Nobody who wears the blue and orange sabers at the University of Virginia wants to lose to the Hokies of Virginia Tech. The fierce rivalry between the in-state schools leads to high emotion among both the players and the athletes. This weekend, the Virginia baseball team travels to Blacksburg for a crucial three-game series.
"Anytime Virginia plays Virginia Tech it's going to be a rival game," junior pitcher Matt Avery said. "The same holds true for baseball."
Recently, the Cavaliers have had the better of the Virginia-Virginia Tech rivalry, winning three of the last four games. With the addition of the Hokies to the ACC this year, the rivalry has a renewed importance for the team.
"You see it with football and basketball -- baseball is no less," Avery said. "They are a good team. The ACC is always tough competition.
Virginia currently is riding a season-high nine game winning streak as it prepares for the weekend series. All nine wins have come within the friendly confines of Davenport Field. While the confidence grows when the pitchers toe the rubber in Charlottesville, the team has emphasized keeping the confidence high as it hits the road.
"We've gotten comfortable playing home games the last two weeks," injured junior outfielder Tom Hagan said. "This weekend will be a good test to see if we can take the success to the road."
Hagan is part of the three-headed hitting monster that has been inactive due to injury. Outfielders Tom Hagan and Mike Mitchell and first baseman Josh Darby all are expected back within a few weeks from injuries. These three pivotal sluggers comprise three of the top six hitters who return from last year's 44-15 squad.
Hagan and Darby have been out four weeks while Mitchell was hurt last year with a serious knee injury. With the seventh best slugging percentage and the fifth best batting average in the ACC, the Cavaliers could use a few more healthy bats.
"Darby and I are on the same scale and should be back at full strength by N.C. State," Hagan said. "We've had lots of guys that have stepped up that will really help down the road."
One of those hitters is sophomore Ryan Hudson, who hit a game winning home run last Saturday to beat Maryland. With the three expected starters out, Hudson and freshman Sean Doolittle have received more at-bats than anticipated. Both have made the best of their chances with two of the top four slugging percentages on the team.
While Virginia's depth has held the team together for a strong overall record of 17-6, its ACC record is a mediocre 3-3 with the Cavaliers in sixth place in the conference. Virginia Tech is near the cellar of the ACC in tenth place with a record of 1-6. With the "bad guys" in the lead of the overall series between the Commonwealth schools at 74-72, a series sweep would give the Cavaliers the overall edge in the heated rivalry.
"We have so many games in the ACC," Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said. "You just look at them one game at a time to get back into it. We're looking at Friday night."
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