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Virginia reveals starting pitcher for College World Series opener against Florida
Published:
Virginia will start right-handed senior Nick Parker against Florida on Friday when it opens play at the 2023 Men’s College World Series.
Cavaliers coach Brian O’Connor shared the news with reporters on Thursday as the team prepares for its Friday contest. Parker, coincidentally, was roommates with Florida’s starting catcher while the duo was at Coastal Carolina. Parker is 8-0 in his appearances for Virginia this season, with an ERA of 3.81.
Virginia will start righty Nick Parker tomorrow against Florida, per head coach Brian O'Connor. Parker was roommates with Florida catcher BT Riopelle as a freshman at Coastal Carolina.
— Jacob Rudner (@JacobRudner) June 15, 2023
The CWS start will be the first for Parker in his career. It’ll be his fifth NCAA Tournament start, though. He earned 2 postseason wins during his time at Coastal Carolina.
He was also brilliant in a start against East Carolina earlier in the Regional round. In a 2-1 UVa win, he gave up just 1 earned on 5 hits in 7 innings of work. He struck out 5 batters that day. His last time out — Game 1 against Duke in the Super Regionals — he pitched 6.2 innings and gave up 3 earned runs on 6 hits with 4 punchouts and 2 walks.
The 7-seed Cavs (50-13) will make their sixth appearance at the CWS all-time. Friday’s game against 2-seed Florida (50-15) is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Florida will throw junior ace Brandon Sproat (8-3, 4.69 ERA) against the Cavs.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
