PREVIEW: Virginia at Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Interstat) — Virginia visits Louisville on Friday evening in an Atlantic Coast Conference baseball matchup at Jim Patterson Stadium, with the 22nd-ranked Cavaliers seeking to build on a series-opening win.

First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. under cloudy skies with a temperature of 56 degrees.

Virginia (34-18) enters with momentum after a 16-6 victory over Richmond on Tuesday. The Cavaliers took the series opener 1-0 against Louisville on Thursday. Virginia has won four of its last six games overall but dropped two of three at Pittsburgh in late April.

Louisville (28-25) has struggled, losing eight of its last 10, though the Cardinals defeated Bellarmine 14-7 on Tuesday. Louisville dropped two of three at Miami last weekend and lost three straight at Wake Forest before that.

Players to watch

Virginia left fielder Harrison Didawick went 3-for-6 with four RBIs against Richmond on Tuesday. The outfielder has been inconsistent, with hits in just two of his last five games, but delivered a home run and three RBIs against Radford on May 3.

Louisville second baseman Kade Elam homered twice and drove in three runs on a 2-for-4 day against Bellarmine on Tuesday. He has six hits in his last four games and has reached base safely in seven of his last 10 contests.

Series history

Virginia won the series opener 1-0 on Thursday, the only meeting between the teams this season before this weekend’s three-game set.

Projection

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 5-3 Virginia victory.

Up next

The teams meet again Saturday for the second game of the three-game series at Jim Patterson Stadium.