Virginia Set To Face UNC Greensboro and Georgia Tech On The Road

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March 9, 2004

‘HOOS UP NEXT?: Virginia (13-2, 0-0 ACC) is set to hit the road for a five-game swing, beginning with a one-game stop at UNC Greensboro (ranked #28 by Collegiate Baseball) on March 10th before heading off to Atlanta, Ga. to face the #17 ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in a three-game ACC series on March 12-14. The Cavaliers will also make a stop in Norfolk, Va. to face Old Dominion on March 17.

LOOK ‘HOOS RANKED: Virginia received its first national ranking in baseball in eight years when Collegiate Baseball tabbed UVa #30 in its Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Poll. Virginia’s last national ranking came in 1996 when the Cavaliers were ranked in Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and Baseball Weekly’s Top 25. Virginia’s rankings in those polls ranged from #14-#23. UVa finished the 1996 season ranked #14 by Baseball America, #17 by Baseball Weekly and #23 by Collegiate Baseball.

LAST TIME THEY MET: Virginia swept a two-game set against the UNC Greensboro Spartans last season (2003) on March 11th & 12th in Charlottesville. UVa defeated then #25 UNCG 12-5 on 3/11 and 14-6 on 3/12. However, Virginia was swept in a three-game ACC series against Georgia Tech last year on May 9-11 in Charlottesville. The #17 Yellow Jackets won 7-0, 5-2 and 1-0.

LAST TIME THEY MET IN GREENSBORO & ATLANTA: Virginia defeated the UNC Greensboro Spartans by the scores of 6-3 and 12-2 on March 13-14 in 2001 in the Cavaliers’ last trip to Greensboro, N.C. In UVa’s last trip to Atlanta, Ga. to face the Yellow Jackets, Virginia defeated GT 5-1 on April 26, 2002 before falling 3-2 and 9-3 on April 27-28. The Cavaliers’ 5-1 win on April 26th of 2002 marked the first time UVa had defeated Georgia Tech in Atlanta in 14 years and snapped Virginia’s 18-game losing streak to the Yellow Jackets at GT’s Russ Chandler Stadium. The loss also snapped Georgia Tech’s 27-game home winning streak at the time and gave the Yellow Jackets their first home loss of the 2002 season.

ROAD WARRIORS: With its 14-6 victory over the Richmond Spiders in Richmond, Va. on March 2nd, Virginia improved its record to 4-0 on the road this season. The Cavaliers also won three games in Greensboro, N.C. against North Carolina A&T on February 13-15. UVa’s four road wins in as many tries is half as many road wins as the Cavaliers had all of last season in true road games. In 2003, Virginia won a total of eight road games.

THIEVES ON THE BASE PATHS: Virginia has burned its opponents so far this season when it has runners on base. Through its first 14 games, UVa is nearly perfect in stolen base attempts after going 39-41, compared to just 3-5 for its opponents. The Cavaliers are averaging just over 12 stolen bases to every one for their opponent.

SIXTH INNING SHUTOUT: Through 15 games this season, Virginia has not allowed a single run to be scored in the sixth inning. UVa has outscored its opponents 151-57 through 15 games.

VIRGINIA “RECEIVING VOTES” IN 2004 SPORTS WEEKLY/ESPN COLLEGE BASEBALL COACHES POLL: For the fourth consecutive week this season, Virginia is receiving a vote(s) in the 2004 Sports Weekly/ESPN College Baseball Coaches Poll. The Cavaliers received 15 votes in the first poll of the year published on February 2nd. Here is a look at UVa’s votes by week in the poll:

2004 Sports Weekly/ESPN College Baseball Coaches Poll

Date	UVa's Votes	UVa's Record2/16	15 votes		3-02/23	12 votes		5-13/1	1 vote		9-13/8	33 votes		13-1

VIRGINIA OFF TO ITS BEST KNOWN START EVER: Virginia is off to a 13-2 start this year, which is the best known start to a season in the history of the UVa baseball program.

