Virginia Looks to Keep Momentum Going at ACC Baseball Championship

The Cavaliers take a nine-game winning streak into Durham for this week's ACC Baseball Championship

Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics

Riding a wave of momentum fueled by nine-consecutive victories to end the regular season, Brian O'Connor and his ACC Coastal Champion Virginia Cavaliers (44-11, 19-11 ACC) head down to Durham, North Carolina this week to compete in the 2023 ACC Baseball Championship. 

Virginia has earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament and is the top seed in Pool B along with No. 7 seed North Carolina and No. 11 seed Georgia Tech. UVA is scheduled to face Georgia Tech on Wednesday at 3pm and North Carolina on Thursday at 3pm. Both games will be televised on the ACC Network. 

The Tar Heels defeated the Yellow Jackets 11-5 on Tuesday, which means that Virginia only needs to win its game against North Carolina in order to win Pool B and advance to Saturday's semifinals. Of course, the Cavaliers will want to every game this week in Durham, but expect them to throw everything they've got into winning Thursday's matchup with the Tar Heels as Wednesday's game against the Yellow Jackets is essentially meaningless for the purposes of the tournament. 

Click here to see score updates for every game in the 2023 ACC Baseball Championship. 

Virginia experienced a high level of success against both of these teams in the regular season this season, going a combined 5-1 against them and winning both series on the road. UVA won two out of three at UNC in the first ACC series of the season in Chapel Hill back in early March and then swept Georgia Tech last weekend in the final ACC series of the year in Atlanta. Virginia is 5-7 all-time against Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament and 8-10 all-time vs. North Carolina in the ACC Tournament. 

History at the ACC Baseball Championship

UVA has won the ACC Tournament three times and also won the ACC Championship one time before the tournament format was adopted. The Cavaliers claimed the ACC Baseball Championship in 1972, 1996, 2009, and 2011. Virginia last made it out of pool play in 2021, losing to Duke in the ACC semifinals. UVA's No. 2 seed is the team's highest seeding at the ACC Tournament since the Hoos last won the ACC Championship as the No. 1 seed in 2011. 

Here's what Virginia head coach Brian O'Connor had to say about the upcoming ACC Baseball Championship:

"We're excited about going down to the ACC Tournament. NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals are hard to win, but I think this tournament might be even more challenging because you're going to have eight or nine teams that are going to be playing in the ACC Tournament this week that are deserving to play in the NCAA Tournament next weekend. This tournament is a grind. We've got to essentially win four games in a row to win it for sure. This is a tough championship to win. We've won it a couple of times in the last 20 years and we're excited to go down to Durham and continue to play great playoff baseball."

Award Season

On Monday, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced that Virginia catcher Kyle Teel was named the ACC Player of the Year, becoming the third Cavalier in program history to win the award and the first since 2006. Joining Teel on the All-ACC First Team is UVA shortstop Griff O'Ferrall, third baseman Jake Gelof, and center fielder Ethan O'Donnell. Virginia also placed three players on the All-ACC Third Team: first baseman Ethan Anderson, starting pitcher Connelly Early, and starting pitcher Brian Edgington. 

Kyle Teel is also one of 13 semifinalists for the Buster Posey Award, presented annually to the top catcher in college baseball. Both Teel and Jake Gelof are semifinalists for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award (top amateur baseball player) and the Dick Howser Trophy (top college baseball player). Griff O'Ferrall is one of 25 semifinalists for the Brooks Wallace Award, presented annually to the nation's best shortstop by the College Baseball Foundation. 

The Path to the Title

If Virginia wins Pool B, the Cavaliers will advance to face the winner of Pool C - No. 3 Clemson, No. 6 Boston College, or No. 10 Virginia Tech - in the semifinals on Saturday at 5pm. The winner of that game will advance to the ACC Championship Game on Sunday at noon. 

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