The 2 seed Hoos officially open their 2022 postseason on Friday against the Sun Belt’s Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in the Greenville Regional.

The two programs are familiar with one another. But this will be their first meeting since 2016.

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Let first year Anthony Stephan take you through our first practice here in Greenville!#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/7ucg5N5OHg

— Virginia Baseball (@UVABaseball) June 2, 2022

Game Schedule

Friday, June 3 – 6:00 PM

Team Records

Virginia: 38-17 (Overall), 17-13 (ACC)

Coastal Carolina: 36-18-1 (Overall), 21-8-1 (Sun Belt)

Stat Comparison

Stats and rankings are as of games completed through May 29 which concluded conference tournament season.

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 D1Baseball.com and is as of games played through May 29.

Venue

The Greenville Regional will be played at East Carolina’s Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium.

Media Coverage

The game will be streamed on ESPN + at 6:00 PM eastern.

Per the UVA game notes, “ESPN+ is a subscription-based service available for a monthly fee on the ESPN app and ESPN.com.” You can also get it as part of the Disney Bundle that includes Disney +, Hulu, and ESPN + (good deal if you’re the parent of a younger kid and a sports fan like myself).

The UVA radio broadcast will be on WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM) in the Charlottesville area. It will also be available online at WINA.com.

Projected Starting Pitchers

Virginia: LHP Nate Savino

5-6 / 4.02 ERA / 71.2 Innings Pitched / 30 Walks / 75 Strikeouts / .263 Batting Average Against

Back at the head of the UVA pitching rotation, Savino will look to build on an encouraging ACC Tournament outing against Notre Dame. In the loss to Notre Dame, Savino gave up 2 runs (both earned) in 4.2 innings pitched. He struck out 5 while walking just 1 against the Irish. He also gave up 6 hits in the start.

Coastal Carolina: LHP Reid VanScoter

9-2 / 3.06 ERA / 82.1 Innings Pitched / 22 Walks / 80 Strikeouts / .235 Batting Average Against

No surprise here, as the league leader in wins (9) and quality starts (8) is the #SunBeltBSB Pitcher of the Year. Congrats to @ReidVanScoter1!#RELENTLESS | #SELFLESS pic.twitter.com/GZRXoSwFge

— Coastal Baseball (@CoastalBaseball) May 23, 2022

Recently named Pitcher of the Year by the Sun Belt Conference, VanScoter added more recognition this week as Collegiate Baseball named the lefty one of twenty pitchers on their Second Team All-American list.

The 6-0 190 pounder began his career at Binghamton in 2018 where he pitched before transferring to Coastal Carolina prior to the 2020 season. VanScoter made just one appearance for Binghamton during the 2019 season before being shut down due to injury.

Now in his second season at Coastal, VanScoter has operated as the team’s Friday starter since the beginning of April. Prior to assuming the Friday role, VanScoter typically handled Saturday duty while making one Sunday start as well. Each of his 14 appearances on the season are as a starting pitcher.

VanScoter’s most recent appearance on the season came during the final regular season series against South Alabama. During the series opener on Thursday that week, the Chants defeated the Jaguars 11 to 2. VanScoter picked up the win going 5.0 innings in the start. He gave up 2 runs (both earned) while allowing 4 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 6 and also threw 2 wild pitches.

VanScoter’s longest outing on the season went 8.0 innings against UT Arlington on April 22. His shortest outing was just 2.2 innings against Georgia State on April 8, his second loss on the season.

His other loss came on March 5 in a start at North Carolina. The Heels won that game 4 to 0. In the start in Chapel Hill, VanScoter threw 6.0 innings of 5 hit baseball. UNC touched him for 2 runs (both earned) and 5 hits. He walked 1 batter while hitting 2 others. VanScoter struck out 8 in that game.

In a feature on Coastal Carolina, D1 Baseball’s Aaron Fitt provided a small scouting report on VanScoter. Fitt noted that VanScoter features “quality stuff with good command.” According to Coastal Carolina head coach Gary Gilmore, VanScoter works his fastball 89 to 93 while occasionally hitting 94. Gilmore noted that VanScoter has done a better job this season at maintaining his velocity throughout a game.

VanScoter’s best secondary pitch is his slider. He’s also adept at inducing ground ball outs.

This will be his first career outing against the Hoos.

WATCH: More from @CoastalBaseball skipper Gary Gilmore on #SunBelt Pitcher of the Year @ReidVanScoter1.

"He really compliments everyone here…he just competes his behind off."@wmbfnews #ChantsUp pic.twitter.com/bsQCnnvgzf

— Gabe McDonald (@GabeMcDonald_) May 26, 2022

Chanticleer To Watch

Designated Hitter Tyler Johnson arrived at Coastal Carolina prior to the 2021 season as a JUCO transfer from Eastern Oklahoma State College. During his first season at Coastal, Johnson slashed just .162/.305/.294. He played a total of 27 games where he hit just 2 homers and drove in 17.

There was nothing to suggest a breakout season was coming in 2022. But through hard work and perseverance, Johnson just completed a Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference season.

In earning those honors, Johnson increased his slash line to .366/.417/.771. He increased his games played to 47 and his at bats increased from 68 to 153.

Johnson completed the 2022 season with the highest batting average (.366) among Coastal regulars. His on base percentage (.417), slugging percentage (.771), OPS (1.188), home runs (17), RBI (56), and total bases (118) also led the Chanticleers.

Johnson was also tied for second on the team in strikeouts (42).

TYLER JOHNSON DOES IT AGAIN! 2ND BOMB TODAY. ??

5th HR in last 5 games. @CoastalBaseball pic.twitter.com/RQ3RnWiSju

— 11Point7: The College Baseball Podcast ? (@11point7) March 27, 2022

Wahoo Connection

Redshirt freshman RHP Riley Eikhoff is the younger brother of former UVA first baseman Nate Eikhoff.

The younger Eikhoff was once committed to the Hoos before flipping to Coastal Carolina late in his recruitment.

Eikhoff missed the entire 2021 season due to injury.

He’s made 18 appearances for Coastal on the season, 3 starts and 15 relief appearances. In 28.2 innings pitched, he has a 4-0 record with 1 save and a 6.91 ERA. Batters are hitting .316 against Eikhoff on the season.

Riley Eikhoff with the strikeout to end the third inning, the third of the day!!#SELFLESS | #RELENTLESS

?: https://t.co/aK2O6gtHqc pic.twitter.com/XCUnOosxYg

— Coastal Baseball (@CoastalBaseball) May 3, 2022

Outlook

When you reach postseason baseball, with very few exceptions, your opponents are some combination of really good to dominant and/or hot.

You have to play your best baseball to win at this level.

Recently, projected starting pitcher Nate Savino told the local media in Charlottesville that the Hoos are prepared to wash off the regular season while flipping a switch for the postseason.

The Hoos have not played classic UVA baseball recently. Nor have they looked like the team that was white hot to begin the 2022 season.

To win in Greenville, they don’t need to replicate that team that began the 2022 season. But they do need to play much sharper than they have lately, essentially what fans and the coaches know as the aforementioned classic UVA baseball.

If the Hoos do not take care of the little details, execute cleanly, and play with intensity, they’ll find themselves playing in the loser’s bracket game on Saturday. But if they play up to their potential, they’re more than capable of winning this game without a ton of drama.