Virginia has been fielding a baseball team for more than a century, but you would not have known it from their modest playing field. It sat in the back corner of Lannigan Field and has long been overshadowed by the likes of University Hall and Kl?kner Stadium.
These days, the Cavaliers call Davenport Field their home, and it no longer takes a back seat to any more imposing venues. Davenport Field was funded by a variety of anonymous donations through the Campaign for Virginia Baseball and officially was dedicated April 13, 2002. The field gets its name from the late Thomas Edward "Ted" Davenport, a 1953 Curry School graduate who also served as the two-time captain for the baseball team. He later went on to serve as coach of the Cavaliers from 1960-61. Davenport also spent 30 years as the executive director and secretary-treasurer of the Virginia Student Aid Foundation, now called the Virginia Athletics Foundation.
"Ted Davenport worked tirelessly to foster support of alumni and other friends of the University," Athletic Director Craig Littlepage said. "Few individuals have been more instrumental in achieving what is now a winning tradition at Virginia."
Davenport Field features a 1,500-seat canopied grandstand, but seats up to 2,000. There is still a chance that further renovations will lead to more seatsdown the right field line. It also boasts a new press box, private skyboxes, new dugouts for both the home and visiting teams, and an onsite clubhouse and locker room. The park also has new lights, a digital scoreboard, concession stands and restrooms. Needless to say, Davenport Field provides a state-of-the-art venue for fans to spend some time taking in a game.
Jason Bauman, associate athletic director for facilities and operations, praised the new field and all that it offers.
"For the first time, we have an enclosed press box," Bauman said. "It's really nice. A hillside is always attractive to Virginia fans. We have that down the left field line."
But Davenport Field is not just a nice place for the fans to go. It also has been a very friendly home for the team as well. This season, the Cavaliers are a blistering 16-0 at home and have outscored their opponents 129-35. Virginia has eclipsed double figures seven times at home this season.
"The comfort zone is just amazing," junior outfielder Matt Street said. "I was telling this one kid on our team---we were like 4-0 or 5-0---and I looked at him in the middle of the game and said 'I feel so comfortable playing here.'"
Because of the baseball schedule that Virginia has, there are many opportunities to catch a game at Davenport Field. There are many weekend series with games on Friday nights and Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
The next opportunity to see a game at Davenport Field comes this weekend when Virginia hosts one of the top teams in the country, Miami, in a three game series. Currently, the Hurricanes are the No. 12 team in the nation. The first game of the series is Friday, April 11 at 7:00 p.m.
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