Hunter Wyant has that wicked combination of offensive and defensive skill that baseball players crave from the day they first hit a whiffle ball off the tee. Not only does Wyant anchor the Virginia infield at shortstop, but he carries a .388 batting average at the plate with more than half the season behind him.
"One thing that Hunter can do that most people can't is hit good pitching," Virginia coach Dennis Womack said. "He's a good breaking ball hitter, which is unusual. Defensively, he plays one of the most important positions, and he's been a steadying influence. Playing shortstop and being our No. 4 hitter. He's one of the best in the conference."
That's no small feat in the ACC, a conference with a tradition of stellar baseball. Wyant, a home-grown talent from White Hall, Va., knew he wanted a crack at ACC teams but didn't expect it to be at Virginia, though he had Albemarle roots.
"I never expected to come here, actually," Wyant said. "It ended up being a good choice because it's a good academic school and good at baseball. I wanted to play in the ACC, so it ended up being a good choice."
It was a good choice for Virginia, too. The Cavaliers (17-14) snagged a versatile player who, in his junior season, did turns at third base, shortstop, left field, designated hitter and pitcher. This year, he has settled into his role as shortstop and offensive clutch man and earned ACC co-player of the week honors for his 15-for-22 (.682), 12 RBI performance the week of March 12. In Virginia's 18-7 victory over High Point at the beginning of that week, he became the first player in Virginia history to hit for the cycle and also had a career-high five RBIs.
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Wyant nursed a 13-game hitting streak before finally going 0-for-3 against Richmond on March 27. He also scored the winning run in the first game of Virginia's most recent ACC showdown against No. 3 Georgia Tech.
Although some good hitters are notorious for their superstitious batter's box routines, Wyant prefers not to let the gods of luck mess with his head.
"I try to eliminate superstition because baseball is such an up-and-down game anyway," he said. "So I try to keep my head as clear as I can."
With or without other worldly forces surrounding him, Wyant always has been a tough out, even during his high school days. He was a four-year letterman and a two-time team MVP at Western Abermarle High. In fact, Wyant's favorite memory as a player occurred during those years.
"My senior season in high school, we came back to win the district tournament," he said.
"I hit a home run at the end of the game," he added modestly.
With his final year in a Cavalier uniform slowly drawing to a close, Wyant, an economics major, is considering his options.
"Hopefully, I'm playing baseball," he said.
If professional ball doesn't come knocking with offers to tour small town America in a charter bus, however, Wyant still plans to see the country.
"If I'm not playing baseball, I want to travel all summer long," he said. "I'm definitely going to take a trip across the country because my brother lives in Oregon. I'm going to take a road trip out there and go up and down the West Coast and then hopefully plan a few trips out of the country, too."
For now, however, there are 22 regular season games, including a road series at Wake Forest this weekend, and playoff hopes to consider.
"My ultimate goal for the team is to make the [NCAA] Regionals," Wyant said. "For me, my main goal is just to play hard everyday and help the team as much as possible and try not to let any opportunity slip by"
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