Baseball
What: Virginia vs. East Carolina
Where: Davenport Field
When: Friday 3 p.m.; Saturday, Sunday 1 p.m.
The Skinny: During the post-game presser Tuesday, after Virginia baseball coach Brian O’Connor had commented on his team’s 18-1 blowout win over VMI, a journalist asked him what kind of challenge a veteran East Carolina club might pose to his No. 11 Cavaliers this weekend.
“I haven’t even looked at them quite frankly,” coach O’Connor said. “I don’t even know what they did this last weekend.”
Those in the room answered that the Pirates (4-0) had swept Longwood in their opening weekend series. Like Virginia (3-1), they’d also won emphatically Tuesday afternoon, trouncing North Carolina A&T 11-2 at home.
“Well, you know, we’ve been playing this series with East Carolina a number of years,” O’Connor said. “Last year, they were an NCAA Tournament team. We’ve had success down there. ... But they’re really well coached. It will certainly be like an ACC weekend for us. We’ll have to play really good baseball.”
A year ago, Virginia began its season with a road series versus the Pirates. Junior pitcher Nathan Kirby, the man whose slider clinched the Cavaliers’ first ever College World Series title, allowed only three East Carolina hits in seven scoreless innings. Virginia scored two unearned runs and then-sophomore Daniel Pinero homered in a 3-1 victory.
The Cavaliers claimed both games of a doubleheader the following day, in which then-sophomore catcher Matt Thaiss totaled 4-8 with 2 homers, 4 RBIs and 3 runs, and Virginia’s bullpen allowed just one run on two hits over eight innings of work.
The Pirates fell 2-9 and 2-4 that Saturday in mid-February but went on to win 40 games and the American Athletic Conference tournament before Florida International knocked them out of the NCAA Regionals. In 2016, East Carolina returns a core group of 13 juniors and five seniors, and also has 11 freshmen.
Seven Pirates are hitting at or above .400, including redshirt junior catcher Travis Watkins. A Johnny Bench Award semifinalist last season and one of three Pirate co-captains in 2016, Watkins features both a cannon for an arm and a solid approach at the plate. He also leads a talented pitching staff that has surrendered only 11 earned runs in 36 innings [2.75 ERA] this year, but East Carolina arms haven’t faced an offense as potent as Virginia’s.
Tuesday, the Cavaliers outhit VMI 18 to 4. Sophomore first baseman Pavin Smith belted a grand slam and RBI double, while five other Virginia players had multi-hit games. Spotted a big lead on the mound, Cavaliers pitchers walked only two VMI batters Tuesday compared to seven in the 4-5 loss to Coastal Carolina. Whether Virginia will throw strikes in tight contests this weekend against disciplined East Carolina hitters remains to be seen.
—compiled by Grant Gossage
Men’s Tennis
What: Virginia at Illinois
When: Saturday 7 p.m.
Where: Champaign, Ill.
The Skinny: The No. 2 Virginia men’s tennis team is set to play their first game since the ITA Indoor Championship this Saturday. Since their gut-wrenching loss to North Carolina in the finals Feb. 15, the Cavaliers have been away from competition, reflecting on what could have been.
Virginia’s unprecedented 140-game winning streak against ACC opponents was snapped, and it’s safe to say they aren’t pleased about it and are looking to dominate their next opponent. Luckily, the almost two weeks of idle time is coming to an end, and the Cavaliers are off to Champaign, Ill. to take on the No. 11 Fighting Illini.
Virginia hopes to get back to winning ways Saturday. A statement win would do wonders for the Cavaliers’ confidence, as they seek to reestablish dominance in Division-I men’s tennis. The match is set for 7 p.m.
—compiled by Hunter Ostad
Women’s Tennis
What: Virginia vs. Louisville and Norfolk State
When: Sunday 11 a.m., 4 p.m.
Where: Boar’s Head Sports Club
The Skinny: After downing No. 62 Syracuse with a score of 5-2, the No. 18 Virginia women’s tennis team has regained some confidence after losing a tough match to then-No. 6 California a few weeks ago. The Cavaliers await a doubleheader Sunday, as they’ll face Louisville at 11 a.m., followed by a matchup against Norfolk State at 4 p.m.
Virginia looks for two quick wins to boost its record against competition that it, frankly, should beat. These two matches will be good tune-ups before a hugely important ACC matchup against No. 6 North Carolina March 4.
For now, the Cavaliers look forward to returning to their home court, and they now need to take care of business against Louisville and Norfolk State to prove they can be contenders in a tough ACC conference.
—compiled by Hunter Ostad
Softball
What: Virginia at the Spartan Classic
When: Friday 3 p.m., 5 p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m., 5 pm; Sunday 12 p.m.
Where: Spartanburg, S.C.; Greenville, S.C.
The Skinny: Coming off of a three-game losing streak, the Cavalier softball team will look to redeem itself as it heads to South Carolina to compete in the Spartan Classic tournament this weekend. Virginia (3-7, 0-0 ACC) will take on host team USC Upstate (7-1, 0-0 A Sun) in its first matchup Friday at 3 p.m.
The Cavaliers will face La Salle (0-0, 0-0 Atlantic 10) — in its first tournament of the season — and Ohio (3-1, 0-0 MAC) Saturday. The weekend will wrap up for Virginia in its closing game against Furman (5-6, 0-0 Southern) Sunday at 12 p.m. All hope is to secure victories leading into the beginning of conference play, especially La Salle who aims to open their season on a positive note.
Virginia hopes to gain momentum in South Carolina before continuing on to UNC-Wilmington for their last non-ACC tournament. With conference games quickly approaching, the Spartan Classic is a great place for the Cavaliers to counter their slow start to the season with much-needed victories.
—compiled by Emily Caron
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