The Virginia baseball team will send freshman pitcher Chris Gale to the mound for his first collegiate start this afternoon when the Cavaliers take on Brown at 3 p.m. at U.Va. Baseball Field. With ACC powerhouse Georgia Tech looming next on the schedule, today's contest should give the Cavaliers (16-10) a chance to fine-tune all aspects of their game. But Virginia coach Dennis Womack isn't ready to dismiss Brown (4-8) entirely.
"The Brown game will be a tough game," Womack said. "Before a big ACC [game], we're starting a guy who has never started a game. He needs to come out and pitch well for us. Brown, who knows who they're going to throw? They may be throwing their best guy. You don't know. [We need to] get ready to play."
Brown is an experienced club that lost only two position players after finishing the 2000 season second in the Rolfe Division of the Ivy League.
The players' paltry 4-8 record is not an accurate indicator of their talent. Brown's most valuable asset is its infield, which consists of senior shortstop Dan Kantrovitz, junior first baseman Shaun Gallagher, sophomore third baseman Dan Spring and freshman Rob Deeb at first. Kantrovitz is rebounding from a disappointing junior season when he fell far short of the offensive numbers that earned him the 1999 Blair Bat award as the top hitter in the Ivy League. Twelve games into the 2001 season, his batting average hovers 11 points below .300 and he has nine RBIs.
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Center fielder and team captain Todd Iarussi anchors the outfield and dominates at the plate. Iarussi was named to the All-Ivy first team last season and led the Bears in five offensive categories: batting average, hits, doubles, RBIs and total bases. He has been impressive in the first few weeks this season and is hitting .316 with a home run in 12 starts.
Two-time All-Ivy selection Jim Johnson earned the first spot in the pitching rotation with his 69-strikeout season and 6-2 record last year. He has cooled off some this season, though, with a hefty 5.17 ERA and an 0-3 record. Just one Brown starter, junior John Cappello, carries a winning record. He is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA.
Pitching has been just one of the troubles plaguing Brown recently. The Bears won only three of their last 10 games and lost three in a row before defeating VMI, 10-5, on Tuesday. If Virginia continues its recent stellar play, the Bears should pose little threat. Junior outfielder David Stone and senior shortstop Hunter Wyant have both been aggressive at the plate for Virginia and carry averages just below .400. Sophomore Doug Vroman also came through in the clutch on Tuesday against Richmond on Tuesday by knocking in the winning run with a double in the fifth inning. The Cavaliers beat the Spiders 1-0 behind Vroman's RBI and freshman pitcher Canon Hickman's complete game, the first complete game for a Virginia pitcher since 1997.
"Our guys, we can just flat out play," Hickman said. "We have good defense, we have good hitting. Our weekend starters have been doing really well. When we're on, we can beat anybody"
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