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April 8, 2004

‘HOOS UP NEXT?: Virginia (26-7, 8-4 ACC) will host the Clemson Tigers (18-10, 6-0 ACC) on April 9-11 in a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series. UVa and Clemson are scheduled to meet on Friday, April 9th at 7:00 PM, Saturday, April 10th at 7:00 PM and Sunday, April 11th at 1:00 PM. All three games will be played at Davenport Field at the UVa Baseball Stadium.

LAST TIME THEY MET: Clemson defeated Virginia two games to one in last year’s three-game ACC series on April 4-6, 2003 in Clemson, S.C. The Tigers defeated the Cavaliers 9-4 in game one before UVa bounced back and won game two by the score of 4-1. Clemson won the third and final game of the series, 9-2.

PROBABLE PITCHING FOR CLEMSON @ VIRGINIA SERIES: Virginia is expected to start Andrew Dobies (LHP, 5-0, 1.96 ERA, 57 SO) on Friday, Matt Avery (RHP, 3-1, 2.79 ERA, 27 SO) on Saturday and Joe Koshansky (LHP, 5-1, 2.82 ERA, 40 SO) on Sunday. Clemson is expected to counter with Tyler Lumsden (LHP, 2-1, 4.25 ERA, 30 SO) on Friday, Robert Rohrbaugh (LHP, 2-1, 2.88 ERA, 13 SO) on Saturday and a pitcher to be named on Sunday. Clemson’s usual weekend starter Jason Berken’s (RHP, 5-1, 2.34 ERA, 35 SO) status for the series is unknown.

VIRGINIA LEADS THE ACC IN OVERALL VICTORIES: Granted, every school plays a different schedule, but as of April 8th, Virginia has recorded an ACC-leading 26 overall victories. Florida State and North Carolina are second to UVa’s 26 overall wins with 24 each.

NOT BEATING THEMSELVES: In Virginia’s last four games, all UVa victories, the Cavaliers’ opponents have committed 14 errors to none for Virginia. In three games against Duke on April 2-4, the Blue Devils’ error total for the series was nine after making errors in game one (6), game two (1) and game three (2). In UVa’s victory over Williams & Mary on April 6th, the Tribe committed five errors.

CAVALIERS CLOSING IN ON SCHOOL-RECORD FOR MOST ACC WINS: Heading into its three-game ACC series against the Clemson Tigers (April 9-11), Virginia enters the series with a record of 8-4 in the ACC halfway through its conference schedule. UVa needs just four wins in its last 12 ACC contests to break the Virginia school-record of 11 conference wins. The Cavaliers posted 11 ACC victories in both 2003 and 1996.

UVA CLOSING IN ON LAST YEAR’S WIN TOTAL: Heading into its three-game ACC series against the Clemson Tigers (April 9-11), Virginia enters the series with a record of 26-7 overall. The Cavaliers need to win just four games to break last year’s win total of 29 (UVa finished 29-25 in 2003) and would reach the 30-win plateau for the first time since 1997 when UVa finished 32-22.

BYPASSED IN STOLEN BASES: Virginia has already exceeded its 2003 season total of 58 stolen bases just 32 games into the 2004 season by recording 61 successful stolen bases following its three-game series with Duke. In 2003, UVa finished 58-for-89 in stolen bases attempts. As of April 8th of this season, Virginia is 63-for-79 in stolen base attempts. The UVa school-record for most stolen bases in one season is 125 in 1990.

THIEVES ON THE BASE PATHS: Virginia has burned its opponents this season when it has runners on base. UVa is 63-for-79 in stolen base attempts, compared to just 12-for-21 for its opponents. The Cavaliers are averaging over five stolen bases to every one for their opponent.

OVER & OUT: Virginia has hit 18 home runs this season, with 17 of those 18 home runs coming off of the bats of Joe Koshansky and Mark Reynolds. Koshansky has hit a team-leading 10 home runs and Reynolds has hit seven home runs. Matt Dunn, the only Cavalier other than Koshansky and Reynolds, has hit one home run and it was UVa’s first of the season in the Cavaliers’ season-opener on February 13th against North Carolina A&T in his first at-bat. Here is a look at Virginia’s home run hitters this season:

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)11.	Joe Koshansky (2)	3/12	@ Georgia Tech (17)12.	Mark Reynolds (1)	3/12	@ Georgia Tech (17)13.	Mark Reynolds (1)	3/12	@ Georgia Tech (17)14.	Joe Koshansky (1)	3/13	@ Georgia Tech (18)15.	Mark Reynolds (1)	3/21	North Carolina (23)16.	Joe Koshansky (2)	3/21	North Carolina (23)17.	Joe Koshansky (1)	3/24	@ George Mason (24)18.	Mark Reynolds (2)	3/28	@ N.C. State (27)

ROAD WARRIORS: Virginia’s record away from home this year stands at 14-3 on the road. UVa’s 14 road wins already exceeds its total for road victories in all of last season. In 2003, Virginia was 8-14 in road contests.

