Virginia travels to Winston-Salem this weekend to clash with a disappointing Wake Forest squad. The first of three games is scheduled to begin today at 3 p.m. The Cavaliers (24-16, 7-7 ACC) are coming off a 10-7 win over Virginia Tech last Wednesday in which they avenged their earlier 5-3 loss at Blacksburg. Wake Forest (25-15, 7-10) lit up an under-gunned Wofford team 16-8 last Wednesday.
Wake Forest, predicted to finish in the top three, currently is residing in seventh place in the ACC, the spot in which Virginia was predicted to finish. The Cavaliers presently sit in fifth place and continue to exceed expectations. They have enjoyed surprising success against unranked teams, posting an overall record of 18-2.
Virginia Tech, which won 5-3 on April 16, and George Mason, which narrowly prevailed 4-3 this past Tuesday, are the only two unranked clubs to which Virginia has lost. That trend should give the Cavaliers confidence as they face an unranked Demon Deacon squad.
These two clubs most recently met last season in Charlottesville. No. 5 Wake Forest swept the three-game series, but Virginia gave the visitors all they could handle as the Demon Deacons narrowly escaped with one run victories in two of the three-game set.
Despite Wake not being ranked in the top-25 and not meeting expectations, Virginia still will have a challenge in the unfriendly confines of Winston-Salem.
"You can't take anyone lightly in the ACC because it's the best conference in the nation," third baseman Ryan Zimmerman said. "Anyone can beat anyone."
The task won't be easy for Virginia. The last time the Cavaliers swept an ACC series on the road was against Duke last year. Winning in Winston-Salem has been even more rare, considering that the last time Virginia swept Wake was April 29, 1972 in a double-header.
The hitting tandem of Jamie D'Antona, a projected early-round draft pick, and Ryan Johnson, who entered Wake's last game with a team-high .406 batting average, will be a difficult challenge for Virginia pitchers. D'Antona, junior third--baseman from Trumbull, Conn. became one of only nine players in ACC history to reach 55 career home runs. After hitting a pair of home runs against Wofford, he now has 18 home runs this season and his 55 career home runs tie the Demon Deacons' all-time mark. He also has 74 RBI this season, including six in his last outing.
Against Wofford, Johnson went 4-for-5 with three RBI. Also of note, Steve Casey extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a pair of singles. Casey now is batting .367 during the streak.
"They're really good hitters, so our pitchers will have to neutralize them," Zimmerman said. "If we can stop them we'll have a good chance of winning. I think on Friday they'll probably throw [Kyle] Sleeth, who is their No. 1. We'll have a pretty tough time hitting him, but we've been hitting the ball pretty well lately so we shouldn't have a problem."
The Cavaliers face Virginia Commonwealth, in addition to Georgia Tech and North Carolina after their series with Wake Forest before the start of the ACC tournament.
"It's pretty important to win those games against top ACC teams," Freshman pitcher Daniel Tanner said. "They are always at the top of the league, winning those games will not only help get us a high seed in the tournament, but will also increase our chances of getting a regional bid."
Virginia will return to Winston-Salem to compete in ACC championships beginning on May 20. Regional NCAA play begins 10 days later at various college campuses around the nation.
Read More
Early offensive attack propels Virginia baseball to 13-0 road win at VCU
By Ryan Weiner | 4 hours agoVirginia mercy ruled the Rams in a convincing victory.
Live tracker: the men’s basketball offseason
By Michael Liebermann , Emory Huffman and Xander Tilock | 11 hours agoA frenetic offseason likely awaits.
Taking a dive through Brian O’Connor’s 900 wins
By Ryan Weiner | 19 hours agoFrom win No. 100 to win No. 900, here is a look at Coach Brian O'Connor's legacy.
