Fresh off losing two of three games in its opening conference series against N.C. State during the weekend, the Virginia baseball team regrouped and resumed its non-conference domination against Radford Tuesday, winning 8-2 to improve to 11-0 in non-conference play.
"We had a rough weekend against N.C. State, and didn't play our best baseball down there," junior Greg Miclat said. "Everybody did their job today."
Virginia sophomore starting pitcher Matt Packer gave up one run and two hits in five innings against Radford. He has been the winning pitcher in each of his two starts. After serving as the number two weekend starter last season, O'Connor has now chosen to use Packer out of the bullpen on weekends and as a starter midweek, provided he can get sufficient rest between appearances.
"That's a tough thing to do, but it's something that a veteran pitcher like Matt Packer, who's pitched a lot of big ballgames already for us in his short career, he can handle it," O'Connor said. "We'll continue to use him in the same type of role; he'll be available this weekend out of the bullpen against Duke."
Freshman Tyler Wilson, sophomore Neal Davis, and freshman Jake Cowan also made appearances for Virginia (12-2, 1-2 ACC), holding Radford (7-5) to one run and two hits in three innings of relief.
The biggest threat from Radford came in the top of the sixth. With the Highlanders trailing 5-1 with two outs and Radford redshirt sophomore Tyren Rivers on second, Wilson threw ball four to Radford junior Alex Gregory in the dirt, moving Rivers to third. Senior Nate Toth then lined through the hole between third and short, scoring the runner on third and cutting Virginia's lead to three with runners standing on first and second. Davis ended the inning with the next batter, however, as sophomore Reggie Keen flied to right to end the threat.
Radford was held scoreless from that point, as Virginia provided two runs in the sixth and added another in the seventh to give the team a 6-run cushion.
The biggest offensive day for Virginia came from Miclat, who went a perfect 4-4 with a double and stole two bases while also playing shortstop in a midweek game for the first time this season. After having rotator cuff surgery that put him out of the end of last season, O'Connor has been cautious in acclimating Miclat back into Virginia's infield, as he has alternated between shortstop and the designated hitter slot thus far. Miclat, however, has finally began to see more time in the field of late, manning the shortstop position in two of three games against N.C. State before returning to the infield again Tuesday.
"I'm not feeling too much in my shoulder, really," Miclat said. "I'm still trying to improve arm strength -- it's not where I want to be yet, but it's getting there."
Always the catalyst at the top of Virginia's lineup last year until his injury -- Miclat stole a Virginia record 32 bases while also leading the team in batting average (.376) and on-base percentage (.486) in just 45 games -- the effect of Miclat's return to form in all aspects of his game is enormous.
"Greg hasn't had an offensive day yet this year like he had today," O'Connor said. "When he plays the game with a fearlessness, and he's aggressive in what he does, he's a very, very good player."
Miclat's return to the infield, while clearly beneficial from a defensive standpoint -- O'Connor calls him one of the best shortstops in the country when he's at his best -- also helps him stay involved in the game.
"When you're playing the field ... you sort of get into a routine of coming off the field, and doing little things," Miclat said. "I'm trying to stay on the field as much as possible to stay in that routine."
Virginia also received a strong outing from sophomore Franco Valdes , who went 2-4 Tuesday after tallying just four hits previously this season and gunned down a runner attempting to steal second.
Valdes "has been struggling with the bat," O'Connor said. "He knows that, everybody knows it, but it's amazing what that [offensive performance] can do for a kid's confidence."
The Cavaliers have another midweek home game set for tomorrow at 4 p.m. against Navy. O'Connor has not yet determined who will start on the mound for Virginia.
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