CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia baseball head coach Brian O’Connor has announced his program’s schedule for the 2016 season. The reigning national champion Cavaliers begin their season Feb. 19-21 in Myrtle Beach, S.C., at Coastal Carolina’s tournament before returning home Feb. 23 to start their home slate against VMI.
The schedule is highlighted by 16 games against teams that played in the 2015 NCAA Tournament, including a three-game series at Miami, which advanced to the College World Series last season. UVA also will make its first trip to Louisville to play a three-game ACC series against the Cardinals, who reached the 2015 NCAA Super Regionals.
The Cavaliers kick off the season in Myrtle Beach with three games, beginning with matchups against Kent State and Appalachian State before a Sunday finale versus host Coastal Carolina, an NCAA Regional team in 2015. UVA then comes home for a 10-game homestand, including three-game weekend series with East Carolina (Feb. 26-28) and Monmouth (March 4-6), as part of its 34-game home schedule. The Pirates were a 2015 NCAA Regional qualifier.
Virginia opens its ACC schedule March 11-13 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park against Duke before returning home March 18-20 for its first home ACC series against Wake Forest. UVA also plays host to NC State (April 1-3), North Carolina (April 15-17), Georgia Tech (May 13-15) and Virginia Tech (May 19-21) in ACC play. UVA wraps up the ACC schedule with its series against the Hokies, marking the first time since 2008 the Cavaliers have concluded the regular-season schedule at home.
The Cavaliers also travel to face Louisville (March 25-27), Boston College (April 8-10), Miami (April 22-24) and Pitt (April 29-May 1) in conference play.
Virginia does not play ACC foes Clemson, Florida State or Notre Dame during the regular season.
UVA plays home-and-home series with commonwealth foes Old Dominion and VCU in non-conference play in 2016. VCU won the NCAA Dallas Regional last season to reach a super regional. The Cavaliers and Rams square off at The Diamond in Richmond on April 5 and at Davenport Field on April 20. UVA and ODU play in Charlottesville on March 29 and in Norfolk on April 26 in a game that will be contested at Harbor Park, home of the triple-A Norfolk Tides. The Cavaliers also travel to Lynchburg on May 3 for a non-conference matchup with Liberty.
The 2016 ACC Baseball Championship will be held May 24-29 in Durham, N.C., at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. It marks the second year of a four-year contract for the ACC tournament at DBAP.
The regular-season schedule is subject to change based on broadcast selections made by the ACC’s television and digital media broadcast partners. Both dates and times of games could be altered.
Coming off the program’s first NCAA championship in 2015, Virginia owns the most wins in Division I baseball over the last seven seasons with 342. UVA has led the country by winning six regional championships and making four trips to the College World Series in that span. Virginia returns 18 letterwinners from the national championship team and welcomes 18 newcomers to the program this season. All-America catcher Matt Thaiss highlights the returnees, while two-time All-ACC shortstop Daniel Pinero and 2015 Freshman All-Americans Pavin Smith and Adam Haseley also are back.
2016 Virginia Baseball Schedule
