This weekend, the Virginia Cavaliers will face the Clemson Tigers in what may be the most exciting homestand of the season. Aside from the fact that Clemson is the second-ranked team nationally by Baseball America, the two teams have some bad blood between them that could heat up this weekend.
During last year's ACC Tournament, Virginia coach Brian O'Connor and Clemson coach Jack Leggett got into a verbal confrontation. While Cavalier fans can remember the tension of the day, O'Connor is interested in putting the incident behind him.
"I've got a lot of respect for coach Leggett," O'Connor said. "He's a great coach, one of the best coaches in college baseball, and we've had some very intense games. Obviously their program wants to win and so does ours. When you have two teams like that that lock up, there are going to be some heated battles, but that's good, because it's all in the interest of winning. But there is a good relationship there."
If the most heated battles come about in big games, fans will get their money's worth this weekend. Clemson (11-3, 0-0 ACC) comes into Friday's opener with history on their side. The two teams have met 133 times, with Clemson having won 100 of those games. However, recent trends have the Cavaliers on top. Virginia has won six of the last eight games and beat the Tigers twice in the ACC Tournament last year. While the Tigers are 39-19 all-time in games played at Virginia, no current Clemson starting pitcher has recorded a victory against the Cavaliers.
Furthermore, the series features a battle between Virginia's offense and Clemson's pitching. The Cavaliers are hitting .356 as a team with a .438 on-base percentage and 37 stolen bases in 48 attempts. Freshman Jeremy Farrell leads the team with a .524 batting average, followed by Brandon Marsh at .489 and David Adams at .390. Despite a lack of home runs hit, due mainly to spacious Davenport Field, the Cavaliers have put up runs in prolific fashion. They are tied for third in the ACC in doubles and are second in triples. Clemson counters with the best pitching staff in the ACC. The Tiger arms have a 2.09 ERA and a .199 opponents' batting average to their credit. Clemson is also the co-leader in fielding percentage with Miami, with a .974 clip.
In game one, Virginia's sophomore southpaw Sean Doolittle (4-0, 1.16 ERA) will take the mound against Clemson's senior righty Josh Cribb (4-0, 0.96 ERA). Doolittle has allowed only 11 hits and five walks with 29 strikeouts. Cribb is just as impressive, allowing 9 hits and 4 walks while recording 14 strikeouts. In his last outing against No. 25 Kansas, Cribb pitched seven innings of one-hit ball to secure the win.
In game two Saturday, freshman righty Jacob Thompson (4-0, 2.01 ERA) will face junior righthander Jason Berken (2-1, 2.70 ERA). Thompson has won four of his five starts for the Cavaliers, earning 27 strikeouts in the process. Berken has made four starts, allowing 18 hits and six walks while striking out 20 batters.
In game three, Virginia co-captain and senior lefthander Mike Ballard (3-1, 1.93 ERA) will battle junior righty Stephen Faris (1-0, 1.80 ERA). Ballard has allowed 26 hits and eight walks while striking out 23 batters in his five starts. Faris, a Richmond, Va. native, has made four starts, allowing 13 hits and five walks with 24 strikeouts.
The Cavalier faithful should expect the competition to be fierce. The players are aware of the importance of this weekend's series and the intensity that will accompany it.
"I'm looking forward to it, and I think all of us are," freshman David Adams said. "It's going to be a great series this weekend -- having a lot of fans out there -- its going to be exciting."
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