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April 25, 2003
One would consider batting .325 a successful accomplishment for a first baseman or recording a 6-0 record and a 1.85 ERA a successful accomplishment for a pitcher. But for one player to record such marks in both areas is remarkable. Junior Joe Koshansky is doing just that for the Virginia baseball team. His contributions have helped the Cavaliers’ earn a 24-16 record heading into an important weekend series at Wake Forest.
“Right now with Joe being our clean up hitter and being the pitcher who pitches the third day [on Sundays during three game series], I don’t know that there’s a more valuable player on our team than Joe Koshansky,” head coach Dennis Womack said. “He’s undefeated [as a pitcher], he’s swinging the bat well for us and he plays good defense.”
Prior to this season, Koshansky had posted a career earned run average of 5.83. He attributes the significant improvement in his ERA this season to experience and confidence.
“I think everyday I get a little more comfortable out there,” Koshansky said. “I’ve struggled a little in the past few years with my pitching. Now I’m finally starting to get back into a rhythm pitching-wise and I’m feeling confident out there on the mound.”
He has experienced a similar turnaround at the plate. Entering the season, the Fairfax native’s career batting average was .150. This season, not only is Koshansky batting at a .325 clip, but he also ranks in Virginia’s top three in slugging percentage, on base percentage, triples, home runs, total bases, and walks.
“College ball is different than high school and it takes a few years for players to adjust sometimes,” Koshansky said. “I think that’s the way it’s probably been with me. I’m finally starting to see the ball better and I’ve gotten stronger and I think that’s helped me to produce more.”
Koshansky’s success has helped UVa fare well against some of the nation’s top teams. Only two of Virginia’s 16 losses have been to non-ranked opponents and the Cavaliers have won games against five different teams that were ranked in the top 25 when UVa played them. If Virginia can fare well the rest of the season, the coaches and players believe they can make the NCAA Tournament field for the first time since 1996.
“Our ultimate goal is to get to a [NCAA] regional,” Koshansky said. “We feel that if we get to a regional tournament we will do well because we play so many [NCAA-caliber] teams throughout the year. We go out there every day trying to get wins. If we can get 30-35 wins this year we have a pretty good chance of getting an at-large bid.”