Just two weeks ago, the Virginia baseball team blew three multi-run leads to No. 6 Florida State in a highly anticipated ACC clash. But when the Cavaliers travel to Raleigh to face No. 9 N.C. State Friday, they will carry a season-high six-game winning streak and plenty of confidence.
Virginia (17-8-1, 5-4) has not been beaten since the Seminoles' eighth-inning rally March 19. The Cavaliers have since been batting .354 while averaging more than nine runs a game. Fittingly for a squad known for its pitching and defense, five different starters have made superb outings, the bullpen has returned to form and the team has committed just one error during its winning streak.
"A lot's being made of how we're swinging the bats, but the most important thing during this stretch of games that we've won in a row is we've played exceptional defense," coach Brian O'Connor said. "That's always been a strong suit of ours, and I knew in order for us to start to be consistent, that was the thing that was going to be really important for us."
Virginia did not commit a single error in its midweek sweep of Towson, and after setting the school record in fielding percentage last year, the team is back on top of the ACC with a .973 mark. The pitching staff has also climbed into the top five in the conference with a 3.16 ERA after all three starters had good outings and defeated Clemson last weekend.
"The key is going to be our starting pitching," O'Connor said. "In our league, that is the key - playing good defense and getting quality starts like we got last weekend."
Offensively, the team leads the ACC with a .324 batting average, with five different players hitting better than .300.
While the Cavaliers have begun their ascent on the ACC leaderboards, the talented team remains unranked. When Virginia outscored Towson 27-5 during its two-game sweep, it marked the first time the school had taken the field unranked in late March since 2005.
"We're just going to keep the same approach; we're not going to go in there and change anything," freshman outfielder Derek Fisher said. "We're always excited to go in against an ACC team on the weekend, and we need to just go out there and prove that we're out there for a reason."
With multiple key players departing for the MLB Draft and graduation, fans tempered their expectations for 2012. The ACC Preseason Coaches' Poll pegged Virginia to finish fourth in the Coastal Division, because the team lacked proven pitchers to step into the rotation and were too dependent on freshmen to produce at the plate.
If the last couple of weeks are any indication, those freshmen should be key contributors to a deep lineup for years to come. Fisher blasted his team-leading fifth home run of the season to the right-field bleachers and drove in seven against Towson Wednesday, while freshman Mike Papi has shown off his tremendous arm in right field. Freshman catcher Nate Irving has emerged as the everyday backstop to help weather the loss of catcher John Hicks, the Seattle Mariners' fifth-round pick who hit .332 while starting all 68 games for Virginia last season.
But it was the loss of the Mariners' first pick, pitcher Danny Hultzen, which was supposed to be the fatal blow for Virginia. During the weekend, however, junior starter Branden Kline gave every indication he could be the next ace to anchor the staff. The 6-foot-3 righty threw a complete game last Saturday, allowing a mere two hits, striking out six and topping out at 97 mph on the radar gun.
"He's just so poised, so relaxed up there. He's a competitor like all of us are," senior second baseman Keith Werman said. "Being that older guy that Kline is, it's important for him to lead by example, and I think he's done that in his last couple of outings."
Meanwhile, N.C. State's freshman lefty Carlos Rodon looks to continue his scorching start against the hard-hitting Cavaliers. Rodon ranks first in the ACC with a 1.30 ERA and has struck out 47 in 41.2 innings pitched this year.
"Rodon is as good as you get in college baseball," O'Connor said. "He's like a Danny Hultzen."
The Wolfpack will likely also start junior Ethan Ogburn, who ranks fifth in the ACC with a 1.73 ERA during a breakout season. N.C. State has held opponents to a conference-low .213 batting average, 17 points better than any other ACC team.
On the offensive side, junior shortstop Chris Diaz leads the team with a .378 batting average and is one of four Wolfpack regulars batting above .300. Freshman third baseman Trea Turner leads the ACC in stolen bases by 15 bags and may challenge former North Carolina and current Baltimore Oriole Brian Roberts' record of 63. Turner has brought an added dimension to the Wolfpack leadoff spot by swiping 25 bags in the team's first 23 games.\nN.C. State snapped a two-game losing streak with an 11th-inning walk-off homer against No. 25 East Carolina Wednesday. The Wolfpack had lost 3-of-4 after winning six straight games, including series wins against then-No. 10 Georgia Tech and a sweep of then-No. 24 Wake Forest.
"Watching them play on TV, this is as good an N.C. State team that I've seen them have in my nine years here," O'Connor said.
Senior lefty Scott Silverstein, Kline and sophomore Artie Lewicki are Virginia's probable starters with junior Whit Mayberry unavailable because of an injury.
First pitch will be Friday 6:30 p.m.
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