Virginia Begins Seven-Game Homestand With Weekend Series Against Bucknell

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Feb. 17, 2005

`HOOS UP NEXT?: The Virginia Cavaliers (2-2, 0-0 ACC) will host the Bucknell Bison (0-0, 0-0 Patriot League) in the Cavaliers’ home-opening series on February 18-20 at Davenport Field at the UVa Baseball Stadium. Virginia will face Bucknell on Friday at 3:00 PM, Saturday at 4:00 PM and Sunday at 1:00 PM. The series will also be the season-opener for the Bison. Bucknell finished 20-24 overall, 7-13 in the Patriot League last year (2004) and had a record of 4-13 on the road last season.

LAST TIME THEY MET: Virginia defeated Bucknell three games to none (10-3, 7-5, 8-0) the last time the two schools met on February 16-17, 2002 in Charlottesville, Va. In fact, the series against Bucknell in 2002 marked the first games played at the new UVa Baseball Stadium which opened that season. The Cavaliers’ 10-3 victory over the Bison on 2/16/03 marked Virginia’s first win and first ever contest played in the new facility.

PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION FOR VIRGINIA & BUCKNELL: Virginia is expected to use the rotation of: Mike Ballard (LHP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA) on Friday, Matt Avery (RHP, 0-1, 3.60 ERA) on Saturday and Jeff Kamrath (RHP, 1-0, 5.06 ERA) on Sunday. Bucknell is expected to counter with: Tim Peacock (LHP, 2-2, 3.54 ERA in 2004) on Friday, Matt Curry (RHP, 0-2, 6.75 ERA in 2004) on Saturday and Nathan Mittag (RHP, 1-1, 2.87 ERA in 2004) on Sunday.

VIRGINIA’S CURRENT RECORD & RANKINGS: Virginia (2-2, 0-0 ACC) is ranked #33 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Top-35 Poll in this week’s national rankings. UVa is also receiving 33 votes in the Sports Weekly/ESPN Top-25 Poll. The Cavaliers are not ranked by Baseball America or by Collegiate Baseball.

Virginia Baseball National Rankings

NCBWA TOP-35 POLLDate		UVa's Ranking		UVa's RecordPreseason	#32			0-0, 0-0 ACCFebruary 7	#32			0-0, 0-0 ACCFebruary 14	#33			2-1, 0-0 ACC

SPORTS WEEKLY/ESPN COACHES TOP-25 POLLDate UVa’s Ranking UVa’s RecordPreseason Receiving Votes (79) 0-0, 0-0 ACCFebruary 7 Receiving Votes (29) 0-0, 0-0 ACCFebruary 14 Receiving Votes (33) 2-1, 0-0 ACC

BASEBALL AMERICA TOP-25 POLLDate UVa’s Ranking UVa’s RecordPreseason Not Ranked 0-0, 0-0 ACCFebruary 7 Not Ranked 0-0, 0-0 ACCFebruary 14 Not Ranked 2-1, 0-0 ACC

COLLEGIATE BASEBALL TOP-30 POLLDate UVa’s Ranking UVa’s RecordPreseason #27 0-0, 0-0 ACCFebruary 7 #27 0-0, 0-0 ACCFebruary 14 Not Ranked 2-1, 0-0 ACC

Mike Ballard NAMED ACC PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Virginia’s Mike Ballard was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week (2/14). Ballard, a third-year LHP for the Cavaliers, led UVa to a 2-0 victory over UNC-Wilmington on February 12th in his first pitching appearance since the 2003 season. He missed the 2004 campaign after having Tommy John surgery. Ballard pitched 7.0 scoreless innings and allowed just two hits while striking out a game-high six batters to post the win on the mound for UVa.

FIRST TIME FOR FIRST-YEARS & NEWCOMERS: Several new faces for the Cavaliers have seen their first action in a Virginia uniform in UVa’s opening week of play. When Virginia faced UNC Wilmington in a three-game series on February 11-13, first-year Sean Doolittle appeared in all three games and also saw time on the mound and at the plate. He went 5-for-6 at the plate (including a 4-for-4 performance in one contest) and scored two runs with one RBI and hit UVa’s first home run of the season. Doolittle also pitched 4.0 total innings and struck out six batters. First-year pitchers Ryan Ouellette and Michael Schwimer each saw their first action on the mound and both pitchers recorded their first collegiate strikeouts. Junior college transfer Mike Campagna made his first start at shortstop and posted two hits and one RBI in the series. In Virginia’s game against Old Dominion on February 16th, first-year LHP Pat McAnaney made his first collegiate start and pitched 5.0 innings while allowing just two runs on six hits to go along with two strikeouts.

