Virginia Baseball Announces Starting Pitchers for Season-Opening Series
The 2024 Virginia baseball season is set to open this weekend, as the Cavaliers host Hofstra for a three-game series at Disharoon Park. UVA head coach Brian O'Connor confirmed his expected starting pitching rotation for the season-opening series as follows:
Game 1 (Friday at 3pm): RHP Jack O'Connor
Game 2 (Saturday at 1pm): LHP Evan Blanco
Game 3 (Sunday at 1pm): RHP Jay Woolfolk
Sophomore righty Jack O'Connor will get the start on Opening Day on Friday after logging 11 starts and 19 total appearances as a true freshman last season. In 65.1 innings, O'Connor posted a 3.86 ERA with 64 strikeouts to 25 walks and a 6-3 overall record. O'Connor earned Freshman All-America honors from Perfect Game and Baseball America after the season.
Lefty Evan Blanco, another sophomore, moves up into the starting rotation after appearing in 24 games out of the bullpen as a freshman last spring. In 23.2 innings, Blanco recorded a 3.04 ERA and a 1-0 record, striking out 26 batters and walking just 10. He had a 3.09 ERA in 12 appearances in ACC play and was credited with a team-high eight bullpen holds, two of which came in the NCAA Tournament and College World Series.
Finally, former two-sport athlete Jay Woolfolk rounds out the starting rotation in his first season focusing solely on baseball after previously splitting his time between Virginia's football and baseball programs. Woolfolk served primarily as a closer in his first two seasons as a Cavalier, but he will make his first-career start on Sunday. The hard-throwing righty led Virginia in pitching appearances for the second-straight season with 30 in 2023, posting a 2.91 ERA and a 2-1 record in 34.0 innings pitched.
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