After taking two of three games from N.C. State at home this weekend, the Virginia baseball team (15-10) hopes to keep cruising when it hosts the University of Richmond (10-14) this afternoon at 3 p.m. at U.Va. Baseball Field. The Cavaliers and the Spiders split their regular season series last year, with the visiting team victorious in both games.
Freshman left-hander Canon Hickman is slated to take the mound for Virginia today. Hickman has three starts under his belt as a Cavalier and carries a 1-2 record with a 6.33 earned run average. In his last start, Hickman went six innings but took the loss when the Cavaliers fell to Virginia Commonwealth, 8-2, on March 20.
"Richmond will probably throw one of their better guys at us, and we hope to have Canon Hickman, who was throwing the ball pretty well for us, pitch well for us," coach Dennis Womack said.
Virginia also will look for solid outings from senior shortstop Hunter Wyant and junior first baseman Dan Street. Wyant posted a four-hit game against N.C. State on Saturday, and Street knocked in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth to lift Virginia over the Wolfpack, 8-7, on Friday.
Senior third baseman Jon Benick and junior outfielder David Stone also will need to continue producing offensively and defensively for Virginia. Benick is hitting .290 and leads the ACC with 11 homers. Stone, who is hitting .378, boasts the third-highest average on the club. He is also solid defensively and has committed only two errors.
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"Richmond is going to be tough as nails," Womack said. "We're going to have to be ready to play."
The Spiders come to Charlottesville after dropping three games to William & Mary over the weekend. Street believes the Cavaliers can extend Richmond's losing streak.
"Richmond is going to be a tough in-state game," he said. "But we should be able to handle them. We should be able to put some good pitching on them and score some runs."
The Spiders are a young team with 13 new faces on the roster this year, and they have battled some slumps in the first half of the season. Senior captain Matt Reid has struggled at the plate and is batting .132 in 20 starts. Three sophomores, Matt Craig at third base, David Reaver at shortstop and Vito Chiaravalloti at first base, complement Reed. Craig was a freshman All-American last year but is off to a slow start this season. He has just one RBI in nine games. Chiaravalloti (.282) and Reaver (.263) have the third- and fourth-highest batting averages on the team. Senior catcher Adam Tidball is leading the club by hitting .333 after 20 starts.
Richmond's pitching staff also is struggling this season. Senior right-hander Brian Lane, a converted outfielder, leads the squad with a 2-0 record and a 1.61 ERA. Sophomore right-hander Mike McGirr's 3-2 record is the only other winning record on the staff. Junior right-handers Bobby Basham and Bake Leonards are saddled with 7.30 and 6.35 ERAs, respectively.
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