Virginia and East Carolina will meet at Davenport Field this weekend in an early battle of unbeatens.
Both teams enter the three-game set coming off huge weeks. Virginia (4-0) swept through its opening weekend at the Auburn Tournament and downed VMI Wednesday behind a late, go-ahead RBI double by senior left fielder John Barr. East Carolina (3-0), meanwhile, handily took three straight from Youngstown State last weekend.
"I feel as good as you can feel going into the series, but this is why I like to play East Carolina," coach Brian O'Connor said. "They've got a very good baseball program, as do we, and I think that will be great for both clubs."
The teams are no strangers to each other, as the Cavaliers took two of three against then-No. 11 East Carolina during last year's opening weekend. Pirate senior pitcher Seth Maness, the Conference-USA player of the year, took the opening day loss after allowing a disappointing six hits and four earned runs in 5.2 innings. Maness' pitching improved in this season's opener, however, as he threw seven innings of one-run ball. When Maness takes the mound this afternoon against Virginia's ace, junior Danny Hultzen, he will be searching for his 30th career win.
Virginia and East Carolina followed similar paths last year, finishing their respective seasons earlier than they had planned. East Carolina was ousted in the C-USA semifinals while Virginia, which held the No. 1 rank for most of its season, lost in the NCAA Super Regionals to Oklahoma.
Through its first four games, Virginia has demonstrated a pattern of starting slowly, failing to score in the first three innings during three of its four games thus far. The team is determined to break out of that habit, though, and believes the remedy could be simple.
"We just need to stay aggressive and get pitches to hit," sophomore shortstop Stephen Bruno said. "It's all about pitch selection ... The two things you can control as a hitter are pitch selection and the strike."
The Cavaliers' defense largely has carried the team to its unblemished record. In four games, Virginia has committed only two errors, and its starting pitchers have allowed only four earned runs while recording 26 strikeouts in 24 innings. Virginia's bullpen also has steadied the team, as sophomore reliever Whit Mayberry pitched 2.2 scoreless innings Wednesday to keep his team afloat against VMI.
Mayberry's "got great stuff, and you can tell his confidence is through the roof," Barr said, "I think everybody on this team has all the confidence in the world in Whit."\nEast Carolina's strength also lies in its pitching staff. The team's starters have allowed just one run and recorded 13 strikeouts through 17 innings this season.
The Pirates have taken care of business at the plate as well, scoring 23 runs during its first three games. Junior infielder Corey Thompson hit .400 during the weekend and leads the team with four RBIs.
After its strong start, ECU is receiving votes from the Baseball America poll, and a strong weekend could propel the team into the nation's top-25.
"This weekend against East Carolina is a huge series, they're a top 25-type club every year ... and they'll be very good on the mound," O'Connor said.
Entering a series that potentially could be dominated by pitching and defense, the team knows patience at the plate and tenacity will be key.
"[Wednesday] we struggled getting pitches to hit and were a little too aggressive," Bruno said. "We battled down those last couple of innings [though]... and came through. That's all that matters in the end. We never give up until the last pitch, the last out"
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