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#6 Virginia Hosts Virginia Tech in Commonwealth Challenge Finale
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May 18, 2006
Games #54-56
#6 Virginia (42-11, 18-9 ACC) vs. Virginia Tech (20-30, 4-22 ACC)
Davenport Field at UVa Baseball Stadium
Charlottesville, Va.
Thurs. May 18, 7 p.m.
Virginia – LHP Sean Doolittle (9-1, 1.81 ERA)
VT – RHP Nicky Bowers (3-6, 7.29 ERA)
Gametracker 1
Fri. May 19, 7 p.m.
Virginia – RHP Jacob Thompson (9-2, 2.30 ERA)
VT – RHP David Cross (3-7, 5.71 ERA)
Gametracker 2
Sat. May 20, 2 p.m.
Virginia – LHP Mike Ballard (7-2, 3.00 ERA
VT – RHP Greg Fryman (3-6, 6.27 ERA)
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All three games can be heard locally on WINA 1070 AM or via the internet at www.virginiasports.com.
#6 VIRGINIA HOSTS VIRGINIA TECH IN COMMONWEALTH CHALLENGE FINALE
Virginia hosts in-state foe Virginia Tech in the regular season finale at Davenport Field and final event in the Adelphia Commonwealth Challenge. The Cavaliers enter the series 42-11, which ties the school record for wins during the regular season set by the 2004 club. UVa is 18-9 and in second place in the Coastal Division heading into this weekend’s series. The Cavs are one game back of divisional leader North Carolina. UVa sends its same rotation of LHP Sean Doolittle (9-1, 1.81 ERA), RHP Jacob Thompson (9-2, 2.30 ERA) and LHP Mike Ballard (7-2, 3.00 ERA) to the mound. Before Saturday’s game, UVa will honor its six seniors beginning at 1:30 p.m.
SCOUTING VIRGINIA TECH
The Hokies (20-30, 4-22 ACC) fell in their home finale to Charlotte Tuesday night, 14-3. Matt Hacker led Virginia Tech going 3-for-4 with two runs. First baseman Sean O’Brien has 59 hits including nine doubles and five home runs for 38 RBIs while hitting .312. Third baseman Bryan Thomas leads the team with 61 hits and 46 RBIs. The Hokies hit .281 as a team and have a 6.88 team ERA.
SERIES VS. VIRGINIA TECH
Virginia Tech leads the all-time series, 74-73, but Virginia has won the last two meetings under Brian O’Connor.
HOOS IN THE POLLS
Virginia ranks in the Top 25 in college baseball polls for the ninth straight week. The Cavaliers are ranked as high as No. 6 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association Poll and moved up to No. 7 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll. UVa jumped to No. 9 in the Collegiate Baseball Poll and to No. 9 in the Baseball America Poll. The Hoos are 8th 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.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS
Virginia sits at 42-11 and 18-9 in the ACC. Virginia is coming off a thrilling 11-10 come-from-behind victory at Old Dominion Tuesday. Catcher Beau Seabury started a three-run rally with his first home run of the season as UVa scored seven runs in the final four innings to overcome a six-run deficit. Virginia continues to lead the nation in team ERA (2.63). The Cavaliers have won 18 of their last 21 games and bring a 28-3 home record into the weekend series with the Hokies. Virginia continues to lead the ACC in team ERA (2.63) and ranks second in the league in team batting (.328). The Cavaliers are one of only two teams in the nation ranked in the Top 15 in the national statistics in both team ERA and batting average … Virginia’s pitching staff is holding opponents to a .224 batting average … UVa pitchers have struck out 455 batters in 475.1 innings … Five different Cavaliers have at least 60 hits while two others have at least 50 hits … Virginia also has three players with at least 40 RBIs and two others with at least 30 RBIs … Six of the 13 pitchers used by UVa have opponent batting averages under the team avg .217 … 39 percent of the Cavaliers’ RBIs have come with two outs. Virginia is hitting .324 with two outs having driven in 150 runs with two outs. All nine starters have at least 10 RBIs with two outs. The 18 ACC wins tie for the school record. UVa registered 18 conference wins in Brian O’Connor’s first season in 2004 … The Cavs have won 7 of their 9 conference series in 2006 … Third-year UVa head coach Brian O’Connor ran his career record to 127-46 overall and 50-29 in the ACC.
HOO NOTES
– Sophomore lefty Sean Doolittle has struck out 27 batters in his last three starts including a career-high 13 at Maryland. Doolittle is 9-1 with a 1.81 ERA with 88 K’s in 74.2 innings while holding opponents to a .181 batting avg. He is up for the Roger Clemens Award, given to the nation’s top pitcher. Doolittle is also on the Wallace Watch List. Doolittle and freshman second baseman David Adams are also both listed on the watch list for the Dick Howser Trophy.
