraid to insert top bullpen arms if Price falters, if the game is too close for comfort, or if GW surges to a lead.

UVA’s overall roster depth and talent prove to be too much for the homestanding Colonials.