Fresh off of a road trip that garnered a win at George Washington and the first ACC series win of the year in Atlanta, the Hoos are back in friendly confines for this week’s midweek contest.
UVA will host William & Mary for the annual matchup between the two programs. This will be William & Mary’s second midweek game of the season.
Game Schedule
Tuesday, April 6 – 4:00 PM
Team Records
Virginia: 13-14 (Overall), 6-12 (ACC)
William & Mary: 6-13 (Overall), 3-3 (CAA)
Stat Comparison
The format will be raw stat and then rank in Division 1. Info is as of games played on April 4.
Batting
| TEAM | OBP | SLG | RUNS/GAME |
| William & Mary | .313 (272) | .327 (256) | 3.7 (273) |
| Virginia | .326 (262) | .336 (247) | 5.0 (211) |
OBP = On Base Percentage
SLG = Slugging Percentage
Pitching
| TEAM | ERA | K/9 | BB/9 |
| William & Mary | 6.06 (217) | 7.3 (256) | 3.20 (25) |
| Virginia | 3.53 (37) | 10.8 (24) | 4.56 (156) |
K/9 = Strikeouts Per 9 Innings
BB/9 = Walks Per 9 Innings
Miscellaneous
| TEAM | FLD% | RPI | SOS |
| William & Mary | .971 (113) | 162 | 66 |
| Virginia | .976 (38) | 72 | 32 |
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 April 4.
Series History
The Tribe and Hoos have played 111 times. In a series first played in 1902, UVA currently has the advantage over William & Mary with an all time record of 78-31-2.
William & Mary’s last win was during the 2019 season, a 9 to 3 win for the Tribe. The Hoos had a 3 to 1 lead after 2 innings in that game. But William & Mary scored the game’s final 8 runs. Several current Hoos played in that game.
Last season, the Hoos won the rematch 8 to 5. Logan Michaels broke open a 5 to 5 game with a 2-run homer to push the Hoos ahead. Andrew Abbott was the pitching star for UVA. At the plate, Logan Michaels, Brendan Rivoli, Zack Gelof, Chris Newell, and Marc Lebreux all had outstanding games for the Hoos.
Projected Starting Pitchers
William & Mary RHP Jack Cone (0-0, 5.40 ERA, 5.0 IP, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts) vs UVA RHP Zach Messinger (2-0, 5.68 ERA, 19.0 IP, 11 walks, 20 strikeouts)
Cone, a junior from Fairfax Station, VA, is a two-way player for the Tribe. When not pitching, he also patrols the outfield for William & Mary. From the mound, he’s made 5 appearances for the Tribe in 2021. Those were all in relief as this will be his first start in 2021. His longest outing to date in 2021 is 1.2 innings. As a reliever, Cone leads William & Mary with 2 saves. Opposing batters are currently hitting .286 against Cone on the year.
During the 2020 season, Cone served as William & Mary’s Sunday starter. He made a total of 4 appearances, all starts, for the Tribe in 2020. Cone pitched a total of 22.0 innings where he posted a 3-1 record. Cone finished 2020 with a 2.86 ERA. He walked 8 and struck out 18. Opposing batters hit .284 against Cone during the abbreviated 2020 season.
D1 Baseball ranks Cone as the 12th best draft prospect in the CAA for the 2021 MLB draft. As a pitcher, they note that Cone features a fastball that sits 90 to 93 MPH and possesses quality secondary pitches.
This will be Cone’s first appearance on the mound against the Hoos.
Weather Forecast Via Weather.com
Warm weather and partly cloudy skies are on the menu for game time.
Temps will be in the uppers 70s at first pitch.
Winds will be negligible. And the chance of precipitation will be around 1%.
Media Coverage
Live streaming will be available on ACC Network Xtra for all three games. You can access the ACC Network Xtra stream via ESPN’s streaming platforms. Your content provider must carry ACC Network in order to access the stream.
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.
Tribe To Watch
Expected starting pitcher Jack Cone is a possible CAA player of the year. If he wasn’t the starting pitcher, he’d be the logical choice for this section as well. But we’ll spread the love and feature 3rd baseman Ben Williamson.
Williamson, a sophomore from Chantilly, VA, is one of the top two bats in the Tribe’s lineup along with Jack Cone.
Williamson sports a .384 / .434 / .466 slash line. That’s good for an OPS of .900. His .384 batting average is tops on the roster. His .434 on base percentage is second behind Cone. And his .466 slugging percentage is second among Tribe regulars (also behind Cone).
He leads the Tribe in hits (28) and doubles (6). He’s tied with Jack Cone for the lead in runs (10). And he’s second to Cone in RBI (10). He’s third on the Tribe in walks (6 – tied) and stolen bases (2 – tied).
Williamson is currently in the midst of a fourteen game hitting streak.
Prediction
Coming out of the Georgia Tech series win, the Hoos will look to win this game and continue the momentum earned over the weekend.
Cone and Williamson will provide some trouble with the bats. But William & Mary lacks the overall talent and depth to win this game if UVA plays with the right mindset.
Look for the Tribe to change pitchers early and often in order to try to confuse the UVA hitters. Breaking up their rhythm at the plate via this strategy is William & Mary’s most direct path to victory.
It will prove to be not enough, however.
UVA’S pitching depth and improving hitting get the job done here.