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April 27, 2006
Games 46-48
#13 VIRGINIA (35-10, 13-8 ACC) At Maryland (20-25, 7-17 ACC) Apr. 28-30, 2006
Shipley Field
College Park, Md.
Fri. Apr. 28, 7 p.m.
Virginia – LHP Sean Doolittle (7-1, 2.19 ERA)
Maryland – LHP Casey Baron (1-4, 4.73 ERA)
Gametracker 1
Sat. Apr. 29, 7 p.m.
Virginia – RHP Jacob Thompson (8-1, 2.63 ERA)
Maryland – RHP Ben Pfinsgraff (2-5, 6.21 ERA)
Gametracker 2
Sun. Apr. 30, 1 p.m.
Virginia – LHP Mike Ballard (6-2, 2.66 ERA)
Maryland – TBA
Gametracker 3
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#13 VIRGINIA WRAPS UP ACC ROAD PLAY AT MARYLAND
No. 13 Virginia heads to Maryland for its final Atlantic Coast Conference road series. The Cavaliers have already played three road ACC series in April, winning at Duke and at No. 19 Miami. Virginia is coming off an 8-3 win against Richmond at home Wednesday. UVa will send its same weekend rotation of LHP Sean Doolittle (7-1, 2.19 ERA), Jacob Thompson (8-1, 2.63 ERA) and Mike Ballard (6-2, 2.66 ERA) to the mound. The Cavaliers enter the weekend in a tie for second place in the ACC Coastal Division with Georgia Tech. The Cavaliers continue to lead the ACC in team ERA (2.66) and ranks second in team batting average (.331).
SCOUTING MARYLAND
The Terrapins (20-25, 7-17 ACC) won a pair of mid-week games at home over Delaware State, 8-5, and Towson, 8-3. Maryland enters the weekend winners of four of its last six games. The Terrapins have seven wins over teams ranked in the top 25 and rank in the top 50 of the RPI according to Boyd’s world Pseudo NCAA Baseball RPI’s report. Maryland is No. 49 in the report. Second baseman Dan Melvin leads Maryland with a .329 batting clip and a team-high 54 hits. Gerry Spessard is the RBI leader with 22 on 19 extra-base hits (12 2B, 5 3B, 2 HR). Maryland will send LHP Casey Baron (1-4, 4.73 ERA) to the mound Friday and RHP Ben Pfinsgraff (2-5, 6.21 ERA) to the mound Saturday. As a team, Terrapins hit .263 while the pitching staff has a 5.27 ERA.
SERIES VS. MARYLAND
Virginia leads the all-time series with Maryland, 80-73-1. The Cavaliers are 6-0 against the Terrapins under Brian O’Connor, having swept the last two series.
HOOS IN THE POLLS
Virginia ranks in the Top 25 in college baseball polls for the sixth straight week. UVa is No. 15 in Collegiate Baseball, No. 13 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll, 20th in Baseball America and 14th in the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association Poll (NCBWA). SEBaseball.com has UVa as the 13th best team in the nation while the Hoos are 14th in the Rosenblattreport.com poll.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS
Virginia improved to 35-10 on the season after knocking off Richmond, 8-3, Wednesday. Michael Schwimer tossed 3 1/3 innings in relief to earn his third win of the season and No. 13 Virginia used a three-run eighth inning to pull away. The Cavaliers are 13-8 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, which puts UVa in a tie for second place in the Coastal Division. UVa is one of seven teams in the ACC with 30 or more wins … The Cavaliers won their second straight ACC road series and have won five of its seven conference series this season … Virginia hit .320 last week and .342 in the Miami series. Thirteen of Virginia’s 41 hits went for extra bases against Miami … The Cavaliers won its first ever series over Miami. UVa was 2-4 under Brian O’Connor heading into the weekend and 9-4 all-time against the Hurricanes … The Cavaliers’ 6-7-8-9 hitters were a combined 22-for-49 with 13 RBIs and 17 Runs scored in the Miami series … Virginia continues to lead the ACC in team ERA (2.63) and ranks second in the league in team batting (.331). Virginia is one of three teams ranked in the top 15 in team ERA (2.63) and batting average (.331). UVa is 2nd nationally in team ERA and 12th in batting average … Virginia’s pitching staff is holding opponents to a .217 batting average … UVa pitchers have struck out 389 batters in 403.1 innings … Five different Cavaliers have at least 54 hits while two others have at least 47 hits … Virginia also has five players with at least 30 RBIs … Six of the 13 pitchers used by UVa have opponent batting averages under the team avg .217 … 38 % of the Cavaliers RBIs have come with two outs. Virginia is hitting .321 with two outs having driven in 127 runs with two outs. Eight starters have at least 10 RBIs with two outs … The Cavaliers have won 11 of its last 13 games … Third-year UVa head coach Brian O’Connor ran his career record to 120-45 overall and 45-28 in the ACC
HOO NOTES
– Sophomore lefty Sean Doolittle recorded nine strikeouts in 7.1 innings in picking up his seventh win of the season in an 8-2 win at #19 Miami. He held Miami to two runs on four hits. He retired 20 of the last 22 batters he faced. It was also the third time this season that he had at least nine strikeouts. On the season, the sophomore southpaw is 7-1 with a 2.19 ERA while holding opponents to a .189 batting aver-age. He now has 70’Ks in 61.2 innings.