DOOLITTLE DOING A LOT: Virginia first-year INF/LHP Sean Doolittle had a breakout series in his coming out party at UNC Wilmington on February 11-13. Doolittle appeared in all three games of the series and logged time on the mound as a pitcher and at the plate as a DH. Doolittle went 5-for-6 at the plate for the series (including a 4-for-4 performance in UVa’s 7-4 victory in game three) and scored two runs with one RBI and hit UVa’s first home run of the season. He also pitched 4.0 innings and struck out six batters in two games, including the first two batters he faced. In his next outing, a game against Old Dominion on February 16th, Doolittle went 2-for-5 at the plate with four more RBIs and scored a run and connected on his second home run of the season.

UVA’S BALLARD & KAMRATH MAKE THEIR RETURNS KNOWN: LHP Mike Ballard and RHP Jeff Kamrath missed the entire 2004 season due to Tommy John surgery and both pitchers made their first appearances for UVa in two years (since 2003) on February 12th and 13th, respectively, in Virginia’s weekend series against UNC Wilmington. Ballard and Kamrath both erased any doubts about not performing like their old selves, as both hurlers led the Cavaliers to a victory in each game they pitched. Ballard pitched 7.0 scoreless innings and struck out a game-high six batters while allowing just two hits to pick up the victory in UVa’s 2-0 win over UNCW on February 12th. Kamrath went 5.1 innings and also struck out a game-high six batters while allowing three earned runs on seven hits to post the win in the Cavaliers’ 7-4 victory over the Seahawks on February 13th.

NOT BEATING THEMSELVES: Last season, much of the success Virginia enjoyed was due to not beating themselves with costly errors. In 2004, UVa established a new single-season school record fielding percentage mark of .973 while committing just 62 errors to their opponents 105. Against UNCW in UVa’s three-game series with the Seahawks on February 11-13, Virginia committed just three errors for the series while UNC Wilmington committed eight, including four errors in one game.

CAVALIERS’ PITCHING PLUCKS SEAHAWKS FOR THE SERIES: Virginia’s pitching staff recorded 30 strikeouts to only 13 for UNC Wilmington in UVa’s three-game series with UNCW on February 11-13. The Cavaliers’ pitching staff averaged 10 strikeouts per game against the Seahawks and posted 12 strikeouts in the decisive third game of the series.

VIRGINIA IN THREE-GAME WEEKEND SERIES ACTION: After winning two of three games with UNC Wilmington on February 11-13, Virginia won its first weekend series of the 2005 season. The Cavaliers are now 1-0 in three-game weekends series this year.

Date	Virginia's Opponent			Results2/11	@ UNC Wilmington			L, 5-22/12	@ UNC Wilmington			W, 2-02/13	@ UNC Wilmington			W, 7-4

O’CONNOR-METER: Virginia head baseball coach Brian O’Connor is in his second year as UVa’s head coach. His career coaching record at UVa stands at 46-17 overall, 18-6 in the ACC.

2005 Cavalier Firsts

BattingAt bat: Matt Street @ UNC Wilmington on 2/11.Hit: Ryan Hudson @ UNC Wilmington on 2/11.Run: Matt Street @ UNC Wilmington on 2/11.RBI: Ryan Zimmerman @ UNC Wilmington on 2/11.Extra-base hit: Sean Doolittle @ UNC Wilmington on 2/13.Double: Josh Darby @ Old Dominion on 2/16.Triple: N/AHome run: Sean Doolittle @ UNC Wilmington on 2/13.Base runner: Ryan Hudson @ UNC Wilmington on 2/11.Walk: Ryan Hudson @ UNC Wilmington on 2/11.Strikeout: Josh Darby @ UNC Wilmington on 2/11.Hit batsman: Tom Hagan @ UNC Wilmington on 2/11.Sacrifice bunt: Matt Street @ UNC Wilmington on 2/11.Sacrifice fly: Ryan Zimmerman @ UNC Wilmington on 2/13.Stolen base attempt: Matt Street & Tom Hagan (double steal) @ UNCW on 2/11.Stolen base: Matt Street & Tom Hagan (double steal) @ UNCW on 2/11.Caught stealing: Matt Street @ UNC Wilmington on 2/13.

PitchingWin: Mike Ballard @ UNC Wilmington on 2/12.Loss: Matt Avery @ UNC Wilmington on 2/11.Save: Casey Lambert @ UNC Wilmington on 2/12.Complete game: N/AShutout: N/AStrikeout: Matt Avery @ UNC Wilmington on 2/11.Walk: Matt Avery @ UNC Wilmington on 2/11.Wild pitch: Ryan Ouellette  @ Old Dominion on 2/16.Hit batsman: N/ABalk: N/A

FieldingPutout: Josh Darby @ UNC Wilmington on 2/11.Assist: Kyle Werman @ UNC Wilmington on 2/11.Fielding error: Mike Campagna @ UNC Wilmington on 2/11.

