Cavaliers to Face Norfolk St. and VCU

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April 27, 1998

THE SLATE: Virginia (26-21-1 overall, 5-15 ACC) concludes its current homestand as it plays host to Norfolk State in a 3:00 p.m. on Monday, Apr. 27. After that contest, the Cavaliers head to Virginia Commonwealth for a 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Apr. 28. Virginia will then take a nine-day break before concluding the regular season with a three-game series against Florida State from May 8-10.

THE SERIES WITH THE SPARTANS: This week’s game will be the eighth meeting between Virginia and Norfolk State. The Cavaliers have won all seven previous meetings, with every game being played in Charlottesville. Virginia has outscored Norfolk State 104-36 in the first seven games between the schools.

THE SERIES WITH THE RAMS: Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth have met 32 times prior to this week, with the Cavaliers leading the all-time series 23-9. UVa had won the last five meetings between the schools, before the Rams posted a 6-3 victory in Charlottesville earlier this season. The Cavaliers have also won seven consecutive home games in the series, dating back to the 1989 season. Prior to that the Rams had not defeated UVa since Feb. 22, 1995, when they won 4-2 in Richmond. Virginia has won both meetings between the teams in Richmond since that contest.

ON THE MOUND: Freshman lefthander Greg Withelder (2-2, 5.98 ERA) is scheduled to pitch for the Cavaliers against Norfolk State on Apr. 27. Then, in the Virginia Commonwealth game on Apr. 28, either sophomore righthander Kevin Shrout (5-4, 3.79 ERA) or freshman lefthander Brandon Creswell (2-0, 3.61 ERA) will likely start for UVa.

THE 200 CLUB: During the final game of last weekend’s series with Wake Forest, senior third baseman Brian Sherlock became only the seventh player in school history with 200 career hits. He recorded his 200th hit in the third inning of the game with the Demon Deacons, lining an RBI single into right field. Sherlock is the second player in to record career hit No. 200 this season, as Ryan Gilleland accomplished the feat earlier in the year. Gilleland, who currently has 257 career hits, recorded his 200th when he lined a double into left field during the third inning of the South Alabama game on Feb. 14. Along with Gilleland and Sherlock, the five other UVa players with 200 career hits are Bill Narleski (281 hits / 1984-87), Adam Robinson (263 hits / 1994-97), Bobby Rivell (240 hits / 1987-90), Chris Kughn (225 hits / 1987-90) and John Galloway (223 hits / 1994-97).

SHERLOCK CLIMBS THE SINGLE SEASON CHARTS: Brian Sherlock has a chance to break a number of UVa single season records this year, as he has entered the top 10 lists of four different categories. Sherlock currently stands second on both the double list with 18 and the RBI list with 59. He needs only one more double to tie the single season record set by Ryan Gilleland with 19 last year, while standing seven RBI away from Brian Buchanan’s record of 66 in 1994. Sherlock also stands fourth in walks with 39 and eighth in total bases with 119. He will mostly likely finish the year second on both lists, with Justin Counts holding the record for walks (54 in 1996) and Buchanan owning the total base record (165 in 1994). In addition, Sherlock will likely finish the year on the top 10 lists for both slugging percentage and on-base percentage. He currently has a slugging percentage of .676 which would rank him seventh, while his .473 on-base percentage would place him eighth.

GILLELAND CLOSES IN ON CAREER RBI RECORD: Senior second baseman Ryan Gilleland, who has been a top run producer for the Cavaliers throughout his UVa career, has a chance to break the all-time school record for runs batted in this week. Entering Monday’s game against Norfolk State, Gilleland ranks second all-time at UVa with 161 career RBI. He needs to drive in only six more runs to break the all-time school record, a mark which is currently held by Bill Narleski with 166 RBI from 1984-87. For the season, Gilleland is batting .316 and ranks second on the team in runs batted in (38) and third in home runs (eight).

KINSMAN ONCE AGAIN SPARKING OFFENSE: Senior outfielder Ted Kinsman, who missed two weeks in late March and early April due to a hamstring injury, is once again providing a solid presence at the top of the batting order for the Cavaliers. Kinsman, who has batted lead-off in every game he has played this year, has gone 10-for-21 over the last six games with nine runs scored, three doubles, five stolen bases and three RBI. He has also drawn five walks and been hit-by-pitch four times in those six games, giving his an on-base percentage of .613 (19-for-31). For the season, Kinsman is now batting .319 with nine doubles, 16 RBI and a .454 on-base percentage. He also leads the team in stolen bases with 18, and has a chance to break the school single season record of 23, set by Bill Narleski in 1986.