ONE FINE FEBRUARY: Virginia finished the month of February with a record of 9-1 overall. UVa was 6-1 at home and 3-0 on the road for the month.

MARCH-ING ON: After posting a 9-1 record in the month of February, Virginia has started the month of March with a 4-1 record.

O’CONNOR-METER: First-year Virginia head baseball coach Brian O’Connor’s career coaching record stands at 13-2, 0-0 in the ACC.

VIRGINIA STAYS PERFECT IN THREE-GAME WEEKEND SERIES ACTION: Virginia is a perfect 9-0 in games played in its three, three-game weekend series against North Carolina A&T (February 13-15), Seton Hall (February 27-29) and Central Connecticut State (March 5-7). Here is a look at Virginia’s results against its opponents in three-game weekend series:

Date	UVa's Opponent			Result2/13	@ North Carolina A&T		W, 10-72/14	@ North Carolina A&T		W, 9-32/15	@ North Carolina A&T		W, 12-52/27	Seton Hall			W, 3-22/28	Seton Hall			W, 17-12/29	Seton Hall			W, 4-33/5	Central Connecticut State		W, 17-13/6	Central Connecticut State		W, 10-03/7	Central Connecticut State		W, 9-4

WALKIN’ THROUGH THE SPIDERS’ WEB: Virginia had little trouble walking into the Spiders’ Pitt Field and posting a win on Richmond’s home field. UVa’s Joe Koshansky led an Orange and Blue offensive charge that saw the Cavaliers score 14 runs after pounding out 15 hits. Koshansky finished 4-for-4 at the plate with five RBI and scored three runs after connecting on two doubles, a home run and a single.

KOSHANSKY JOINS REYNOLDS ON “BLUE MONSTER” CLUB: Joe Koshansky joined teammate Mark Reynolds on a very short list, as the only two players (UVa or opponent) to ever hit a home run over Virginia’s “Blue Monster.” Blue Monster is the nickname for the 32-foot-high wall that also stands 408 feet away from home plate at Davenport Field at the UVa Baseball Stadium. Koshansky blasted a home run over the wall in Virginia’s 9-4 victory over Central Connecticut State on March 7, 2004. Koshansky’s home run came almost exactly one year from the day that Reynolds accomplished the feat. Reynolds belted a home run over the wall in UVa’s 11-5 victory over Charlotte on March 9, 2003.

NO RUNS FOR YOU!: Virginia posted its first shutout of the 2004 season following its 10-0 victory over Central Connecticut State on March 6th. It was UVa’s first win by shutout since recording a 3-0 win over Liberty on April 2nd 2003.

VIRGINIA USING ITS “HEADD”: Virginia’s Scott Headd had a series to remember against Seton Hall. Headd recorded the game-winning hit in the bottom of the ninth inning in a pair of games against SHU to lead UVa to a three-game sweep over the Pirates. In game one of the series (2/27), he broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the ninth inning by driving in the game-winning run with a game-ending, RBI-double to give the Cavaliers a 3-2 victory. Two days later in game three (2/29), he sparked Virginia’s 4-3 come-from-behind win. With the game tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning and the bases loaded with two outs, Headd connected on another game-winning hit with a RBI-single to score the game-winning run.

2004 Virginia Home Runs

No.	Player (Runs)	Date	Opponent (Game #)1.	Matt Dunn (1)	2/13	@ North Carolina A&T (1)2.	Joe Koshansky (3)	2/13	@ North Carolina A&T (1)3.	Joe Koshansky (1)	2/14	@ North Carolina A&T (2)4.	Joe Koshansky (2)	2/19	Maryland-Eastern Shore (4)5.	Mark Reynolds (2)	2/24	James Madison (7)6.	Mark Reynolds (1)	3/2	@ Richmond (11)7.	Joe Koshansky (1)	3/2	@ Richmond (11)8.	Joe Koshansky (1)	3/5	Central Connecticut (12)9.	Mark Reynolds (3)	3/6	Central Connecticut (13)10.	Joe Koshansky (1)	3/7	Central Connecticut (14)