VIRGINIA PICKED SIXTH IN ACC PRESEASON POLL: Virginia was picked to finish sixth in the 2005 Atlantic Coast Conference Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll. UVa returns a solid core of position players and a majority of its pitchers from last year’s NCAA Regional advancing team that finished 44-15 overall, 18-6 in the conference. The ACC’s 11 head coaches selected league-newcomer Miami as the top pick in the conference in 2005 with eight first place votes and a total of 118 points. UVa was picked seventh in the 2004 preseason coaches poll last year and finished second. Here is a look at the 2005 ACC Preseason Coaches Poll:

2005 ACC Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll

Rank	School		Points		2004 Record1.    	Miami (8)             	118               	50-13 -  Independent2.      	North Carolina (3) 110                	43-21, 14-10 ACC3.   	Georgia Tech       93                  	44-21, 18-5 ACC4.      	Florida State         89            	45-23, 16-8 ACC5.    	Clemson               80                    	39-26, 14-10 ACC6.  	Virginia                63                 	44-15, 18-6 ACC7.    	NC State            	55                    	36-24, 11-12 ACC8. 	Wake Forest        34                 	17-33, 4-20 ACC9.   	Maryland              30              	22-34, 4-20 ACCt-10.   	Duke                    27             	25-31, 8-16 ACCt-10. 	Virginia Tech      	27        		29-27, 11-15 Big East(#) denotes first place votes

ZIMMERMAN GATHERS ALL-AMERICAN HONORS: Virginia’s Ryan Zimmerman has been honored by several publications as a 2005 Preseason All-American selection. Zimmerman, a third-year third baseman, was named a Second Team Preseason All-American by Baseball American, a Second Team Preseason All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and a Third Team Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball. He was also named USA Baseball’s Athlete of the Year.

PRESEASON PUB: Virginia’s Matt Avery, Casey Lambert, Sean Doolittle and Ryan Zimmerman have garnered preseason attention for their play. Avery was named a Top-10 prospect in the ACC by Baseball America and was tabbed a Second Team All-ACC preseason pick by SEBaseball.com. Lambert was named a Second Team All-ACC preseason choice by SEBaseball.com and Doolittle was named the Preseason Freshman of the Year by Baseball America. Zimmerman, an All-American third baseman, was named the best defensive third baseman in the ACC.

TEAM CAPTAINS: Virginia’s Scott Headd, Jeff Kamrath, Matt Street and Kyle Werman were selected as UVa’s team captains for the 2005 season. Kamrath, Street and Werman are fifth-year seniors and Headd is a true fourth-year.

THEY’RE BACK!: Virginia’s LHP Mike Ballard and RHP Jeff Kamrath are back in action in 2005 after missing the 2004 season due to injuries. Ballard and Kamrath were UVa’s top two pitchers in the weekend rotation for the 2003 season before injuries cut their seasons short. In Ballard’s last outing for the Cavaliers, he stifled #20 Clemson when he shut down a potent Tiger offense and handed them their first home loss of the season by tossing 5.0 scoreless innings and striking out six batters to pace Virginia to a 4-1 road win in Clemson, S.C. on April 5, 2003. In Kamrath last outing for the Cavaliers, he pitched a compete game shutout and struck out 11 batters on March 28, 2003 in a 6-0 victory over Maryland.

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/Score2005	Bucknell			2/18		TBA2004 	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

UVA’S 2005 EARLY SIGNING PERIOD RECRUITING CLASS RANKED IN TOP-10: Virginia’s early signing period recruiting class was ranked 10th in the country according to Team One Baseball. UVa’s 2005 recruiting class consists of David Adams, David Caldwell, Andrew Carraway, Jeremy Farrell, Chance Gilmore, Shooter Hunt, Brandon Marsh, Greg Miclat, Brett Summers, Jacob Thompson and Wes Williams.

VIRGINIA’S 2004 RECRUITING CLASS WAS RANKED IN TOP-40: Virginia’s 2004 recruiting class was ranked #32 in the country according to Collegiate Baseball’s recruiting results in the newspaper’s 22nd annual rundown of NCAA Division I baseball recruiting classes. UVa’s recruiting class was the top-rated class in the Commonwealth of Virginia and was one of seven classes from an Atlantic Coast Conference school that appeared in the Top-40.