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March 23, 2004

‘HOOS UP NEXT?: Virginia (18-5, 4-2 ACC) is set to face the George Mason Patriots (13-5, 3-0 CAA) in a non-conference game on Wednesday, March 24th at 2:30 PM at GMU’s Spuhler Field.

LAST TIME THEY MET: George Mason defeated Virginia by the score of 4-3 on April 22, 2003 in Charlottesville, Va. at Davenport Field at the UVa Baseball Stadium in the last meeting between the two teams. In the last meeting between UVa and GMU in Fairfax, Va., the Cavaliers defeated the Patriots by the score of 14-5 on April 22, 2002.

PROBABLE PITCHERS FOR VIRGINIA @ GEORGE MASON: Virginia is expected to throw LHP Alex Smith (0-0, 0.00 ERA) on Wednesday, March 24th against George Mason. Smith enters the UVa/GMU contest without allowing an earned run in 11.2 innings of action. He has struck out nine batters in six appearances and is holding opposing hitters to a .205 batting average. GMU is expected to counter with LHP Eric Gibbons (2-2, 4.76 ERA).

LOOKING AHEAD: Virginia will return to ACC action on March 26-28 when the Cavaliers travel to Raleigh, N.C. to face the N.C. State Wolfpack in a three-game series at Doak Field. UVa and NCSU will face off on Friday, March 26th at 7:00 PM, Saturday, March 27th at 2:00 PM and Sunday, March 28th at 2:00 PM.

PROBABLE PITCHERS FOR VIRGINIA @ N.C. STATE SERIES: Virginia is expected to throw Andrew Dobies (LHP, 3-0, 2.19 ERA) on Friday, Matt Avery (RHP, 3-0, 2.73 ERA) on Saturday and Joe Koshansky (LHP, 4-0, 1.89 ERA) on Sunday. N.C. State is expected to counter with Mike Rogers (4-0, 2.13 ERA) on Friday, Vern Sterry (3-1, 2.38 ERA) on Saturday and either Derek McKee (1-0, 2.19 ERA) or Phil Davidson (2-1, 1.69 ERA) on Sunday.

VIRGINIA RANKED IN SEVERAL NATIONAL POLLS: On March 8th, 2004, Virginia received its first national ranking in baseball in eight years (since 1996) when Collegiate Baseball tabbed the Cavaliers #30. One week later, on March 15th, UVa found itself ranked by several national polls including #19 by Baseball America, #20 by Collegiate Baseball, #20 in the Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches Poll and #25 in the NCBWA Poll. On March 20, 1996, Virginia broke into the national polls at #15 in Baseball America, #19 in Collegiate Baseball and #20 in Baseball Weekly. The Cavaliers finished the 1996 season ranked #14 by Baseball America, #19 by Collegiate Baseball and #17 by Baseball Weekly.

Virginia Baseball National Rankings

BASEBALL AMERICA TOP-25 POLLDate		UVa's Ranking		UVa's RecordPreseason		Not Ranked		0-0, 0-0 ACCFebruary 9	Not Ranked		0-0, 0-0 ACCFebruary 16	Not Ranked		3-0, 0-0 ACCFebruary 23	Not Ranked		5-1, 0-0 ACCMarch 1		Not Ranked		9-1, 0-0 ACCMarch 8		Not Ranked		13-1, 0-0 ACCMarch 15		#19			17-2, 3-0 ACCMarch 22		#25			18-5, 4-2 ACC

COLLEGIATE BASEBALL TOP-30 POLLDate UVa’s Ranking UVa’s RecordPreseason Not Ranked 0-0, 0-0 ACCFebruary 9 Not Ranked 0-0, 0-0 ACCFebruary 16 Not Ranked 3-0, 0-0 ACCFebruary 23 Not Ranked 5-1, 0-0 ACCMarch 1 Not Ranked 9-1, 0-0 ACCMarch 8 Not Ranked 13-1, 0-0 ACCMarch 15 #20 17-2, 3-0 ACCMarch 22 Not Ranked 18-5, 4-2 ACC

SPORTS WEEKLY/ESPN COACHES TOP-25 POLLDate UVa’s Ranking UVa’s RecordPreseason Receiving Votes (5) 0-0, 0-0 ACCFebruary 9 Receiving Votes (5) 0-0, 0-0 ACCFebruary 16 Receiving Votes (15) 3-0, 0-0 ACCFebruary 23 Receiving Votes (12) 5-1, 0-0 ACCMarch 1 Receiving Votes (1) 9-1, 0-0 ACCMarch 8 Receiving Votes (33) 13-1, 0-0 ACCMarch 15 #20 17-2, 3-0 ACCMarch 22 Receiving Votes (82) 18-5, 4-2 ACC

