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Feb. 9, 2000
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia baseball team is looking for abreak-through season this spring. With a more mature squad, and a talentedfreshman class, Cavalier head coach Dennis Womack likes the looks of histeam this year.
Last season the Cavaliers went 21-35 overall, 8-15 in the AtlanticCoast Conference, a record which Womack attributes to the youth of lastyear’s squad.
“This club ought to raise the bar. I like where they are maturity-wiseat this point, and I think we were just too young last year.” Womack israising the standards for his team, which is picked to finish sixth in theACC in pre-season polls.
“Obviously, we are going to have to jump a few teams to get to thenext level. I think we can make into the top five, but we ought to striveto get into the playoffs this year. The League, as tough as it is, if youmake it through Regionals, you have got a good shot at making the NCAAPlayoffs.”
Pitchers
The Cavaliers are not at loss for experienced and strong pitchers thisyear, but the challenge they face this year is whether or not they can stayhealthy, according to Womack.
“In order for us to have a good club, we have got to have a strongpitching staff. In terms of quality arms, we’ve got a lot of quality arms.But I think the real question mark is if they can stay healthy. If we stayhealthy on the mound, we’ve got a chance to throw the ball real well.”
Womack expects Doug Vroman, Greg Withelder (8.78, 3-6), Kevin Shrout(4.53, 2-5), Tommy Keiper (5.77, 2-3) and Mark Hurrie (5.19, 0-2) to carrya fairly heavy load, yet each one of them has experienced some type ofshoulder or arm problem at one time or another.
Senior Brandon Creswell (4.59, 6-7) a consistent performer for theCavaliers, will most likely be the number one starter for Virginia.
“I’ve challenged Brandon to be an All-ACC caliber pitcher for us thisyear. There are a couple things he needs to do to improve on that, but Ithink that he is going to be a strong spot for us this season.”
Following closely behind Creswell is Jon Metzger, who Womack feels hasa good enough arm to attract many Major League scouts.
“He’s going to be the guy that a lot of people are going to come watchthis year, because he’s a junior and he’s got a great arm. If he keepsprogressing, he’s probably going to be drafted in the June draft.”
The rest of the pitching rotation gets a bit less clear, and most ofit will actually depend on who stays healthy. Womack said that he is mostconcerned with finding someone who will be able to win when at crunch time.The Cavaliers will depend on Tim LaVigne.
“LaVigne is a guy we need to have fill that role,” Womack said. Heplays two positions, short stop and pitcher, and he is the Cavalierscloser.
“It is not an easy situation to try and play two positions like hedoes. We actually expect him to challenge the rest of the short stops inour League as one of the best short stops. Last year was not anoutstanding year for him as a pitcher-he didn’t pitch in terms of hisability level. But part of the problem last year was that we didn’t getinto the game situations where we needed a closer, so he didn’t get in anyreal steady work. In order for us to be good, we need to get the games tohim and he has got to deliver.”
“I’m cautiously optimistic about our pitching staff, and I think it isgoing to be interesting to see how they fair once we get started.”
Virginia also has to contend with the transfer of Casey Kennedy.Womack, said Kennedy would have added depth to the Cavalier roster, butalso feels it will only be a bump in the road, and that he has pitcherswaiting in line to step up and take his place.
Catchers
The Cavaliers will rely on two veteran catchers to do the bulk of thework behind the plate this year. Juniors Jon Benick and Mark Rueffert willsplit time at catcher. Benick lead Virginia in batting average last spring,batting .384. He set a new Virginia single-season record last year with 88hits and also led the team in and RBI (54) and homeruns (10).
“Both are very capable Division I players and both have improved a lotthis fall,” Womack said.
Benick spent last spring as the number four hitter for Virginia, andwill also see some time at first base this season. Womack was particularlyimpressed Rueffert’s performance throughout the fall.
“I thought that Mark was really consistent this fall, and he improvedin just about every aspect. Mark will also have to swing the bat for us.”Rueffert batted .295 last year and recorded 30 RBI.
Overall, Womack’s staff is “very pleased” with their two catchers andexpects big contributions out of each.
First Base
Virginia will look to Sophomore David Stone, a player whom Womackcalls “as good a player as we have here at Virginia,” to have an excellentseason. Womack expects him to have an all-conference year. Stone, who wasthe Cavaliers second leading hitter last year (.319, 31 RBI) will likely bethe lead off hitter for UVa.