– Junior catcher Beau Seabury hit his first career home run in starting a three-run rally in the ninth to help UVa defeat Old Dominion. Seabury had his second three-hit game of the season against ODU. He enters the Virginia Tech series riding a five-game hitting streak.
– Freshman third baseman Jeremy Farrell went 3-for-5 with two RBIs in the win at Old Dominion. Farrell has eight hits in his last six games and six RBIs.
– Sean Doolittle brings an eight-game hitting streak into the Virginia Tech series. Doolittle has 12 RBIs during that streak on 13 hits.
– Freshman right-hander Jacob Thompson lowered his ERA to 2.30 and is 9-2 on the season. He scattered six hits against North Carolina in seven innings.
– Sophomore reliever Michael Schwimer needs one appearance to tie the all-time single-season appearance record. Matt Moore pitched in 32 games in 1994. Schwimer is 3-1 with a 2.89 ERA while holding opponents to a .207 batting avg.
– Junior closer Casey Lambert now has eight saves on the season, which gives him 30 career saves. Lambert owns the top three single-season records for saves at Virginia. He set a school record with 14 saves in 2005 and had eight saves in 2004.
– Freshman second baseman David Adams has five multiple-hit games in his last eight games. Adams is 14-for-32 in his last nine games with six runs driven in. He has scored 11 runs.
– Senior RHP Josh Myers picked up the win at Old Dominion. Myers is 3-1 with a 0.00 ERA and 17 K’s in 14.1 innings. His lone loss of the season came at College of Charleston in a 7-6 UVa loss in 17 innings.
– Senior LHP Mike Ballard captured his seventh win of the season winning the rubber game of the UNC series. Ballard held the top-ranked Tar Heels to two runs on seven hits in 6.1 innings while striking out five. He now has a 3.00 ERA.
CAVS IN THE NATIONAL STATISTICS
Virginia leads the nation in team ERA (2.63 ERA), shutouts (9) and rank second in opponent batting avg. (.224). UVa is second in earned runs allowed (139), fourth in runs allowed (179) and fourth in strikeouts (455). The Cavaliers are second in winning percentage (.793), 11th in strikeouts per nine innings (8.6), 16th in batting avg. (.328) and 21st in scoring (8.0 rpg). Individually, Sean Doolittle is 15th in drawing walks (46, 0.87 per game) while Beau Seabury is 12th in sacrifice hits (14). Freshman pitcher Jacob Thompson and Doolittle are tied for 16th in victories (9).
CAVALIERS IN THE ACC
Virginia sits one game back of North Carolina in the ACC Coastal Division after winning the series last weekend. Georgia Tech is third at 17-10 while Miami is fourth in the division at 16-11. Clemson leads the ACC Atlantic Division at 21-6. Wake Forest is second at 16-10 while NC State is third at 15-11. Florida State is fourth at 14-12.
CAVALIERS HEAD TO THE ACC TOURNAMENT
Virginia heads to Jacksonville, Fla. for the 2006 ACC Tournament at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville next week, May 24-28. The tournament seeding and schedule will be announced this Sunday. Tickets are still available and tournament information can be found at www.theacc.com.
TWO-OUT HITS, RBIS WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Virginia has adopted a saying that two-out hits win championships. Of Virginia’s 609 hits, 206 have come with two outs, which is 34 percent. The Cavaliers are even better with two-out RBIs. Of the Cavaliers’ 373 RBIs, 150 have come with two outs, which is 39 percent of the Cavs’ RBI total.
HOME SWEET HOME
Virginia is 28-3 this season at Davenport Field. UVa lost their home opener to Old Dominion, 5-1, but settled down to win 16 in a row before falling to Wake Forest in the second game of their series. UVa is hitting .346 as a team at Davenport Field. The Cavs have scored 268 runs on 366 hits with 79 extra-base hits. UVa’s pitching staff is holding the opposition to a .193 batting average while opponents have scored 68 runs, 51 earned, in 275 innings (1.67 ERA). The Cavs have 271 K’s in the 275 innings.
CAVALIERS WRAP UP THE COMMONWEALTH CHALLENGE
Virginia and Virginia Tech compete in their final event of the 2005-06 Adelphia Commonwealth Challenge with the baseball series this weekend. UVa has already clinched the challenge, 13.5-7.5. The winner of the series will add a point to its school total.
SIX SENIOR CAVALIERS TO PLAY FINAL HOME SERIES
Six seniors will play their final regular season home series for Virginia this weekend. LHP Mike Ballard, catcher Matt Berstine, infielder Mike Campagna, utility Tom Hagan, RHP Josh Myers and RHP Allie Swanson will all be honored before Saturday’s game.