100-PLUS CLUB: Virginia has outscored its opponents by more than 100 runs this season, holding a 269-136 advantage in runs scored.

‘HOOS BY THE MONTH: 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. Virginia then turned in a record of 13-6 in the month of March. The Cavaliers were 6-3 at home and 7-3 on the road for the month. Here is a look at UVa’s record by the month:

Month		Record		Home		AwayFebruary		9-1		6-1		3-0March		13-6		6-3		7-3April		4-0		0-0		4-0

O’CONNOR-METER: First-year Virginia head baseball coach Brian O’Connor’s career coaching record stands at 26-7, 8-4 in the ACC.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Virginia is currently in a stretch that will see the Cavaliers on the road for a three-game series in four of five consecutive weekends, which started with UVa’s three-game ACC series at N.C. State on March 26-28. Virginia also traveled to Durham, N.C. to play Duke on April 2-4 before it returned home for the Clemson series on April 9-11. UVa will then hit the road for back-to-back weekend series to face Maryland on April 16-18 in College Park, Md. before rounding things out with a trip to Coral Gables, Fla. to face Miami on April 23-25.

VIRGINIA SWEEPS SECOND ACC OPPONENT ON THE ROAD THIS SEASON: Following Virginia’s three-game sweep over the Duke Blue Devils (8-1, 6-5 & 3-1) on April 2-4 in Durham, N.C., it marked the second three-game ACC series the Cavaliers posted this season on the road. UVa also defeated #17 ranked Georgia Tech (4-3, 2-1 & 8-5) on March 12-14 in Atlanta, Ga.

DOBIES DOES IT AGAIN: Virginia’s Andrew Dobies pitched a complete game (9.0 innings) to guide UVa to an 8-1 victory over Duke on April 2nd. It was Dobies’ second consecutive complete game victory in back-to-back outings after he also posted a complete game victory in Virginia’s 9-2 win over N.C. State on March 26th. In both games combined, Dobies pitched 18.0 innings and allowed just three runs and struck out 15 batters without walking a single batter.

VIRGINIA IN THREE-GAME WEEKEND SERIES ACTION: Heading into its three-game series with Clemson, Virginia is 17-4 in games played in its seven, 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), North Carolina (March 19-21), N.C. State (March 26-28) and Duke (April 2-4). 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, 6-23/26 @ N.C. State W, 9-23/27 @ N.C. State L, 12-13/28 @ N.C. State L, 8-74/2 @ Duke W, 8-14/3 @ Duke W, 6-54/4 @ Duke W, 3-1

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 ACCMarch 29		Not Ranked		20-7, 5-4 ACCApril 5		Not Ranked		25-7, 8-4 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 ACCMarch 29 Not Ranked 20-7, 5-4 ACCApril 5 #29 25-7, 8-4 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 ACCMarch 29 Receiving Votes (22) 20-7, 5-4 ACCApril 5 Receiving Votes (50) 25-7, 8-4 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 ACCMarch 29 #29 20-7, 5-4 ACCApril 5 #27 25-7, 8-4 ACC

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR U(Va.)?: For the Cavaliers, Brown proved to be just what UVa needed to snap a two-game losing streak. Virginia defeated Brown two games to none in back-to-back games on March 30-31. The Cavaliers defeated the Bears 13-2 (seven innings) and 11-4.

Andrew Dobies NAMED ACC PITCHER OF THE WEEK: UVa’s Andrew Dobies was named the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Pitcher of the Week (on March 29th) for his performance in Virginia’s 9-2 victory over N.C. State on March 26th in Raleigh, N.C. Dobies, a third-year LHP, pitched 9.0 innings and allowed just two runs on eight hits to go along with a game-high nine strikeouts without walking a single batter. Dobies’ honor marks the fourth time this season a UVa player was named either the ACC Player or Pitcher of the Week. The Cavaliers’ Joe Koshansky (2/16 and 3/15) was twice named the ACC Player of the Week and Casey Lambert (3/15) was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week.

UVA ENDS GEORGE MASON’S 18-GAME HOME WINNING STREAK: Virginia recorded a 9-5 victory over the George Mason Patriots on March 24th in Fairfax, Va. to snap GMU’s 18-game home winning streak at Spuhler Field. UVa turned a 5-2 deficit into a four-run victory by scoring seven unanswered runs to claim its ninth road win of the year, which is one more road win than the Cavaliers had in all of last season when they finished 8-14 away from Charlottesville.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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