“He is a quality ACC player, and has been a legitimate hitter for us -he is our best base hitter,” Womack said.
Benick will also rotate in at first base, to add some flexibility anddepth for the Cavaliers.
Second Base
There is stiff competition for the starting spot at second base forVirginia. Both Luis Giraldo (.232, 21 RBI) and Danny Street (.235, 10 RBI)moved from third base to second base and competed all fall for the spot.Womack said that both had outstanding falls, and to make a decision wasgoing to be very difficult, but he probably would give the nod to Street,who tends to be a bit more consistent with the bat.
“I don’t think that I would sit either one of them completely in thebeginning. One may play more than another, but they both need to be inthere.”
Depending on the rotation goes, Giraldo may spend some time back atthird base as well.
“He’s been around the game-he’s a little older, has great ability andis not going to get nervous over there.”Giraldo will also serve as co-captain for Virginia.
Third Base
Junior Hunter Wyant (.293, 25 RBI) enters the season as the starter atthe hot corner for the Cavaliers. Wyant had an especially good fall, inwhich he emerged as Virginia’s best player for the spot. The White Hall,Va. native will also be batting second for the Cavaliers.
“He needs to play well at third base for us. He is capable of doingwell, and I think that it a good position for him. He also needs to do wellwith the bat. He had a good fall, he swung the bat well. So I feelcomfortable with him there,” Womack said.
Sophomore Ryan Kalamaya (.250, 14 RBI) will also push for time at third.
Short Stop
Senior Tim LaVigne will anchor the keystone position of the infield.LaVigne started all 55 games for the Cavaliers last year, and is expectedto be a leader for Virginia, as he will serve as the other team captain.
“If you had to pick out a key guy on our club, I think LaVigne is akey element for us. I think the way he has played last season and thisfall, he is going to go up another notch and be one of the elite guys inthis league at that position,” Womack said.
LaVigne will be asked to shoulder a bit more responsibility thisseason as he will be called upon to be Virginia’s closer.
“I think that if he can come through at the end of games and be thatguy who gets the other team out, he will be the reason why our team winsgames.”
LaVigne will also serve as UVa’s other co-captain.
Left Field
The outfield is the area which is the least settled for Virginia thusfar. The starting nod in left field will likely go to Kalamaya who Womacksaid helped himself tremendously by having an outstanding fall. Kalamayaspent a lot of the fall playing third base, but Womack said he is veryversatile and is playing extremely well at the moment. However, look fortrue freshman Grant Mayer out of Boulder, Colorado to challenge Kalamayafor time in left.
“Mayer is a highly publicized, highly recruited player. He got off toa bit of a slow start in the fall, and is probably a little behind theolder guys coming out of the fall, but he could see some time there aswell,” Womack said.
Center Field
Senior Robbie Marvin (.185, 9 RBI) will be given the starting nodover sophomore Michael Floyd (.231, 11 RBI). Marvin spent most of lastyear’s spring season at second base, but in the fall season he made thetransition to outfield and spent most of his time there.
“We are going to play Mike Floyd out there some, so it will beinteresting to see how he responds to that. He’s got a lot of ability andwe are hoping that he blossoms this year,” Womack said.
Right Field
Expect Womack and his staff to platoon some at the right fieldposition. Freshman Ben Himes, a left hander out of Austin, Texas will begiven the starting nod. However, against right-handed hitters, Womack feelsthere could be some change.
“I could see us playing four or five outfielders during differenttimes, and showing some real flexibility,” Womack said.
He said that Kalamaya, Marvin, Shawn McCleary (.167, 3 RBI) could allsee some time on the right side.
Designated Hitter
The situation of designated hitter may be the easiest to decipher forthe Cavaliers. The position will go to whoever is not catching at thetime, either Benick or Rueffert.
“There is not one player whose primary skill is to just hit the ball.We have a lot of position players who know how to hit. I don’t have just aDH.”
More than likely, the designated hitter will be whichever catcher isnot playing.
Behind the leadership of Giraldo and LaVigne and the core of lastyears team returning intact, Womack likes the looks of his team. But onlytime will tell exactly how high the 2000 Cavaliers will climb.
“I think we have a legitimate chance to be a good team this year, ” saysWomack.