The Virginia baseball team will face a pair of challenging weekday contests as they attempt to gain rank among both opponents and polls. The challenge starts tonight, when they face Old Dominion at home, and finishes with tomorrow's trip to Virginia Tech.
Virginia is coming off of an odd weekend, in which Miami toyed with their emotions. The Cavaliers came back after dropping the first two games of the weekend series. The series sweep within sight, Miami fell apart, handing the Cavaliers a host of opportunities. Virginia made sure to capitalize, scorching the base paths for 17 runs.
Whether or not the Cavaliers will take Sunday's momentum into today's game is yet to be seen.
"I think we should be alright," sophomore shortstop Mark Reynolds said. "We're going in there real confident and our bats are hot right now."
Wins have been hard to come by for Old Dominion this season. The Monarchs currently stand at 12-21 overall and 3-6 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Inability to produce at the plate is at the heart of their trouble, their dismal .251 team batting average, the second lowest in the CAA. Virginia should have little trouble Tuesday night, but the Cavaliers aren't ready to write off the Monarchs just yet.
"What we're trying to do is win as many games as possible," coach Dennis Womack said. "So the ODU game will be very important."
Yet with their nonstop schedule, the Cavaliers also are becoming familiar with a consistently fast pace, having precious little time to rest and recuperate.
"Going down to Virginia Tech to play will be a tough deal," Womack said. "They've been playing well."
This will be the first time these two teams square off this season. It should be an emotional game, as both teams, only separated by a two-hour drive, are playing high-caliber baseball.
"We know a lot of guys on the team, and obviously we want the bragging rights," Reynolds said. "If we can sweep them this season, that would be great for our team."
As of Sunday, Virginia had yet to determine the starting pitchers for either game, as injuries continue to mount for the Cavalier pitching staff. Virginia knows it will have to work through the their health woes in order to gain two crucial wins this weekend.
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