A one game series is unusual in baseball, but that is exactly what is in store for the Cavaliers when they travel to Richmond today for a 2:30 p.m. contest with the Richmond Spiders.
The meeting will be the 124th time the two teams have competed since 1897. Last year, the Cavaliers (9-1) went 1-2 against the Spiders (5-1), who finished last season with a record of 48-15 and registered a loss to Stanford in the finals of the NCAA Regional tournament.
Virginia head coach Brian O'Conner said he expects this afternoon's game to be crucial for the Cavaliers.
The Richmond game "is a big game for us down there. We're 9-1 right now, we've got some good momentum going," O'Conner said. "Richmond is a top 25 team traditionally, and they will be ready to play."
Virginia's momentum comes from a three-game sweep of Seton Hall this past weekend. Two of those wins came in dramatic fashion as junior catcher Scott Headd recorded game winning RBIs in the ninth innings of the games Friday and Sunday. Those two dramatic wins were sandwiched around a 17-1 blowout on Saturday in which five Cavaliers recorded at least two RBIs.
"Games like we had on Friday and games like today are critical in finding out what kind of team we have," O'Conner said. "I think our team's got great leadership, and we've got a lot of kids that really care, and are really going to dig in there and fight."
Part of the success for Virginia this season has been continuity in the lineup. Seven players have started all 10 games this season for the Cavaliers. The consistent lineup has helped Virginia score 90 runs on the season while maintaining a team batting average of .310.
According to Headd, having an opportunity to start every day has been beneficial.
"Just like anybody on that ballfield -- you could get hurt the next day so you just try to take advantage of it," Headd said.
Another aspect that players said they believe has been crucial to Virginia's success is an aggressive style of play, which has resulted in the team having 25 stolen bases in 26 attempts.
"Our coaches' philosophy is, if they're going to give it to us, we're not going to give them an out," infielder Ryan Zimmerman said. "We practice getting jumps and stealing all the time, and if we can do that instead of giving them an out, we'll do that every time."
So far in the season, Virginia has relied on a four-man pitching rotation that has done well. The Cavalier starting rotation has a combined record of 7-1. The starting rotation has also made it easier for O'Conner to manage Virginia's 12-man pitching staff.
"You've got so many guys that want to pitch, and so many pitchers on the pitching staff," the first-year coach said. "I told the kids from the first day that I met them that there were no guarantees, and that the only way to make it fair to everybody is to just have it remain competitive."
Richmond's pitchers have also thrown well this season. In Richmond's most recent game on Sunday, pitchers Derek Duclos and Matt McLoughlin combined to throw Richmond's first no-hitter since 1957. Duclos struck out six batters in his six innings of work. Richmond's probable starter, Tim Rice, will be making his first start of the season today. Last year, Rice, a southpaw, struck out 58 batters in 57.1 innings.
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