Nothing takes away the sting of your first home loss like a resounding victory the next time you hit the field. The Cavaliers, then, should feel pretty good after putting away George Mason 17-6 last night.
Although they suffered a 4-2 loss to Miami Sunday, any remaining feelings the Cavaliers might have had with regards to that game clearly only had a positive effect on their performance last night.
"We were mad about getting that last loss," sophomore outfielder Brandon Guyer said.
Virginia started the game off with two easy outs. Right-fielder senior Brandon Marsh secured a three-up three-down when he made a diving catch to stop Patriot Chris Fournier's line drive.
In the top of the first the Cavaliers jumped out to an 8-0 lead, propelled in large part by Guyer's grand slam just six batters into the inning. Mason's starting pitcher freshman Kris Mengle, who had his first career start last night, was pulled after just eight batters in favor of freshman Jack Zeltner.
Although the Cavaliers never had another blowout inning to equal the first, a series of consistent two- and three-run innings still propelled them to their final of 17 runs. A tight defense ensured that George Mason never scored above one run per inning until the last inning, when the Cavaliers showed signs of fatigue.
"Our guys came ready to play tonight, especially from an offensive standpoint," Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said. "We didn't make some plays at some times, and made some base running mistakes, but overall we played the game very hard."
While George Mason certainly isn't Miami, the victory is still good news for Virginia. When they faced the Patriots last year, the Cavaliers only managed to eke out a 9-7 win. Although last year's matchup occurred a bit earlier in the season, the difference in winning margins is still very indicative of the Cavaliers' progress.
"I think this year we're farther along and we're in a better position because we're older," O'Connor said. "Last year even at this point -- this is the exact midway point of the season, right now, -- I think last year there was still some uncertainty. When you have a veteran team like we have this year they're playing with a lot of confidence and belief in themselves, so I like where we're at."
In addition to tallying a more definitive win over George Mason this year, the Cavaliers also have not dropped any midweek games. Last year they had already dropped two.
Even if they are further along, the Cavaliers still have a long way to go before they can prove they've truly surpassed last year's team. Last year the Cavalier's ACC record at this point was 6-3; this year it's 5-4. In many ways, this week could be pivotal in showing how far the Cavaliers have truly progressed.
"I told the team on Sunday after the ballgame that this week and ... our middle-of-the-week game next week will be the toughest stretch we have," O'Connor said. "We have two mid-week games, we play on the road in the ACC, and then on the road mid-week, so I'm glad we handled the first game the way we did."
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