To this point in the season, there has been a degree of frustration for a very young Virginia baseball team. In a three-game series against Georgia Tech in Atlanta, the Cavaliers suffered their fifth ACC loss by a single run Friday and had Sunday’s game end in a 4-4 tie because of time constraints.
As Virginia (28-7-1, 9-6-1 ACC) prepares to take on Radford (15-14) tonight, however, both coach Brian O’Connor and his players like where they stand. The Cavaliers have suffered through games decided in the final innings more often than they have triumphed. On the other hand, the fact that the Cavaliers, who were picked fourth in the Coastal Division preseason, are in every game suggests that Virginia is worthy of being called an elite team nationally.
Unlike in past years, the best may be yet to come, O’Connor said.
“The exciting thing for me is that I feel like my team hasn’t peaked yet, and maybe in previous years we’ve peaked too early,” O’Connor said. “The good thing about these games is we’re in all of them with a chance to win. Once we figure out how to win ‘em consistently, we have a chance to be a really special team.”
The general pattern has been that Virginia has failed to come out on top in the final innings. In six conference games in which the score has been tied or within a one-run margin going into the eighth inning, Virginia is 2-4-1, with the two wins coming against Maryland and Wake Forest, the bottom two teams in the Atlantic Division.
Part of these late-inning woes can be attributed to junior closer Matt Packer’s struggles. As Virginia’s middle-inning stopper last year, Packer posted a nation-best 1.14 ERA, and entered this spring as the leader of a young, inexperienced bullpen. This season, Packer’s ERA has ballooned to 4.24, and on several occasions he has entered with runners on base in key situations but failed to secure the big out to pull Virginia out of a jam.
Packer’s most recent difficulties came against Georgia Tech. The junior entered Friday with Virginia in a 6-4 lead, but allowed three runs on six hits to earn his third loss of the season. Packer made another appearance Sunday with two outs and a runner on third with Virginia in a 3-1 lead, but the first batter he faced hit an RBI-single, and Packer was immediately removed.
O’Connor has suggested moving Packer into the starting rotation, particularly with the emergence of sophomore closer Kevin Arico as a viable option at closer; Arico has three saves on the year. Throughout Packer’s slump, though, O’Connor has shown confidence that Packer will rebound, and he did not change his stance after Sunday.
“I really feel like Matt is a pitch or two away,” O’Connor said. “I know this: for us to be a championship team, Matt Packer — whether it’s at the front of the game, or in the middle of the game, or at the end of the game — is going to need to pitch good baseball for us to have a chance to win a championship.”
On the other hand, the Cavaliers have been able to mount some impressive late-inning rallies, most notably in Saturday’s game against the Yellow Jackets. Down 10-5 going into the ninth inning, Virginia put the first five runners on base and ultimately scored six runs in the inning to take the lead, with little-used freshman infielder Keith Werman knocking in the go-ahead run. After Arico threw a scoreless ninth, Virginia found the most unlikely of victories.
“I can’t say there are very many times that I’ve been a part of something like that,” O’Connor said. “The thing that was special to watch for me was how each individual player stepped up there and was not going to let his team down. That was great to see.”
After yesterday’s scheduled game with Coastal Carolina was canceled in advance of forecast inclement weather, Virginia now has the rare opportunity for a rematch against a non-conference opponent tonight. The Cavaliers defeated Radford 12-2 March 31 in Salem, Va., spurred on by a season-best nine-run second inning.
Radford, however, has shown that it is capable of at least hanging with a ranked opponent. The Highlanders took Coastal Carolina to extra innings Friday, though they eventually fell 3-2 in the 10th.
What is more, O’Connor admitted that a little bit of luck contributed to the Cavaliers’ big second inning in the teams’ last matchup.
“That rarely ever happens — every guy comes to the plate and hits the ball hard and it finds a hole and you score nine runs in an inning,” O’Connor said. “That probably won’t happen the rest of the year. It’s just important that we play good, sound fundamental baseball.”
O’Connor said freshman pitcher Will Roberts will make his fifth start of the year tonight and his second against a non-conference opponent. Roberts has posted a 3.75 ERA this season; his best outing came in his only other midweek start against William & Mary Feb. 24, when he threw five scoreless innings and allowed just three hits in an 11-1 victory. O’Connor also noted that several other pitchers will need work against Radford after Tuesday’s cancellation.
Radford’s starter, meanwhile, has not yet been determined. The Highlander pitcher who had the most success against Virginia in the teams’ first meeting was senior Josh Hammonds, who followed the Cavaliers’ nine-run burst with six scoreless innings of work before he ran out of steam, allowing two runs in the ninth. It would appear that Hammonds is available for another extended appearance if needed, having thrown just two-thirds of an inning during the weekend series against Coastal Carolina.
After each contest that Virginia has lost or won in startling fashion, O’Connor has said his young team returns the next game with the same bounce in its step — which is why sophomore right fielder Dan Grovatt said nothing will change against Radford. With one month left in the season, Grovatt noted that he has no complaints.
“Coaches have told me before, if you’re winning two-thirds of your games in the game of baseball, that’s considered almost impossible to do,” Grovatt said. “If you win two out of three games, you’re winning every series; that’s outstanding. We’re way above that winning percentage right now. That’s where you want to be, and if we take care of business that’s where we’ll stay.”
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