2004 Big Innings

VirginiaFirst: 7, vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore on 2/19.Second: 7, @ Richmond on 3/2.Third: 7, vs. Central Connecticut on 3/7.Fourth: 2, @ North Carolina A&T on 2/13, vs. Penn State on 2/21.Fifth: 5, vs. Seton Hall on 2/28.Sixth: 6, vs. Quinnipiac on 3/8.Seventh: 3, @ North Carolina A&T on 2/15, vs. Quinnipiac on 3/8.Eighth: 5, vs. Seton Hall on 2/28, vs. Central Connecticut on 3/5.Ninth: 2, @ North Carolina A&T on 2/15, vs. Seton Hall on 2/29.

OpponentFirst: 3, vs. Penn State on 2/22.Second: 3, vs. Penn State on 2/22.Third: 3, vs. Central Connecticut on 3/7.Fourth: 1, five times.Fifth: 4, vs. Quinnipiac on 3/8.Sixth: 0.Seventh: 3, @ North Carolina A&T on 2/15, @ North Carolina A&T on 2/14.Eighth: 9, vs. Quinnipiac on 3/8.Ninth: 2, @ North Carolina A&T on 2/13.

VIRGINIA SWEEPS SETON HALL IN WEEKEND SERIES: Virginia swept Seton Hall three games to none (3-2, 17-1, 4-3) on February 27-29 and has now won 19 of the last 24 games played in the series against the Pirates. The Cavaliers have won the last seven consecutive games played in the series since 2001. Since the 1990 season, UVa holds a 26-12 advantage over SHU in the last 38 meetings between the two schools.

VIRGINIA TOPS JAMES MADISON FOR FOURTH CONSECUTIVE TIME: With its 10-1 victory over James Madison on February 24th, Virginia defeated JMU for the fourth consecutive time. The Cavaliers also defeated the Dukes three times last season (in 2003). Last year, Virginia defeated James Madison 3-2 (on 3/4) and 13-3 (on 3/25) in Charlottesville, Va. before pulling out a 5-4 victory on 3/26 in Harrisonburg, Va.

CAVALIERS SPLIT SERIES WITH NITTANY LIONS: Virginia saw its five-game winning streak snapped when the Cavaliers dropped the second contest of a two-game weekend non-conference series against the Penn State Nittany Lions (February 21-22). UVa defeated Penn State 7-1 on Saturday in the first contest of the series before dropping an 8-3 decision to PSU on Sunday. The loss was also Virginia’s first defeat at home this season.

MEAC ATTACK: Virginia defeated Maryland-Eastern Shore by the score of 15-2 on February 19th, marking the fourth opponent the Cavaliers played and defeated this season from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). North Carolina A&T, a team UVa defeated three games to none, is also a member of the MEAC.

Joe Koshansky NAMED ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Virginia’s Joe Koshansky was named the first Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week for the 2004 season. Koshansky, a fourth-year 1B/LHP, started in all three of Virginia’s victories over North Carolina A&T (10-7, 9-3, 12-5) for the weekend of February 13-15 in Greensboro, N.C. at War Memorial Stadium. He started two games at first base and one game on the mound as a pitcher. For the series, Koshansky batted .462 after going 6-for-13 at the plate with five RBI and five runs. Two of his six hits were home runs, including a three-run shot. He also posted a double, three singles and stole one base. Although he was not honored for his performance on the mound, Koshansky tossed 6.0 strong innings to pick up his first victory of the year and allowed just one unearned run on one hit while striking out a game-high five batters.

UVA IN HOME OPENERS: Over the past 25 seasons, Virginia stands 22-1-2 (.920) in home-openers. UVa defeated Maryland-Eastern Shore on February 19th to win its 2004 home-opener. The Cavaliers have not lost a home-opener since a 6-2 setback to VCU back on March 1, 1989. Virginia has either won or tied its home-opener the past 15 consecutive seasons.

