After eight months of waiting, a brand new college baseball season finally begins. It's time to pull the Cavalier hat out of the closet, and make your way to Ted Davenport Field to watch the Virginia baseball team clash with rival clubs. Virginia hopes to fare a little better than last year in their new facility and they hope Mondays will not just be the end of the weekend but a time to celebrate weekend series' wins.
Virginia will play a more classic style of baseball this season, with a greater emphasis on pitching and strong defensive play. Low-scoring pitching duels could be a common theme throughout the season, as the Cavaliers boast a deep bullpen and a talented rotation of starting pitchers.
"Definitely one of our strengths this season is our pitching staff," senior right-handed pitcher Shooter Starr said. "We have some great pitching and defense."
There seem to be no holes in the pitching staff this season. Virginia has a pair of outstanding starters in junior right-handed pitcher Jeff Kamrath and freshman left-handed pitcher Mike Ballard. They are the solid aces of the staff while Virginia waits for other pitchers to grow into starting roles.
"Jeff Kamrath came off of a great season last year," senior left-handed pitcher Greg Hansard said." He will be our number one starter this season.He's just going on experience."
When their starter's arm begins to wear out, Virginia will have no reason to fear. Luckily, the bullpen will boast a stellar group of relief pitchers that should be able to come into any situation and pitch solidly.
"We have a good combination of left-handed pitchers and right-handed pitchers," Hansard said. "Also, most of the guys can throw middle or long relief.We're never going to run out of arms."
An equally strong roster of defensive players compliments this corps of Virginia pitchers.
"Our infield is really strong, especially up the middle," Hansard said. "And if you look at the outfield, I don't think many people will be tagging up from third against us. Our outfielders have some of the strongest arms in the ACC."
Even with strong defense, however, a team still must be able to put at least a few runs on the board to have a shot at winning. That's when Virginia will turn to the hitting ability of guys such as junior infielder Joe Koshansky and sophomore infielder Mark Reynolds. Reynolds is coming off of a great 2002 season in which he belted 15 homeruns. Despite being swept in last weekend's season opener against Auburn, the Cavaliers played a strong series and showed great promise at the plate.
"Our offense was able to put up quite a few runs last weekend," Hansard said.
There are high hopes for the Cavaliers this season, even though they are facing a tough schedule filled with top ranked ACC opponents.
"We have a lot of good team comradary this season," Starr said. "Everyone seems to be working really hard."
Virginia should have no problem keeping many of their opponents off the scoreboard. If their lineup at the plate proves to be as potent a force as the pitching staff, the Cavaliers should see the Ws line up in their column.
"Overall I feel our team has a really good shot this season in the ACC and for top 25 votes," Hansard said.
Virginia hopes to make a statement to the ACC this year. They want their conference rivals to fear setting foot on Ted Davenport Field and return the Virginia baseball program to prominence.
Read More
The 2025 MLB Draft: An end and a beginning for Virginia baseball
By Xander Tilock | 4 hours agoVirginia upperclassmen and incoming recruits could wind up with MLB organizations.
Live tracker: the men’s basketball offseason
By Michael Liebermann , Emory Huffman and Xander Tilock | YesterdayA frenetic offseason likely awaits.
Together, the rookies of the past became the champions of the present
By Xander Tilock | 2 days agoVirginia's championship coaches often collaborate.
