UVA Baseball on Fire

The UVA Baseball team improved their record to 16-0 with a 5-4 victory over Marshall last night. The Cavaliers remarkable start has them ranked number 23 in the latest Baseball America Top 25 poll. The key to the Hoos impressive start has been the offensive production. Virginia’s average margin of victory this season is 8.5 and they score an average of 11.4 runs per game. UVA has the highest team batting average at an even .400 and has the lowest number of strikeouts. UVA also has one or more players in the top 3 of almost every major offensive statistical category, including 4 of the top 6 in RBI and 3 of the top 7 in hits. Led by right fielder Dan Grovatt, center fielder Jarret Parker, and third baseman Steven Porscia, the Cavaliers have a potent offensive attack.

               But the offense isn’t the only strength of the team. Freshman starter Danny Hultzen leads the ACC in wins, with 4, and strikeouts, with 39. Andrew Carraway and Will Roberts are also strong top of the rotation guys. The UVA pitching staff is 3^rd in the ACC with 160 total strike outs, 1^st with a miniscule 1.87 staff ERA, and 1^st with only 89 hits allowed. The only weakness of this team seems to be the fielding. UVA is only in the middle of the pack of the ACC with a .964 fielding percentage, committing 21 errors in their 16 games.

                The Virginia baseball team looks very strong this season. Their offense is not only potent but it also puts pressure on the opposing team’s defense. The pitching staff is also good at getting the defense off the field and back to bat. This aggressive style will bode well for the Cavs as they move forward this season. UVA lost a lot of players from last year’s team but the new players are slowly proving themselves and their success is starting to be reflected in the polls. I wouldn’t put it past this team to make significant noise in the ACC this season. UNC is great this season but after them there is no team that I can see that is substantially better than anyone else. If the bats can stay hot and the pitching continues to improve, along with the fielding, look out for the Hoos on the diamond this year.

 

To update the coaching search it appears that Tubby Smith is the front runner for the job with Sean Miller and Jeff Capel as other prominent alternatives. More on Smith tomorrow.