Here is a look at UVa’s home openers since 1980:

Year	Opponent		Date	            Result/Score2004 	Maryland Eastern Shore	2/19		W, 15-22003	James Madison		3/4		W, 3-22002	Bucknell			2/16		W, 10-32001	Navy			2/17		W, 9-12000	Old Dominion		2/16		T, 14-141999	Penn State		2/20		W, 6-31998	Penn State		2/21		W, 5-21997	Seton Hall		2/22		W, 11-101996	Old Dominion		2/19		W, 3-21995	Marshall			2/18		W, 5-01994	Georgetown		2/25		W, 14-01993	Marshall			2/20		W, 4-21992	VMI			2/22		W, 14-51991	Liberty			2/25		T, 5-51990	William & Mary 		2/23		W, 6-31989	VCU			3/1		L, 6-21988	West Chester		2/28		W, 13-81987	VCU			3/4		W, 6-11986	Seton Hall		3/1		W, 3-21985	Seton Hall		3/1		W, 3-01984	George Mason		3/4		W, 12-11983	VCU			3/5		W, 11-81982	Norfolk State 		3/22		W, 15-81981	Westfield State		3/12		W, 21-81980	Longwood		3/17		W, 10-8

GRISHAM GATHERS FIRST COLLEGIATE HIT & RUN: Ty Grisham posted his first collegiate hit and scored his first collegiate run in a UVa uniform after going 1-for-4 at the plate with a double in Virginia’s 15-2 victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore on February 19th.

NEWCOMERS ENTER AGAINST UMES: The newcomer trio of Kye Kolar, Alex Smith and Ryan Hudson each made an appearance in Virginia’s 15-2 win over the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore (UMES) on February 19th. Kolar logged time at third base and had one at-bat, Smith pitched one inning and posted his first collegiate strikeout and Hudson saw action behind the plate as a catcher and recorded four putouts.

UMES ADDED TO VIRGINIA’S SCHEDULE FOR HOME OPENER: Virginia has added a game to its 2004 schedule and is set to play Maryland Eastern Shore on Thursday, February 19th at 3:00 PM at Davenport Field at the UVa Baseball Stadium. The contest will be the Cavaliers’ home-opener.

UVA/UNCG CONTEST CANCELLED: Virginia’s game against the UNC Greensboro Spartans scheduled for Wednesday, February 18th at 4:00 PM in Greensboro, N.C. has been cancelled due to poor field conditions following inclement weather that hit the Greensboro area this past weekend.

DUNN GOES YARD: Second-year starting left fielder Matt Dunn made his first at-bat of the 2004 season count, as he connected on his first collegiate home run with a solo shot to right field in Virginia’s 10-7 victory over North Carolina A&T in UVa’s season-opener.

MITCHELL BLAZES ON BASE PATH: First-year center fielder Mike Mitchell stole four bases in one game in Virginia’s 12-5 victory over North Carolina A&T (2/15). The previous know game-high total for most stolen bases in one game for a Cavalier was three. For the series against N.C. A&T, Mitchell was 5-for-5 in stolen base attempts.

CAVALIERS SWEEP AGGIES IN THREE GAMES: Virginia began its 2004 season with three consecutive victories over the North Carolina A&T Aggies on February 13-15 in Greensboro, N.C. at War Memorial Stadium. UVa defeated N.C. A&T 10-7, 9-3 and 12-5.

FIRST TIME FOR FIRST-YEARS: Several first-year players saw action in Virginia’s season-opening series sweep against North Carolina A&T (February 13-15). CF Mike Mitchell started all three games and went 5-for-13 at the plate with two runs, one RBI and stole five bases for the series. 1B Josh Darby started one game at went 2-for-5 at the plate and scored two runs. Tim Henry played one game and entered the contest as a pinch runner and score a run. LHP Casey Lambert pitched 1.2 innings and struck out one batter.

UVA POSTS SEASON-OPENING VICTORY: Virginia won its season-opener by the score of 10-7 over the North Carolina A&T Aggies on February 13, 2004 in Greensboro, N.C. The win was UVa’s first in a season-opener since February 16, 2002 when the Cavaliers defeated Bucknell by the score of 10-3 in Charlottesville, Va. The victory also marked Virginia’s first win in its first road game of the season since February 24, 2002 when UVa posted a 5-4 win over The Citadel in Charleston, S.C.