NCBWA TOP-35 POLLDate UVa’s Ranking UVa’s RecordPreseason Not Ranked 0-0, 0-0 ACCFebruary 9 Not Ranked 0-0, 0-0 ACCFebruary 16 Not Ranked 3-0, 0-0 ACCFebruary 23 Not Ranked 5-1, 0-0 ACCMarch 1 Receiving Votes 9-1, 0-0 ACCMarch 8 Receiving Votes 13-1, 0-0 ACCMarch 15 #25 17-2, 3-0 ACCMarch 22 #31 18-5, 4-2 ACC

VIRGINIA NAMED COLLEGEBASEBALLINSIDER.COM TEAM OF THE WEEK: Virginia was named the CollegeBaseballInsider.com Team of the Week for games played on March 8-14. Virginia received the honor after the Cavaliers won four consecutive road games against ranked teams by defeating the then #28 ranked UNC Greensboro Spartans in Greensboro, N.C. on March 10th by the score of 9-1 before sweeping the then #17 ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (4-3, 2-1, 8-5) on March 12-14 at Russ Chandler Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. UVa’s three-game sweep over Georgia Tech marked the first time the Cavaliers had ever swept a three-game series over the Yellow Jackets in baseball.

100-PLUS CLUB: Heading into its game against George Mason, Virginia has outscored its opponents by more than 100 runs through its first 23 games this season. UVa has outscored its opponents during that stretch 191-87.

CAVALIERS DROP FIRST THREE-GAME SERIES OF THE SEASON: North Carolina defeated Virginia two games to one on March 19-21 to hand UVa its first three-game series loss of the season. North Carolina won the first two games of the series 5-3 and 8-4 before Virginia won the third game 6-2. The setback marked the first time UVa had lost a three-game series (overall and at home) since falling to Georgia Tech three games to none on May 9-11 in 2003 in Charlottesville.

Joe Koshansky & Casey Lambert NAMED ACC PLAYER & PITCHER OF THE WEEK, RESPECTIVELY: Virginia’s Casey Lambert and Joe Koshansky were named the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Pitcher and Player of the Week, respectively. Virginia finished the week with a record of 4-1 including a three-game ACC series sweep over the #17 ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Atlanta, Ga. on March 12-14. The three-game sweep was UVa’s first ever over Georgia Tech in baseball. The honor for Koshansky is his second this season. He was also named the ACC Player of the Week on February 17.

ROAD WARRIORS: Virginia’s record away from home this year stands at 8-1 on the road. UVa’s eight road wins already matches its total for road victories in all of last season. In 2003, Virginia was 8-14 in 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 23 games, UVa is 44-for-50 in stolen base attempts, compared to just 8-for-12 for its opponents. The Cavaliers are averaging over five stolen bases to every one for their opponent.

VIRGINIA IN THREE-GAME WEEKEND SERIES ACTION: Virginia is 13-2 in games played in its four, three-game weekend series against North Carolina A&T (February 13-15), Seton Hall (February 27-29), Central Connecticut State (March 5-7), Georgia Tech (March 12-14) and North Carolina (March 19-21). 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, 9-43/12	@ Georgia Tech 			W, 4-33/13	@ Georgia Tech			W, 2-13/14	@ Georgia Tech 			W, 8-53/19	North Carolina			L, 5-33/20	North Carolina			L, 8-43/21	North Carolina			W, 6-2

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 stands 9-4 in the month of March.

O’CONNOR-METER: First-year Virginia head baseball coach Brian O’Connor’s career coaching record stands at 18-5, 4-2 in the ACC.

OLD DOMINION HANDS VIRGINIA ITS FIRST ROAD LOSS OF THE SEASON: Virginia was dealt its first road loss of the 2004 season when Old Dominion defeated UVa 5-4 in Norfolk, Va. The loss snapped the Cavaliers’ winning streak that saw UVa win its first eight road games of the season.

VIRGINIA RECORDS FIRST EVER THREE-GAME SWEEP OVER GEORGIA TECH: When Virginia swept its three-game ACC series against the #17 ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on March 12-14 in Atlanta, Ga., it marked the first time ever that UVa swept a three-game series in baseball over the Yellow Jackets.

Mark Reynolds & Joe Koshansky HIT GAME-WINNING HOME RUNS AGAINST GEORGIA TECH: UVa’s Mark Reynolds and Joe Koshansky each hit a pair of home runs, including one game-winning home run for each player, in the first two games of the Cavaliers’ three-game series with the Yellow Jackets (March 12-14). In game one of the series (March 12th), Reynolds blasted a solo home run in the top of the eighth inning to break a 3-3 tie to give Virginia a 4-3 victory. In game two of the series (March 13th), Koshansky belted a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning to break a 1-1 tie to lift UVa to a 2-1 victory.

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.

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.

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