A payoff pitch at the knees froze sophomore first baseman Pavin Smith for the final out Sunday evening, as North Carolina State defeated Virginia 5-2 to take the weekend series. His bat in one hand and helmet in the other, a flustered Smith trotted off the diamond. He, along with sophomore centerfielder Adam Haseley, had never looked so lost at the plate over nine innings. Each went hitless and struck out four times.
“Sometimes guys have tough days, you know,” Virginia coach O’Connor said. “I told the team after the game that guys like Adam Haseley and Pavin Smith have been doing it for this team all year long. They’ve got to deal with it and be ready for the next opportunity.”
Smith, Haseley and the Cavaliers (18-11, 6-6 ACC) return to action Tuesday night at Virginia Commonwealth University (18-10, 5-1 A-10). Virginia defeated the Rams 5-3 in Richmond a season ago. Then-freshman pitcher Derek Casey — whose torn elbow would require season-ending surgery a month later — allowed just four hits and one run over seven innings.
At the top of the Virginia batting order, Haseley and then-sophomore shortstop Daniel Pinero combined for five hits, three runs and three RBIs. The Cavaliers were leading 5-0 in the eighth when then-junior pitcher Kevin Doherty inherited a base runner in relief of Casey. VCU would break through on an RBI-single, the lone run charged to Casey, and scratch across two more runs on a double.
O’Connor took the baseball from Doherty and handed it to the guy the Cavaliers wish they had at the back of their shaky bullpen this year, then-junior Josh Sborz. The second-round pick in the 2015 MLB Draft recorded a four-out save, his eighth of the season.
The Rams hadn’t rolled over. They were able to make it a ballgame and force O’Connor to use his best arm out of the pen. Though Virginia escaped Richmond with a win that day, a hard-nosed VCU team had earned even more respect.
“They definitely bring the energy in their ‘Diamond’ over there, the fans as well,” Pinero said. “It’s fun, and it’ll be a tough game that’s for sure. They’re a tough team. They always have been. I think we’ll come out, put [Sunday] behind us, and we’ll come out strong.”
The Ram lineup centers around three veterans — junior infielders Matt Davis and Darian Carpenter and senior outfielder Jimmy Kerrigan. Davis is hitting .274 and has smacked a team-high three home runs. Carpenter, who tallied eight homers in 2015, has two to his name so far this season. Carpenter provides more pop for VCU, but, like Virginia alumnus and big leaguer Mark Reynolds, tends to swing and miss in exchange.
Kerrigan is the most dangerous hitter Virginia pitchers will face Tuesday without question. The only Ram above the .300 threshold, the Philadelphia, Pa. native maintains an impressive .368 clip. Kerrigan’s 39 hits, 18 RBIs, 22 runs, 54 total bases and 9 doubles are all tops on the team.
On the mound, sophomore right-hander Sean Thompson holds a 5-0 record and 3.40 ERA, while junior left-hander Brooks Vial sports a 3-2 record and 3.83 ERA over 47 innings of work. Regardless of whether Thompson, Vial or somebody else starts Tuesday for VCU, the Cavaliers will expect a competitor and strike thrower.
Smith and Haseley are eager to step back into the box and provide the spark for their team Tuesday in a must-win ballgame. Despite the timely run it made last year, Virginia chooses not to reconcile any regular-season struggles with postseason success.
“Last year, we had a rough regular season,” Pinero said. “We’re trying to not have that same thing where we go into the last weekend at UNC and have to win all three games… We’re trying to keep our momentum going forward and not just turn it on at the end.”
The first pitch Tuesday is scheduled for 7 p.m. at “The Diamond” in Richmond.
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