After announcing its presence with authority Wednesday night, the Virginia baseball team looks to continue its ACC success this weekend in a three-game series against Duke. The series marks the end of the Cavaliers' seven-game road trip.
While last weekend's ACC series versus N.C. State proved to be rather costly, the Cavaliers (25-8, 6-6 ACC) should have little trouble with the Blue Devils. Duke (10-24, 3-9 ACC) is coming off a 16-3 thrashing thanks to the High Point Panthers. The Blue Devils have been particularly cool as of late, having lost 11 of their last 13 games.
History favors the Cavaliers as well. Last year, Virginia swept Duke 7-1, 7-2 and 10-4 to close out the regular season. However, last year's series was in Charlottesville, where the Cavaliers were much more successful. This time around, the Blue Devils will be looking for revenge and will have their home turf to support them.
While Virginia has proven practically invincible in Charlottesville this season, the Cavaliers are only 6-6 on the road.
"It is so comfortable when you play at home," Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said. "You have your own locker room and your own routine. It's tough to play on the road. You win on the road with good pitching, a good starting pitching performance. That is what we did not get last weekend in two out of three games. That's the difference. It allows our young kids to relax a little bit and just play."
Speaking of the "young kids", freshman David Adams claims to prefer road games.
"It's definitely fun to play on the road," Adams said. "I actually like it a little bit more. The fans get all into it and the crowd gets rowdy. It makes it interesting."
The series will definitely be interesting, especially Friday night's match-up. Southpaw sophomore Sean Doolittle (5-1, 2.14 ERA) will have to duel Duke ace Danny Otero. Otero (4-2, 1.24 ERA), the junior right-hander out of Coral Cables, Fla. has been the Blue Devils' success story this season, having struck out 37 of the 195 batters he has faced. Not to be outdone, Doolittle has been a wizard on the mound, yielding a staggering .171 opponents batting average.
Doolittle had perhaps the best game of his career against Duke last season. In the Cavaliers' 10-4 victory, Doolittle pitched four innings of two-hit ball to earn the win in relief. Doolittle also stifled the Blue Devils with his bat, driving in five runs -- including a grand slam.
Saturday, Virginia freshman Jacob Thompson (5-1, 2.52 ERA) will face junior right-hander Tony Bajoczky (1-6, 6.08 ERA). While Thompson struggled last weekend, the performance should be considered a minor hiccup rather than the start of a slump.
Sunday will feature senior co-captain Mike Ballard (4-2, 2.56 ERA) and Duke lefty Jonathan Anderson (2-3, 8.39 ERA). Ballard has been the rock of the Cavaliers' pitching staff all year and should turn in another solid performance.
Game times are 7 p.m., 1 p.m. and 1 p.m. respectively.
Read More
Virginia schools can pay players through NIL, but the University should proceed with caution
By Emory Huffman | YesterdayGiven the unique academic and athletic opportunities Virginia is able to offer its athletes, it is not shocking that Virginia has been resistant to extravagant, NIL-induced changes.
Record-setting weekend for Virginia track and field at Penn Relays and Virginia High Performance
By Tanmayi Patil | YesterdayThe Cavaliers took down records across two events over the weekend.
Virginia softball closes out regular season with series victory over Georgia Tech
By Eleanor Lynch | 2 days agoThe team’s overall 65.3 percent win record this year is the highest it’s been since the 2003-04 season, and there is still time for it to continue to rise from there.
