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FEBRUARY 2021 13 thentic UVA jersey, a signed team gift and of course autographed team posters that will be picked up at Disharoon Park prior to the start of the season. Another staple of Step Up to the Plate is the wildly popular auction and raffle that was moved solely online for 2021. Baseball supporters were able to begin bidding and purchasing their raffle tickets exclusively online for the first time beginning on Jan. 26. World Series champion Cavaliers Javier Lopez, Chris Taylor and Ryan Zimmerman donated their time in the form of private Zoom calls to talk baseball as well as auto- graphed items and tickets to an MLB game this summer. One of the hottest auction items proved to be the "UVA Swag Pack" that included of- ficial UVA baseball gear and signed memo- rabilia from UVA head coaches O'Connor, Tony Bennett (men's basketball) and Bronco Mendenhall (football). Other experiences included a day at Nationals Park with the UVA coaching staff that featured six tickets to the private PNC Diamond Club and trans- portation to the game. "We're grateful and thankful to have such loyal fans and supporters of our baseball program," O'Connor added. "There are not too many college baseball programs that put on an event of this magnitude whether live or in person. It's a great example of how special the University of Virginia is." The buzz around Virginia baseball is not only palpable among the UVA faithful, but has garnered the attention nationally by a number of college baseball publications. Baseball America has Virginia at No. 5 in its annual preseason top 25, the team's highest preseason mark since 2016. Returners An- drew Abbott (left-handed pitcher), Zack Gelof (third baseman), Chris Newell (outfielder) and Stephen Schoch (right-handed pitcher) have each garnered preseason All-America honors from a number of college baseball pundits. O'Connor's club is looking to build off a 14-4 start in a shortened 2020 season with ev- ery member of last year's lineup returning this spring. The Cavaliers open up the 2021 season at Disharoon Park on Feb. 19 with the first contest of a three-game series against UConn. Established in the summer of 2017, the Vir- ginia Baseball Hall of Fame inducted its inau- gural 15-member class the following January at the program's annual Step Up to the Plate event at John Paul Jones Arena. Hall of Fame plaques are on permanent display at Disha- roon Park on the right field line concourse. In order to be considered for Hall of Fame induction, former student-athletes needed to be five years removed from the exhaustion of their college eligibility. Play- ers and coaches are selected based on ac- colades earned as a player or coach while at Virginia, distinguished careers in amateur or professional baseball and/or significant contributions through work or service made to the university. Comprised of former student-athletes and coaches spanning the 136-year history of Cavalier baseball, a total of 34 have been bestowed the program's highest honor. Here are the six newest inductees: OF STEVE BRYANT (1968-70) Bryant established the benchmark for Virginia hitters after lettering three seasons from 1968-70. Upon graduation, his .341 career batting average was the highest of any UVA baseball player for nine seasons and still ranks 10th all time. He was the first, and one of only six Cav- aliers ever, to lead the ACC in batting after hitting .383 in 1970. He earned first-team All-ACC honors in 1969 and was listed on the second team as an outfielder in 1970. The Virginia Baseball Hall Of Fame Elects Six New Inductees Virginia Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Steve Bryant was the first, and one of only six Cavaliers ever, to lead the ACC in batting after hitting .383 in 1970. PHOTO COURTESY UVA "There are not too many college baseball programs that put on an event of this magnitude whether live or in-person. It's a great example of how special the University of Virginia is." HEAD COACH BRIAN O'CONNOR Former ACC Pitcher of the Year Nathan Kirby was one of the premier arms in college baseball and a linchpin on Virginia's 2014 and 2015 College World Series teams. PHOTO COURTESY UVA