Virginia seeks to bounce back from the heartbreaking defeat at the hands of North Carolina on Friday as it tackles Florida State in the continuation of the 2024 College World Series action at Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Nebraska. The first pitch will be thrown at 2 p.m. ET with No. 12 seed Virginia looking to stay alive in the college baseball tournament after a 3-2 loss against No. 4 seed Tar Heels.
A win by the Cavaliers would move them to the second round, where they will face the loser of the Tennessee-North Carolina game.
A loss against the Seminoles will formally eliminate them from College World Series contention. Virginia would be in for an offensive clash with Florida State just like its ACC championship matchup last month, wherein the Seminoles beat the Cavaliers, 12-7.
Virginia Cavaliers starting lineup for June 16
Virginia coach Brian O'Connor announced that Jay Woolfork will be the Cavaliers starter against Florida State. Woolfork is 4-1 with a 5.95 earned run average this season for Virginia.
He saw action in the Cavaliers' last game against Florida State on May 24 in the ACC championship. Woolfork pitched two innings and allowed one run. He struck out three and walked one batter in that game.
As for the position players, Griff O'Ferrall would start at shortstop for Virginia. In the Cavs' last game against North Carolina, O'Ferrall started in the leadoff spot and had one RBI in a 0 for 2 outing. Ethan Anderson would play as the designated hitter, while Casey Saucke is the possible right fielder for Virginia.
First baseman Henry Ford, who scored an RBI in the last game, would bat cleanup for the Cavaliers, while Jacob Ference would play as a catcher. Harrison Didawick is a possible starter at left field, while Henry Godbout is set to man the second base.
Eric Becker will start as third baseman, while Bobby Whalen will play center fielder for the Cavaliers, who are in a must-win situation against the Seminoles.
Virginia Cavaliers stars to watch
Harrison Didawick
Didawick has played all 62 games for Virginia, hitting .292 on 69 hits out of 238 at-bats. He leads the team in runs scored with 78 and has recorded 23 home runs and 68 RBIs this season. He has a slugging percentage of .644 while his on-base percentage is .416.
Henry Ford
Ford has a batting average of .337 in 60 games for the Cavaliers. He is the team's leader in RBIs (69) and has homered 17 times this season. Ford, who has 60 runs scored this season, has a slugging percentage of .602 while his on-base percentage is .411.
Henry Godbout
Godbout is Virginia's top hitter, with a .369 average in 50 games played this season. He has recorded a total of 51 runs and has slugged nine homers and 46 RBIs. Godbout's slugging percentage is .649 while his on-base percentage is .469.
Will Virginia stay alive in the College World Series or be booted out with another loss to Florida State? Let us know in the comments section.
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