The No. 19 Virginia baseball team is off to its best start ever at 17-2 (3-0 ACC) after a three-game sweep of No. 17 Georgia Tech this past weekend in Atlanta. Virginia's No. 19 overall ranking by Baseball America is the team's best ranking since 1996, and the sweep was the first ever for the Cavaliers over the Yellow Jackets.
The Cavaliers opened conference play with victories of 4-3 and 2-1 in the first two games of the series. Virginia jumped off to an early lead in the first contest after senior captain Joe Koshansky smacked a two-run home run in the top of first inning. Junior Mark Reynolds then thwarted two Yellow Jacket comeback attempts with a solo home run in the top of the sixth and another solo shot in the eighth with the score tied at three.
In game two, the Cavaliers were able to work themselves out of two bases-loaded, one-out jams with two inning-ending double plays to keep the score even at 1-1 in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings. It was Koshansky though who provided the game winner with a solo shot in the top of the ninth, his team-leading eighth of the year, to propel Virginia to a 2-1 victory.
Koshansky did it with his arm in the series finale, pitching six innings, allowing three runs on eight hits and tossing seven strikeouts. In the 10th, Virginia broke a 4-4 tie when Josh Darby, Scott Headd, Kyle Werman and Mike Mitchell each knocked in a run in consecutive at bats. Freshman closer Casey Lambert, who picked up ACC Pitcher of Week honors, got the final out in all three games.
"Georgia Tech was predicted to finish first in the league, and they're preseason second or third ranked in the country," Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said. "I think it sends a message to the people out there in the conference that Virginia baseball is here to compete."
The Cavaliers improved to a perfect 8-0 on the road with the sweep and a road victory at No. 28 UNC Greensboro (12-3) last Wednesday. The 9-1 thrashing of the Spartans followed a home defeat to unranked Quinnipiac (2-7) on Monday when Virginia squandered an 11-4 lead. Koshansky led the assault with four RBIs and a run scored, but the Bobcats connected on eights hits in the top of the eighth inning to post nine runs and take a 13-11 advantage that they didn't relinquish. Virginia sophomore Canon Hickman received the loss after allowing four runs on five hits in 1.1 innings.
"I thought that the win at Greensboro on Wednesday was critical because we had a tough game on Monday, where we lost to Quinnipiac," O'Connor said. "To see the way our kids responded on Wednesday was great because Greensboro was a top 30 ranked team. I just think that gave us a lot of real great momentum going into the Georgia Tech weekend."
Virginia's torrid start puts them atop the ACC standings, in front of 14-3 N.C. State. According to Koshansky, the new coaching crew this year deserves credit for instilling a new team outlook.
"They really brought in a positive attitude and enthusiasm," Koshansky said. "It's rubbed off on the players, and we just feel like we can go out there and compete with anybody."
The team will look to build on their momentum when they travel to Norfolk to take on Old Dominion (8-10) Wednesday evening. The Monarchs are putting their ace Justin Verlander on the mound to face the Cavaliers.
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