Brian O’Connor ERA BEGINS WITH A BANG: The start of Brian O’Connor’s career as the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers got started with a 10-7 victory over the North Carolina A&T Aggies on February 13, 2004 in Greensboro, N.C. at War Memorial Stadium. After posting a win in the series opener of the three-game series, the Cavaliers went on to sweep the Aggies three games to none (10-7, 9-3, 12-5).

PRESEASON PUB: Virginia’s Joe Koshansky, Andrew Dobies, Ryan Zimmerman, Matt Street and Tom Hagan have gathered some preseason publicity from several baseball sources prior to the start of the 2004 season. Koshansky was named to CollegeBaseballInsider.com’s Preseason All-American Team as an Honorable Mention selection and was also named to SEBaseball.com’s All-ACC Preseason First Team. Dobies was listed in Baseball America’s College Preview as having the “Best Breaking Ball” in the ACC. Zimmerman and Street were named an Honorable Mention choice on SEBaseball.com’s All-ACC Preseason Team while Hagan was tabbed as a “player to look out for” in SEBaseball.com’s All-ACC Preseason Team listings.

TRI-CAPTAINS: The fourth-year trio of Joe Koshansky, Paul Gillispie and Alan Zimmerer will serve as captains for the Cavaliers in 2004. Koshansky is slated to be UVa’s starting first baseman/starting pitcher, Gillispie will be battling for a spot in left field and as the designated hitter, while Zimmerer is expected to be one of Virginia’s top pitcher out of the bullpen.

RETURNING WITH HONORS: Joe Koshansky returns to Virginia for his fourth season after racking up numerous postseason awards in 2003 as a junior. Last season, Koshansky was named First Team All-ACC, selected to the ACC All-Tournament Team and was named to CollegeBaseballInsider.com’s All-America Team as an Honorable Mention choice. He was also named to the Virginia College Sports Information Directors (VaSID) All-State Team as an Honorable Mention selection.

CAVALIERS TO TANGLE WITH TOP-25: Virginia is scheduled to face six teams ranked in Baseball America’s Preseason Top-25 in 2004. UVa will face preseason #3 Miami, #5 Georgia Tech, #11 Clemson, #15 North Carolina, #22 Florida State and #25 N.C. State. With the exception of Miami, all of the ranked teams UVa will face in the preseason poll are conference foes. Miami will still be an Independent in baseball in 2004, however, the Hurricanes will soon be joining the ACC and will be a conference member in baseball next season.

VIRGINIA PICKED SEVENTH IN ACC PRESEASON POLL: The University of Virginia baseball team was picked to finish seventh in the 2004 Atlantic Coast Conference Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll. UVa received a total of 28 points in the poll to finish in front of both the Duke Blue Devils and the Maryland Terrapins. The ACC’s nine head coaches selected the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets as the top pick to win the conference championship in 2004 with six first place votes and a total of 77 points in the poll.

2004 ACC Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll:

Place	School                 	Points  	2003 Record/Finish1.   	Georgia Tech (6)	77	44-18, 17-7 ACC2.   	Florida State (1)	61	54-13-1, 19-5 ACC3.   	Clemson (1)	60	39-22, 15-9 ACC4.   	North Carolina	58	42-23, 13-11 ACC5.	N.C. State	52	45-18, 15-9 ACC6.	Wake Forest (1)	36	29-24, 8-15 ACC7.   	VIRGINIA	28	29-25, 11-12 ACC8.   	Duke		17	18-36, 2-21 ACC9.   	Maryland	16	20-33, 6-17 ACC

BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME: On April 12, 2003 in a game against the #12 Miami Hurricanes, Virginia set a new facility single-game attendance record at Davenport Field at the UVa Baseball Stadium when 1,955 spectators turned out to watch the contest. The previous facility record was 1,665 for a game against #5 Wake Forest on April 13, 2002.