KEMMERER COMES ON STRONG: Senior outfielder Jon Kemmerer has taken over as the No. 2 hitter in the UVa batting order over the last few weeks and has responded with some outstanding performances at the plate. He has been on fire over the last nine games, with at least two hits in seven of those contests. During that nine-game span, Kemmerer stands 16-for-36 (.444) with six runs scored, five stolen bases and seven runs batted in. A former utility infielder who has started in left field, center field and at designated hitter, Kemmerer has now gone 38-for-109 (.349) over the Cavaliers’ last 30 games with 20 runs scored, 19 runs batted in and 12 stolen bases. Prior to Mar. 17, Kemmerer had only 11 hits and three RBI in his entire UVa career.

ANDERSON POSTS SECOND-LONGEST HITTING STREAK IN SCHOOL HISTORY: Senior outfielder E.J. Anderson, who has been one of the Cavaliers’ top power hitters throughout his career, posted the second-longest hitting streak in school history earlier this season. Anderson had at least one hit in 21 consecutive games, from Mar. 15-Apr. 14. During that time he went 28-for-83 (.337) with four doubles, seven homers and 24 RBI. Overall this year, Anderson is batting .253 with nine homers and 33 RBI. The only player in school history with a longer streak than Anderson is Bill Narleski with a 36-game streak (including the final 16 games of 1985 and the first 20 games on 1986).

SHERLOCK KEEPS GETTING ON: While E.J. Anderson recently had one of the longest hitting streaks in school history at 21 games, Brian Sherlock has quietly built an impressive streak of his own. Sherlock has now reached base via hit or walk in each of the Cavaliers’ last 29 games. During that 29-game stretch, he has gone 42-for-113 (.372) with 21 walks, 12 doubles, five homers and 37 RBI. Sherlock has drawn 39 walks on the year, giving him a team-best on-base percentage of .473. On the season, he has reached base at least once in all but two games: the loss at Georgia Tech on Mar. 7 and the victory over Coppin State on Mar. 17. Both those games were blowouts, with Sherlock leaving each game after only three plate appearances.

OUCH, THAT HURTS: Through 48 games this year, sophomore shortstop Tim LaVigne has already broken the school record for most times being hit-by-pitch in a season. LaVigne has been hit 15 times this season, accounting for nearly half of the times a Cavalier batter has been hit all year (41). He broke the UVa single season record of 12, set by Terry Dan in 1972. If he keeps getting hit at his current rate, LaVigne might even break the UVa career record of 20, set by Justin Counts from 1993-96.

LAST YEAR’S GAME WITH NORFOLK STATE: Kevin Shrout picked up his first collegiate victory, striking out six batters in 6-1/3 innings of work, as the Cavaliers downed Norfolk State 8-3 on Feb. 27, 1997. Clarke Roberts threw 2-1/3 innings of perfect relief to pick up the first save of his college career. Brian Sherlock, Javier Lopez and Ted Kinsman all hit home runs for Virginia, while E.J. Anderson 2-for-3 with two runs batted in.

THIS YEAR’S FIRST MEETING WITH VCU: Four Virginia Commonwealth pitchers combined to hold Virginia to six hits as the Rams posted a 6-3 victory at UVa Field on Mar. 31. Mike Tomes hit a two-run triple in the sixth to key a four-run rally which gave the Rams a 5-3 lead. Ryan Gilleland was the lone bright spot for the Cavalier offense, going 2-for-4 with an RBI.

NUCKOLS IMPRESSIVE OUT OF BULLPEN: Junior righthander Bradley Nuckols has been one of the top relief pitchers for the Cavaliers this season. He has been particularly effective over the last month, allowing only two earned runs in his last seven appearances. During that time Nuckols has picked up victories against both Clemson and North Carolina State, while striking out 20 and allowing only 10 hits in 17-2/3 innings. Overall this year, Nuckols has a 3-2 record with a 1.93 earned run average and 31 strikeouts in 23-1/3 innings.

CAVALIERS ON THE THE AIR: WINA / 1070 AM, the Home of the Hoos, will carry four Virginia baseball games on radio this season. Former UVa lefthanded pitcher Robby Robinson will handle the play-by-play, while Rob Shaffer will provide color commentary. The Cavaliers stand 2-1 in games broadcast by WINA so far this season, with a 4-1 win over St. John’s Apr. 18 and a 3-2 victory against Virginia Tech on Apr. 22, along with a 13-4 loss to Wake Forest on Apr. 25. The final game to be carried by WINA comes on May 9 game against Florida State.