– Sophomore outfielder Brandon Guyer hit .471 last week going 8-for-17 with 6 RBIs, two home runs and 7 runs scored at the plate in helping UVa to a 3-1 week and ACC series win at #19 Miami. He slugged .941 and had a .550 on-base percentage. In the series at Miami, he hit .429 (6-for-14) with five runs and five RBI including two-runs and three-run home runs. On the season, Guyer is hitting .321 with team-highs in RBIs (44), runs scored (46) and extra-base hits (21). He now has 59 hits including 13 doubles, four triples and four home runs.
– Senior Utility Tom Hagan continued his hot hitting as Hagan finished the week 9-for-18 with 7 Runs, 3 RBIs, 3 doubles and 2 stolen bases. Hagan is second in the ACC hitting .394 with a team-high 61 hits including 11 doubles and a triple for 36 RBIs. He has 28 hits in his last 18 games.
– Sophomore third baseman Patrick Wingfield had another good week for the Cavaliers as he hit .429 (6-for-14) with five RBI. Against Miami, he batted .545 in the series (6-for-11, 4 Runs, 5 RBIs). Wingfield has 16 hits in his last 11 games for the Hoos.
– Junior catcher Beau Seabury hit .467 last week. Seabury was 7-for-15 with 3 Runs, 4 doubles and 5 RBIs. He slugged .733. In the Miami series, Seabury hit .500 (6-for-12) including three doubles and four RBIs.
– Freshman right-hander Jacob Thompson ran his record to 8-1 after picking up the win at #19 Miami in the second game of the series. Thompson held the Hurricanes to two earned runs in 5.1 innings and struck out four.
– Sophomore right-hander Michael Schwimer made his team-leading 24th appearance against Richmond and tossed 3.1 innings in relief to earn his third win of the season. Schwimer is now 3-1 with a 2.49 ERA. He has 43 K’s in 43.1 innings, while opponents are hitting .195 against him.
TOP 15 CAVS
Virginia is now one of only three teams in the nation ranked in the top 15 nationally in team pitching and team batting average. UVa enters the week ranked second nationally in team ERA (2.62 ERA) and 12th nationally in team batting average (.332). The College of Charleston is fifth nationally in team ERA (2.90) and ninth in batting average (.333). Notre Dame, where Brian O’Connor served as a long-time assistant, is the third team ranked in the top 15 in both categories. The Fighting Irish is 15th in batting average (.329) and 15th in team ERA (3.33). UVa and College of Charleston met earlier in the season with the Cougars prevailing, 7-6, in a 17-inning affair in Charleston, S.C.
CAVALIERS IN THE ACC
Virginia remains in a second place tie in the ACC Coastal Division. North Carolina leads the Coastal Division at 15-6 while Virginia and Georgia Tech are tied for second at 13-8. Miami is fourth at 12-9. Wake Forest leads the Atlantic Division at 14-7 with Clemson second at 12-6. Florida State and NC State are tied for third in the Atlantic Division at 13-8. The top two from each division will earn the top four seeds in the 2006 ACC Tournament.
TWO-OUT HITS, RBIS WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Virginia has adopted a saying that two-out hits win championships. Of Virginia’s 522 hits, 172 have come with two outs, which is 33 percent. The Cavaliers are even better with two-out RBIs. Of the Cavaliers’ 330 RBIs, 127 have come with two outs, which is 38 percent of the Cavs RBI total.
THEY MAKE IT LOOK EASY
Virginia stole a season-high eight bases in the 8-3 win over Richmond. The Cavaliers are now 85-of-105 in stolen bases, which puts them second in the ACC in the category. Five different Cavaliers have at least 10 stolen bases led by senior Tom Hagan and freshman Greg Miclat, who both have 15. Hagan has only been caught stealing once in 16 attempts. Brandon Guyer is third with 13 while Brandon Marsh and Mike Mitchell both have 10 steals. Junior Tim Henry is one stolen base away from joining the group as he is 9-for-12.
THE SEABURY SACRIFICES
Junior catcher Beau Seabury fits perfectly fine into the Virginia system. While Seabury is in the midst of a 10-game hitting streak, he continues to move up nationally in sacrifice hits. Seabury is 10th nationally in the category as he leads the ACC with 13 sacrifice hits.
IT COULD HAPPEN
With 11 regular season games left and the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament approaching, the 2006 Virginia Cavaliers are closing in on program team records. Through 45 games, Virginia has 366 runs, 522 hits, 330 RBIs and 85 stolen bases. The Cavaliers are close to school records in runs (467, 1985), hits (626, 1985), RBIs (411), and stolen bases (125).
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Virginia takes to the road for its final series away from Davenport Field. The Cavaliers will play a midweek con-test at Old Dominion on May 16. The road has been kinder to the Cavs lately. After a three-game sweep at NC State, Virginia is 5-2 in its last seven road games including series wins at Duke and #19 Miami. The Cavaliers are 10-8 away from Davenport Field this season while hitting .298 as a team and boasting a 4.16 team ERA.