Charlottesville, VA (cvillerightnow.com): The Hoos were set for a three-game set against the Florida State Seminoles last weekend on the road in Tallahassee.   The tragic events of Thursday afternoon halted proceedings before they began so that the campus of FSU could heal in the wake of the terrible mass shooting.  Much has already been said, so life goes on.   

After three games were deleted from the schedule, time is winding down for Virginia to ensure their selection for tournament play following ACC action.  Three ACC series remain for the Hoos, Miami, Georgia Tech at the end of this week, and Virginia Tech to end the season.  The remaining midweek games also take on added significance, as every game is now a chance to reward the scrutiny of the selection committee.   

It begins tonight with a battle against the Georgetown Hoyas.  It’s been a frustrating year for the District outfit in the Big East, their record is 13-26.  They are coming off a high-scoring series defeat to Butler over the weekend that saw their program homerun record broken by their veteran catcher Owen Carapelloti.  The senior backstop belted his 11th and 12th bombs of the year, with #11 also being #49, moving him into sole possession 1st place on the all-time Georgetown homer list.  He is hitting .293 on the year and leads the team in round trippers by a country mile with 12.  Alongside him atop the Georgetown lineup card is five tool middle infielder Blake Schaaf, who is hitting .336, with 42 hits, 8 doubles, and 3 homeruns.  The speedy, second-year shortstop is also 24-27 in steals, and is reaching base at a 44.2% clip.  Schaaf has started all 38 games for Georgetown this season.  The Hoyas have not had trouble scoring runs when those two, alongside .300 hitting outfielder Kavi Caster, are swinging hot bats.  On the pitching side, the Hoyas have been beaten handily most often in the late innings.  Their two main starting pitchers both have ERAs just under 4, but between their three midweek openers, sophomore righty Johan Franco has the highest, at 7.83.  Franco is getting the ball tonight against the Hoos, looking to keep his OppBa right where it is at .244.  The Hoyas have a staff ERA at 6.37, and opponents are hitting .298 against them.  The bullpen is their kryptonite, like so many teams in college baseball.   

With a sudden weekend off, the Hoos will hopefully have stayed sharp, taken the rest, and made ready to sprint to the finish.  Unlike the Hoyas, the Hoos will send a by-trade starter to the mound tonight in lefty Evan Blanco.  Last year’s postseason hero has struggled in his return from injury, going 1-3 and an 8.06 ERA, along with 21 strikeouts.  This will be a night when Blanco can get his confidence, and possibly, his rotation spot back should he be able to make it far into the ballgame.  The Virginia bullpen has been leaned on heavily, leading to some difficult results.  Similar to Bradley Hodges sparkling outing against VCU in his last start, Blanco can do his teammates a huge favor with a strong showing tonight.   

The game will begin at 6:00pm from Disharoon Park tonight, and you can listen to pregame coverage on Newsradio WINA beginning at 5:45pm.