Forty-eight hours ago, it was a ground-breaking accomplishment. But after his team defeated George Washington 5-2 in the season home-opener, coach Brian O'Connor said the subject is now taboo. Like screaming 'bomb' on an airplane.
"I told them that yesterday was the last time I was ever gonna address rankings again, the rest of the year," O'Connor said. "You can't go any higher than No. 1."
Through five innings against George Washington yesterday, sophomore pitcher Will Roberts carried the top team in the nation, holding the Colonials (0-4) to just two walks and two hits. Roberts' effort may not have matched his stunning debut performance against William & Mary from a year ago, in which he struck out eight batters in five innings - the most for a Virginia freshman since 2006 - but it provided the Cavalier offense with more than enough room to inflict heavy damage against the George Washington pitching staff.
Virginia (3-1) struck first in the third inning when junior right fielder Dan Grovatt smacked a double down the right field line to score sophomore designated hitter Danny Hultzen.
Sophomore first baseman John Hicks carried the momentum into the following inning with a leadoff double and eventually scored on junior catcher Kenny Swabb's ground-out after advancing to third on a wild pitch. Sophomore second baseman Keith Werman and junior left fielder Phil Gosselin compiled back-to-back singles, and both advanced on errors, with Werman eventually scoring. After Gosselin moved to third on a wild pitch, Hultzen made his presence felt again with an RBI double to left-center. The preseason All-American would add another run when sophomore third baseman Steven Proscia hit a sacrifice fly to give Virginia a 5-0 lead.
Although the Cavaliers were cruising through five, the Colonials made things interesting in the sixth. Roberts allowed two base-runners for the first time in a single inning and was pulled from the game when junior outfielder Brendon Kelliher knocked a single through the left side of the infield to give George Washington its first run.
"I thought Will Roberts pitched a really good ball game," O'Connor said. "I would've loved to have seen him finish that sixth inning, but he hit his pitch count and we had to take him out of the ball game."
His replacement, freshman Whit Mayberry, provided little immediate relief. With runners on second and third, Mayberry surrendered a double that just grazed the right-field line to stay in fair play. Mayberry induced a groundout to second to end the bruising, however, and settled in for a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the seventh, fanning two batters.
After Proscia was tagged out at home plate in the bottom half of the inning, O'Connor brought in junior Corey Hunt from the bullpen. But Hunt, who allowed four earned runs in 2/3 of an inning against East Carolina last Sunday, found no sanctuary at home. After Hunt surrendered two singles to the first two batters he faced, O'Connor turned to senior lefty Neal Davis, who was charged with the task of protecting a precarious three-run lead with the potential tying run at bat.
The southpaw was smooth as could be, striking out the first candidate with a biting breaking ball on the outside edge of the plate. He then fielded a comebacker to the mound, looked off the runner on third and threw to first to record the second out of the inning.
"I think Neal Davis is really determined this year to have a great year in his final senior season, and he's pitched great all three times he's been out there," O'Connor said. "He's gonna be a valuable left-handed pitcher for us out of our bullpen - we don't have many left-handers down there - he's the veteran and he's gonna need to continue to do the job for us."
The outing gave Davis a much needed boost in confidence after he dealt with shoulder injuries toward the end of last season. Though he said the stiffness has affected his velocity, he added that he is more of a finesse pitcher, letting the breaking balls do the work.
"It felt pretty good," Davis said. "Steven Proscia made a really good play for me this past weekend, so I just have the confidence to try and throw strikes and let my fielders make the play."\nJunior closer Kevin Arico entered the game to record the final out of the inning, striking out senior Chris Luick with a dirty slider.
Arico finished the job in the ninth, allowing just one hit en route to his second save and a Virginia victory. His performance was no surprise - Arico solidified the Cavalier bullpen in 2009 with a 2.70 ERA and 11 saves.
For O'Connor, the major implication of this win is the potential development of Roberts into a reliable starter.
"I said at the beginning of the year I felt like Will Roberts was gonna be a really big key to this pitching staff this year," O'Connor said. "Last year, he got some really good innings for us - he was in our weekend rotation at one point early in the season. He's a strike-thrower, he knows how to pitch, and when you have an offense like we do and play good defense, that's gonna win you ball games on the mound. He's gonna need to step up this year and pitch more innings than he did last year."
And though the mystique of 'No. 1' will be silenced in the locker room, O'Connor acknowledged the effects it will have on his team's opponents moving forward.
"It's exciting for anybody to come here to play the No. 1 team in the country and a chance to knock 'em off," O'Connor said. "It creates a little bit bigger a bull's eye on our back, but I think people know we've got a good program and they know what they're in for when they play us"
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