In front of record crowds at Davenport Field, beneath cloudless blue skies, the No. 8 Virginia baseball team faced its toughest test of the year. After dropping two of three games last weekend and barely escaping a midweek game against Old Dominion, the Cavaliers came up against a dangerous No. 6 Florida State team needing to make a statement and right the ship.
Saturday and Sunday, the Cavaliers (35-6, 16-5 ACC) made that statement loudly and clearly, sweeping the Seminoles in impressive fashion to stake their claim as a national contender. Behind dazzling starting pitching, Virginia topped Florida State 9-2 and 2-0 in Saturday’s doubleheader, and followed it up with a 5-2 win Sunday to complete a series sweep against the Seminoles (31-9, 13-8 ACC) for the first time in program history.
“Florida State has one of the most respected baseball programs in this country,” coach Brian O’Connor said. “This weekend was defined by really high caliber pitching. I just felt that for us to continue to move forward as a team, it was going to take our starters going out there and pitching deeper in the ballgame, and we’ve been inconsistent with that, but certainly we got it this weekend.”
Freshman lefty Brandon Waddell took the mound for the Cavaliers Saturday, setting the tone for the entire weekend by giving up just four hits and one run in six innings. Waddell had struggled in recent weeks and was still searching for his first career ACC win, but he showed his signature command against the Seminoles.
“There was a handful of ballgames in a row where he scuffled a bit, and that can happen to a freshman,” O’Connor said. “I’m just really proud of him. He ran into that tough rut, now he’s dug himself out and he’s got two back-to-back quality starts for us.”
Though Waddell took complete command of the game from the mound, he was helped by an offensive explosion from the Cavaliers. Against Seminole sophomore starter Luke Weaver, Virginia jumped out to an early lead in the second on a two-run home run by sophomore third baseman Nick Howard, the first of his career. He was one of three sophomores — along with outfielders Derek Fisher and Brandon Downes — to go deep in the game.
The Cavaliers scored eight runs between the second and sixth innings to earn the blowout victory. Florida State picked up a run in the eighth, but it was not enough, and the combination of junior Whit Mayberry and freshman David Rosenberger closed the game out in relief.
Although it was a freshman pitcher who grabbed the headlines in the first game of the doubleheader, it was a fifth-year senior that stole the show in the second game. Scott Silverstein had a dominant performance, giving up just one hit in seven innings to paralyze the Florida State offense.
Silverstein has been the most consistent starter for the Cavaliers all year, and he did not seem fazed in facing a top-10 opponent Saturday. After a long, injury-filled career at Virginia, the redshirt senior is now 7-0 on the season, but he was quick to credit his teammates after the game.
“I’m more happy of my team’s overall record than my record,” Silverstein said. “My record is only a reflection of the guys behind me and the guys hitting. We’ve done a good job all year of putting up runs and playing good defense.”
Saturday’s second game was a pitcher’s duel throughout, but a two-strike, two-out double by sophomore Branden Cogswell broke the scoreless tie and plated two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Florida State sophomore Brandon Leibrandt had seven strikeouts in an eight-inning complete game, but his offense provided no support. Junior Kyle Crockett relieved Silverstein in the eighth and continued his torrid pace this season, firing two hitless innings to notch his eighth save.
“You’ve got to come get him,” O’Connor said of Crockett. “He’s shown up until this point in the season that he’s not going to beat himself. This guy has done a good job, and he’s pretty special.”
Sunday, the Cavaliers looked to complete a historic streak against one of the nation’s premier college baseball programs. Virginia sent third baseman and starting pitcher Howard to the mound, and the sophomore struggled early. He allowed five base runners in the first two innings, but escaped both frames unscathed.
Howard’s counterpart, Seminole senior Scott Sitz seemed superior at the start, firing consecutive perfect innings to begin the game, but the Cavaliers were able to break through in the third. Senior first baseman Jared King laced a three-run triple to right center field to break the game open and give the Cavaliers the 3-0 lead. Those runs would be enough for Howard, who bounced back from his early struggles to fire 6.2 innings while allowing just one run.
“Nick has really progressed through this year as a starter,” O’Connor said. “He pitched himself into trouble a little bit … but the important thing is, in those first two innings he made the big pitches to pitch himself out of it, and he buckled down, and that’s what you like to see.”
Crockett impressed again, earning another two-inning save to complete the sweep of the Seminoles. In their most important series to date, the Cavaliers made a national impression, outscoring Florida State 16-4 and never trailing in any of the three games. In front of a three-game-record 13,890 fans, the Cavaliers showed just how dangerous they could be this year.
“From a national perspective, it’s a huge weekend for us,” O’Connor said. “This was an NCAA Regional or Super Regional kind of environment, and I was so happy to see how our players handled it. … What we did this weekend is what you have to do to win a regional. You’ve got to win three games in a row against teams that have earned it.”
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