SHERLOCK STAYS HOT: Senior third baseman Brian Sherlock, who has been one of the top offensive threats for the Cavaliers all year, leads all UVa regulars in batting with a .369 average on the season. He recorded his 20th multi-hit game of the year against Wake Forest on Sunday, going 3-for-5 with a double, three RBI and two stolen bases. In addition to his .369 average on the year, Sherlock leads the team in RBI with 59 and in doubles with 18. He also leads the team in home runs with 10, while carrying a slugging percentage of .676 into the week.

DEMON DEACONS SWEEP UVA: Wake Forest became the first visiting team to sweep a three-game series in Charlottesville since 1994, winning all three of its games with the Cavaliers last weekend. The Demon Deacons won the opener 3-2 as John Hendricks pitched a complete game, with Brian Sherlock and E.J. Anderson both hitting solo homers for Virginia. Wake Forest won the second game 13-4 as four different players hit home runs, then took the final game 13-7 as Danny Borrell drove in five runs.

CAVALIERS WIN RUBBER GAME WITH TECH: Virginia posted a 3-2 victory over Virginia Tech in Salem last Wednesday, to take two of three games in the season series with the Hokies. Brandon Creswell through a complete game for the Cavaliers, allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out six. Ted Kinsman had a two-run single, while Javier Lopez hit an RBI double to drive in the winning run.

VIRGINIA RALLIES TO BEAT JAMES MADISON: The Cavaliers downed James Madison for the second time this year, posting a come-from-behind 8-7 victory last Tuesday. Mark Rueffert hit a two-run single with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to complete the comeback and end the game. Along with Rueffert, Jon Kemmerer, Ryan Gilleland and Tim LaVigne had two hits, while Brian Sherlock drove in three runs.

CAVALIERS RUN AWAY FROM HIGHLANDERS: Virginia scored 11 runs in the first inning on its way to a 14-3 victory at Radford last Monday. Brian Sherlock went 4-for-4 with a homer and five RBI, while Ryan Gilleland was 2-for-5 with a homer and four RBI. Both Ted Kinsman and Jon Kemmerer added two hits for the Cavaliers, while Matt Clay hit a three-run homer in his first career start. Javier Lopez picked up the victory on the mound, allowing three runs in six innings.

ANDERSON BREAKS CAREER HOME RECORD: Senior outfielder E.J. Anderson broke the all-time UVa record for career home runs during the first game of the Clemson series on Apr. 3. Anderson hit a three-run homer to right center in the seventh to tie up the game at 7-7, giving him a total of 34 round trippers for his four-year career. He has hit two more home runs since then, bringing his career total to 36. Prior to this season Mike Lindner held the all-time school record, as he hit 33 homers from 1987-90. During Anderson’s four years as a Cavalier, he hit one homer in 1995, 14 in 1996, 12 in 1997 and eight so far this season. If he hits one more home run this season, he would become the first player in school history with double figure homers three straight years.

Record BreakdownOverall: 26-21-1Home: 17-9;Away: 7-11-1;Neutral: 2-1

Atlantic Coast Conference: 5-15Home: 3-6;Away: 2-9

Record vs. Conferences:vs. Atlantic 10 Conference: 2-1vs. Big 12 Conference: 1-0vs. Big East Conference: 4-1vs. Big South Conference: 3-0vs. Big Ten Conference: 3-0vs. Colonial Athletic Association: 5-3-1vs. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference: 1-0vs. Southern Conference: 1-0vs. Sunbelt Conference: 0-1vs. Western Athletic Conference: 1-0

When leading after six innings: 23-3When leading after seven innings: 24-3When leading after eight innings: 25-1When trailing after six innings: 2-13When trailing after seven innings: 1-17When trailing after eight innings: 0-19

vs. Righthanded Starting Pitchers: 19-15-1vs. Lefthanded Starting Pitchers: 7-6

Record by Month:February: 8-1; March: 9-10; April: 9-10-1

Record by Day of Week:Sunday: 6-4;Monday: 1-0;Tuesday: 5-2;Wednesday: 5-2;Thursday: 1-0-1;Friday: 1-6;Saturday: 7-7

Day Games: 25-18-1;Night Games: 1-3

When scoring first: 15-6-1When leading after first inning: 11-2-1When scoring five runs or more: 21-11-1When holding opponent to four runs or less: 17-1One run games: 6-5Two run games: 3-2Five-plus run games: 11-7Extra inning games: 0-0Come from behind wins: 15vs. Ranked Teams: 3-4 BA, 3-8 CB, 3-6 USA