The Virginia baseball team looks to boost its 5-1 record this afternoon when William & Mary comes to U.Va. Baseball Field. The Cavaliers face the Tribe after sweeping Navy last weekend and taking two of three games from Penn State Saturday and Sunday.
Virginia (5-1) swept a doubleheader from Penn State on Saturday and lost by one run in 10 innings Sunday. The Cavaliers were aggressive offensively, with senior Mark Rueffert crushing Virginia's first grand slam since 1998 and junior David Stone, senior Jon Benick, sophomore Shawn McCleary, senior Hunter Wyant and sophomore Chris Sweet adding doubles. The Cavaliers scored 28 runs for the series, compared to the Nittany Lions' 15.
Starting pitching also was a bright spot for Virginia. Senior lefthander Brandon Creswell improved his season record to 2-0 with seven innings in Saturday's first game. Senior righthander Dan Street racked up six strikeouts in seven and two-thirds innings of work Sunday.
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The Cavaliers still are looking for an ace in the bullpen, though sophomore Alexander Starr pulled down three strikeouts in two innings of relief on Saturday.
Virginia's defense will have to be ready for William & Mary's bats when the Tribe rolls into town.
William & Mary is returning six starters from the 2000 squad which set a school record with 71 home runs. Sophomore Tim Jones is back at first base after earning the starting job at the end of his freshman year. He hit .377 and made no errors in 25 games in 2000.
Junior shortstop Brendan Harris is another crucial veteran to the William & Mary infield. He was the only player to start every game in 2000 and he led the team in doubles for the second consecutive year with 19.
Sophomore Trey Wakefield is a sure glove at third for the Tribe and an offensive threat, as well. Last season he hit .275 and made only six errors. He also stole seven bases.
The Tribe has five hitters - sophomores Matt McGuire, Michael Brown, Ricky Stephenson, senior Stephen Booker and Harris - batting above .300 and three more hovering in the .290s.
William & Mary currently boasts a record of 8-3, though they are only 1-1 on the road. They split a doubleheader with Boston College on Saturday behind the pitching of sophomore Whitt Farr, who allowed only three hits and one run in seven innings while striking out nine. Farr led the team last year in ERA and was second in both strikeouts and wins.
Sophomore Mark Harris also is a key Tribe pitcher with his 90-mph-plus fastball.
William & Mary is "a good club," Virginia coach Dennis Womack said. "They'll play us hard. I've got to believe they'll have their best pitcher ready for us."
Though Virginia will play William & Mary with the taste of a one-run loss to Penn State in their mouths, senior David Stone insists that it won't affect them in the least.
"We're not gonna let [the Penn State loss] get us down," he said. "We're gonna come out and kick their butts"
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