After a historic three-game sweep of Florida State, the No. 5 Virginia baseball team looks to continue its success as it hosts Richmond and James Madison in two midweek games.
The weekend series against the Seminoles saw one of the most complete performances the Cavaliers (35-6, 16-5 ACC) have put together all season. They outscored Florida State 16-4 and were bolstered by incredible starting pitching, as all three starters — freshman Brandon Waddell, redshirt senior Scott Silverstein and sophomore Nick Howard — lasted at least six innings while giving up no more than one run each.
And although the Cavaliers have relied on late scoring bursts throughout the season, it was early-inning scoring that gave their starters cushions on the mound against the Seminoles. Virginia scored all but two of its weekend runs in the first six innings.
The Cavaliers now look to build on their momentum against Richmond (24-14, 7-5 A-10). Virginia has traditionally feasted on midweek matchups, but the last two weeks’ results should have the Cavaliers on their toes. Radford took a shocking 9-8 win at Davenport April 10 before the Cavaliers were pushed to the brink April 17 in a 10-9 extra innings win against Old Dominion.
Richmond dropped two of three games this past weekend against Saint Joseph’s, suffering a 9-7 defeat in 12 innings Friday and a 7-3 loss on Saturday. But the Spiders may still prove a formidable opponent, led offensively by senior first baseman and pitcher Jacob Mayers who sports a .384 batting average with seven home runs and 30 RBIs this season. He is also 2-0 with a 1.74 ERA on the mound.
James Madison (18-21, 8-12 CAA) enters the week in more dire straits. The Dukes have won four of their last five games, but the run came after an ugly 11-game losing streak.
The starting pitching matchups may not be clear until the games themselves commence. Richmond does not have a clear midweek starter, and Virginia junior Artie Lewicki has struggled in two consecutive midweek starts since returning from injury. With two games this week, coach Brian O’Connor may opt to mix up his staff.
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