After falling to No. 21 N.C. State, 8-7, in the deciding game of their three-game series, the No. 25 Virginia baseball team returns home to host Brown University. The Cavaliers will host a two-game series against the Bears beginning tonight at 7 p.m.
Brown will arrive in Charlottesville after a hectic four-game series against the Virginia Military Institute. Sunday, the Bears suffered their second consecutive loss to VMI, 10-9. Five players recorded multiple hits for Brown, led by junior Chris Contrino and sophomore Paul Christian. The Bears' heavy hitter, sophomore Danny Hughes, extended his hitting streak to nine games with a two-run double, and improved his batting average to .538 with an .808 slugging percentage, recording a hit in every game so far this season.
In the second game of the doubleheader, Brown was up 4-2 after seven innings when the game was suspended for darkness. The game was postponed until Monday to be picked up where it left off before the final game of the series.
Sunday, the Cavaliers' game concluded with a 1-2-3 ninth inning, with N.C. State's Joey Devine retiring Virginia's top three hitters -- shortstop Mark Reynolds, third baseman Ryan Zimmerman and first baseman Joe Koshansky.
"That's why you play the game of baseball," Virginia head coach Brian O'Connor said. "You have a great pitcher on the mound trying to close it, and we have our 2-3-4 guys up. You want that challenge; you want to be in that situation. I just hope that we get that opportunity again sometime and that our guys pull through."
Virginia looks to bounce back after the two consecutive ACC losses. Through its first 24 games, Virginia lead the ACC in stolen bases with 46 steals in 53 attempts compared to just 8-for-13 that they've allowed their opponents. The Cavaliers average six stolen bases to every one for their opponent.
"We didn't execute very well in the running game today," Koshansky said after the loss to N.C. State. "That's partly my fault. There's really no excuse for that -- we practice it all the time. It's a little disappointing, but at the same time we had our chances at other points of the game too. We'll capitalize on those in another situation."
With an aggressive playing style that stresses base running and strong pitching, Virginia's young coach said he believes mistakes are inevitable.
"If you're going to run the bases like us and take chances, you're going to have some bad things happen from time to time," O'Connor said. "We need to get back to paying attention to the little details."
This season, Virginia has already proved itself on the road with a 9-1 record. The Cavalier's nine wins already exceed its total for away victories last season. In 2003, Virginia was just 8-14 in road contests.
Both Virginia and Brown are hungry for a win and want to recover from consecutive losses. The two-game series will provide the Cavaliers with a chance to get back on track and improve their record at home.
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