The runner-up at the College World Series last year, Virginia came into the season ranked in the top five of several national preseason polls. But a rash of injuries and a youthful roster contributed to the Cavaliers losing four ACC series since beginning league play in March, one more than the last two seasons combined.
Of greater concern to Coach Brian O’Connor is that Virginia (23-14, 8-11 ACC) has gotten away from the formula that has gotten it to the NCAA tournament in each of his 11 seasons.
“Our pitching has not been consistently at the level that we’ve had in the past, and tied to that, our defense as well,” O’Connor said. “We’ve been able to have consistent success in our program for a long period of time because those two areas have been very consistent for us.”
With the Cavaliers currently on the outside of the ACC tournament picture looking in, there is an unexpected urgency to their last four series of the regular season. The latest began Friday evening at home against Miami (29-10, 14-5), ranked ninth nationally and the Coastal Division’s top team. The Cavaliers opened the series with a 5-4 victory.
Virginia needs to win seven of its final 11 ACC games to avoid O’Connor’s worst record in conference play.
The Cavaliers have committed 46 errors, compared to 51 all of last season.
The pitching, heralded coming into the season, has surrendered 126 earned runs and the weekend starters have a combined 3.48 ERA, compared to 155 earned runs for all of last season and a 2.48 ERA for weekend starters.
“We know we have to start winning some more ballgames in the ACC,” said senior infielder Kenny Towns, the 2011 All-Met Player of the Year at Lake Braddock. “I think we can’t put more pressure on ourselves because of that. I think if we just go out there and play the way we’re capable of doing, we can have a good stretch at the end.”
The Cavaliers fell out of the Baseball America Top 25 rankings for the first time since before the 2013 season after their latest series loss to Georgia Tech.
But in the most recent Field of 64 projection by D1Baseball.com, a leading college baseball Web site, they’re still in as a No. 3 seed in the Iowa City Region.
Stumbles were expected with a roster that has 14 freshmen. Preseason all-American outfielder Joe McCarthy missed the first half of the season after back surgery and junior John La Prise is out for the remainder after hip surgery.
The Cavaliers got a boost when McCarthy returned to the lineup on Wednesday night in a 3-2 win over William and Mary. The game also was a debut for freshman Jack Gerstenmaier, who had been out since tearing his hamstring in the fall. Gerstenmaier went 3 for 4 with an RBI while McCarthy was 2 for 3.
“It’s huge just having another guy for those young guys to look up to,” Towns said of McCarthy. “Just to see the way he goes about his business on the field and they can take that and improve themselves.”
But the team took another hit when sophomore Matt Thaiss, the Cavaliers’ leader in home runs with seven, injured his ankle in Sunday’s game against Georgia Tech and didn’t play Wednesday night. Towns has been a bright spot, batting .331 with a team-high 40 RBI.
The remainder of the ACC schedule is favorable for Virginia after the Miami series, as North Carolina State, Duke and North Carolina aren’t above .500 in ACC play either. O’Connor said he’s talked generally with the team about the importance of finding consistency down the stretch, but he is also wary of putting too much pressure the Cavaliers in the form of telling them they need to win a certain number of games.
“The thing about it is we’re absolutely still in position to accomplish what we want to accomplish as a team and that’s to have an opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament and advance on from there,” O’Connor said. “Everything we want to accomplish is still attainable and still in front of us, but certainly there’s got to be a sense of urgency with what we do.”
