Two of the country's toughest baseball teams will battle at Davenport Field this weekend. No. 7 Virginia hosts conference rival No. 6 Florida State for a three-game series, setting up a marquee early-season matchup for the Cavalier squad.
Virginia (17-1, 3-0 ACC) enters the weekend riding an 11-game winning streak, including a sweep against then-No. 10 Clemson on the road last weekend. The Cavaliers downed in-state rival JMU (4-3) Wednesday night, pounding three homers in a 7-3 victory. Junior catcher John Hicks blasted two long balls in the game, but noted the Cavaliers will not look to swing for the fences. "[We want to] just get runners on, get them over, get them in," Hicks said. "If they're flying out, then it works for us. But if not, then we'll try to manufacture runs in other ways."
Virginia will look to continue its hot hitting this weekend, as its meets a Seminoles (15-2, 3-0 ACC) team that recently was cooled down by a loss. Florida State dropped a 5-4 extra innings decision away at rival No. 1 Florida Wednesday, but features a potent lineup ready to rebound. Senior center fielder Mike McGee leads the team, hitting .411 with three home runs and 19 RBIs. McGee, a second-team preseason All-American, also serves as the team's closer, and notched 13 saves for the Seminoles last season.
Last year, Florida State finished their season strong to win the ACC Tournament and then earned a trip to Omaha. Both teams are eyeing similar success this year, as each sits atop their respective divisions in the ACC.
"I'm really impressed with Florida State," coach Brian O'Connor said. The Seminoles have "a lot of their players back from last year, [from] their College World Series team. Florida State's right there in the mix every year as one of the top teams. We're definitely going to have to play really good baseball to have success this weekend."
Friday night's matchup will feature a classic pitchers' duel, as Virginia junior Danny Hultzen takes on Florida State junior Sean Gilmartin. Hultzen is the reigning National Player of the Week, and has posted a 4-0 record, 0.66 ERA and 50 strikeouts in only 27.1 innings. Gilmartin has been exceptional in his own right, starting the season 4-0 with a 1.24 ERA.
"I've always liked [Gilmartin] since he's been there, and I think he's a tough competitor and a really good pitcher," O'Connor said. "They'll be tough."
With two top squads throwing two top pitchers this weekend, O'Connor emphasized the buzz surrounding the ACC matchup.
"You have two teams that are ranked in the top 10 in the country," O'Connor said. "It's got a chance to be a really special atmosphere like we had last year towards the end of the year in this ballpark"
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