Following a weekend series during which the Virginia baseball team took two out of three games against East Carolina, the Cavaliers will welcome in-state rival William & Mary this afternoon and Niagara tomorrow. Beginning with this afternoon's matchup against the Tribe (2-7), Virginia (6-1) will play a total of six games in as many days. Despite the challenges associated with such a rigorous schedule, coach Brian O'Connor remains confident that his squad's depth will push the Cavaliers through this stretch.
"The versatility of our position players is a real asset for us," O'Connor said. "It allows you to make moves, because you have good athletes that can make different spots on the field."
Virginia's depth proved to be an asset during last weekend's series against East Carolina. During Friday night's 10-1 victory, the Cavaliers' line-up scored 10 runs in two innings, while junior pitcher Danny Hultzen held the Pirates to a single run during seven dominant innings of work. Saturday and Sunday, Virginia found themselves on both sides of a one-run game, first winning 4-3 then falling by the same score.
"I thought it was a great series," O'Connor said. "To be standing here 6-1, and have played pretty good baseball for the first seven games, you have to feel good about it."\nIn contrast with the Cavaliers, William & Mary arrives at Davenport Field today seeking a much-needed win. Last weekend, the Tribe split a four-game series against Fairfield, giving them their first two wins in nine tries. William & Mary bats .237 as a team, while the pitchers carry a combined ERA of 5.88. Virginia, meanwhile, enters the matchup with a .290 overall batting average and 2.43 ERA.
Niagara also will arrive in Charlottesville tomorrow looking for a boost to an abysmal start to the season. Fresh off its first win of the season against Virginia Tech, Niagara (1-6) started the year with only one run through its first three games.
The Cavaliers hope to rattle the opposition's pitchers early and expect solid performances from their own pitching staff. Virginia recently welcomed junior pitcher Scott Silverstein into the pitching rotation for the first time in his career. Silverstein has been recovering from shoulder surgery during the past two seasons. In his first time on the mound for the Cavaliers, the junior recorded one perfect inning and one strikeout.
"I was shaking a little bit," Silverstein said about his first appearance. "I was excited to be back ... Right now I'm still working to get back, hopefully I can get back to full health, full strength in just a matter of time."
With six games to play during the next six days, the Cavaliers are sure to need him as much as ever.
The first pitches for both games are slated for 4 p.m.
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