It’s another road trip for the Hoos. This weekend, however, UVA has a three-game winning streak in its back pocket.

And that includes two in a row over Georgia Tech in Atlanta for UVA’s first ACC series win of the season.

The next challenge is Clemson. The Tigers have won their last three ACC series.

Game Schedule

Friday, April 9 – 3:00 PM

Saturday, April 10 – 7:00 PM

Sunday, April 11 – 1:00 PM

Team Records

Virginia: 14-14 (Overall), 6-12 (ACC)

Clemson: 14-11 (Overall), 8-7 (ACC)

Stat Comparison

The format will be raw stat and then rank in Division 1. Info is as of games played on April 7.

Batting

TEAM OBP SLG RUNS/GAME
Clemson .358 (161) .415 (99) 5.8 (123)
Virginia .330 (254) .334 (251) 5.0 (207)

OBP = On Base Percentage

SLG = Slugging Percentage

Pitching

TEAM ERA K/9 BB/9
Clemson 4.30 (84) 9.6 (70) 3.29 (29)
Virginia 3.58 (35) 10.7 (24) 4.55 (154)

K/9 = Strikeouts Per 9 Innings

BB/9 = Walks Per 9 Innings

Miscellaneous

TEAM FLD% RPI SOS
Clemson .965 (180) 38 34
Virginia .977 (34) 71 44

FLD % = Fielding Percentage

SOS = Strength Of Schedule

Note that all stats are from NCAA.com. RPI and strength of schedule data is from D1Baseball.com and is as of games played through April 7, 2021.

Projected Starting Pitchers

Friday

Clemson RHP Mack Anglin (0-1, 3.07 ERA, 14.2 IP, 4 walks, 23 strikeouts) vs UVA LHP Andrew Abbott (3-4, 2.49 ERA, 43.1 IP, 15 walks, 59 strikeouts)

A redshirt freshman from Ohio, Anglin made 4 appearances and 3 starts during the 2020 season. He complied an 0-1 record while pitching 7.0 innings. In those 7.0 innings, Anglin walked 11 while also striking out 11. Opposing batters hit .353 against Anglin during the 2020 season. He completed the season with an ERA of 11.57. Despite those struggles, Anglin entered the 2020 season as 6th ranked freshman in the ACC according to Perfect Game.

This season, batters are hitting just .250 against Anglin in 5 appearances. Friday’s start against UVA will be his second start in the 2021 season. Anglin’s last start and appearance for Clemson was their Friday night contest against Virginia Tech on March 19. Clemson won that game 8 to 2. In the start, Anglin pitched 3.0 innings of 6 hit baseball. He gave up 1 run (earned) and struck out 6 while walking none.

D1 Baseball ranked Anglin as the ACC’s 45th best draft prospect for the 2021 MLB Draft.  This will be his first appearance against the Hoos.

Saturday

Clemson LHP Keyshawn Askew (1-0, 1.83 ERA, 19.2 IP, 2 walks, 25 strikeouts) vs UVA RHP Mike Vasil (4-2, 2.54 ERA, 39.0 IP, 4 walks, 40 strikeouts)

During the abbreviated 2020 season, Askew made 1 start in 5 appearances for Clemson. The redshirt sophomore had a 0-0 record and 3.55 ERA in 12.2 innings pitched. In those 12.2 innings, Askew walked 11 and struck out 12. Opposing batters hit .279 against Askew in 2020.

Opposing batters are hitting .244 against Askew this season. Saturday’s start against the Hoos will be his third consecutive Saturday start for the Tigers. Last weekend against NC State, Askew threw 6.1 innings of 5 hit baseball. He gave up 3 runs (2 earned) while walking 1 and striking out 7. Askew earned the win in that game as Clemson topped the Wolfpack 9 to 3.

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

Sunday

Clemson RHP Nick Hoffman (3-0, 4.57 ERA, 21.2 IP, 1 walk, 16 strikeouts) vs UVA LHP Nate Savino (1-1, 1.93 ERA, 14.0 IP, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts)

Like Mack Anglin, Hoffman is also a redshirt freshman from Ohio. During the 2020 campaign, Hoffman served as a reliever for the Tigers. He made 7 appearances for the Tigers where he earned a 2-1 record. In 11.0 innings pitched, he had a 1.64 ERA. Hoffman struck out 11 while walking no batters. Opponents hit .227 against Hoffman during the abbreviated 2020 season.

This season, opposing batters are hitting .284 against Hoffman.  He’s started the past two weekends for Clemson while serving as a reliever this season prior to those starts. Last weekend in the start against NC State, Hoffman threw 5.0 innings of 12 hit baseball. He gave up 6 runs (all earned) while walking 1 and striking out 4. Hoffman earned a no decision in the game, but Clemson was victorious by a 10 to 6 margin.

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

Weather Forecast Via Weather.com

Friday’s game was moved up from 6:00 PM due to the expectation of inclement weather on Friday evening in Clemson. Now at 3:00, expect cloudy skies with temps in the upper 70s. The chance of rain will still be 18% while winds will be negligible.

Saturday evening currently has scattered thunderstorms in the forecast. Temps will be in the lower 70s at first pitch. Winds will be about 10 MPH while the chance of precipitation will be 58% at first pitch.

For first pitch on Sunday, expect temps in the mid 70s with partly cloudy skies. Winds will be around 10 MPH again. And the chance of precipitation will be 22% for Sunday.

Media Coverage

ACC Network Xtra will have streaming for Friday’s series opener. 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.

Saturday’s game will be aired on ACC Network. And ESPN2 will carry Sunday’s series finale.

The games on Friday and Sunday will also have radio coverage courtesy of 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.

Tiger To Watch

Freshman 1B Caden Grice entered Clemson as the 218th ranked recruit in the county according to Perfect Game. D1 Baseball has Grice ranked as the ACC’s tenth best newcomer for 2021.

So far, Grice has lived up to the hype.

He enters the weekend with a .350 / .475 / .663 slash line as well as an OPS of 1.138. His .350 batting average is tied for tops among Clemson regulars. His on base percentage of .475 leads Clemson’s regulars as does his slugging percentage of .663.

Grice also finds himself at the top of the leaderboard at Clemson in homeruns with 6 (tied first), RBI (25), runs (20, tied first), and triples (1, tied first). He finds himself second in walks (16), total bases (53), doubles (5), and hits (28).

Prediction

The Hoos have given UVA fans reason to hope after winning the Georgia Tech series. They followed that breakthrough with an extra innings win over William & Mary in the midweek to extend their winning streak to three games.

As hot as the Hoos seem, Clemson was won three ACC series in a row to appear even hotter (NC State, Boston College, Virginia Tech). Now, playing at home, Clemson enters the series as the favorite.

Like seemingly every ACC series for UVA, the formula is simple. Avoid walks on the mound, take solid approaches at the plate, and hope there’s some magic in the bats.

That discounts the opposition’s impact on the series. But every ACC series for the Hoos has fallen into a familiar pattern: despite chances to make winning plays at the plate, UVA’s bats were unable to move a runner along or score them in a determining phase of the game.

UVA bucked that trend in Atlanta last weekend and came away victorious against the Yellow Jackets. Clemson and Atlanta are roughly 125 miles apart. So is the magic in the air again?

Before I buy in, I need to see it in action again as Clemson is more than capable of overcoming UVA’s momentum found in Atlanta.

Clemson takes a close series 2 to 1.

 

 

 

By Karl Hess

UVA sports fan since the mid 80s. Graduated from UVA in 2000. Currently residing in Virginia Beach. Also not the hoops ref.