Cavalier Baseball Moves Up to No. 11 in College Baseball Polls

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May 1, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – – The Virginia Baseball team moved closer to cracking the top 10 as the Cavaliers enter their seventh week in college baseball polls. The Cavaliers earned its highest ranking moving up to No. 11 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll. UVa is No. 12 in the Collegiate Baseball Poll while the Hoos climbed seven spots in the Baseball America poll to No. 13. The Hoos are 13th in the Rosenblattreport.com poll. Seven Atlantic Coast Conference teams are again ranked this week in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll while eight ACC teams are in the Collegiate Baseball Poll.

Virginia improved to 38-10 on the season after going 4-0 last week. The 38 wins are the second-most in the nation. The Cavaliers moved to 16-8 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, which puts UVa in sole possession of second place in the Coastal Division. The Cavaliers have won 14 of their last 16 games and picked up three ACC road series in the month of April. Virginia swept a three-game ACC series at Maryland over the weekend, 6-0, 8-0 and 7-5. The Cavaliers posted back-to-back shutouts for the second time this season and shut out an ACC opponent in back-to-back games for the first time in program. The 16 ACC wins are the second-most all-time. UVa registered 18 conference wins in Brian O’Connor’s first season in 2004. O’Connor has now swept 18 of the 35 three-game series he has coached in at UVa. The Cavs have won 6 of their 8 conference series. The last time Virginia won three ACC road series was in 2004. Virginia continues to lead the ACC in team ERA (2.57) and ranks second in the league in team batting (.329). The Cavaliers entered last week as one of only three teams in the nation ranked in the Top 15 in the national statistics in both team ERA and batting average. UVa was 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 418 batters in 430.1 innings. Third-year UVa head coach Brian O’Connor ran his career record to 123-45 overall and 48-28 in the ACC

Virginia returns home Tuesday to host Mount St. Mary’s at 7 p.m. before taking 10 days off for exams.