It was Wednesday, and the Virginia baseball team was preparing to play a game against Richmond that would wrap up their 10-game home stand, and hopefully add to its nine-game winning streak. The game was scheduled for seven o'clock that night. Then the call came in. The game had been cancelled because of the day-long rain. Thursday, the Cavaliers packed up and got ready to head out to Blacksburg for a weekend series against in-state rival Virginia Tech.
Rain is something that fortunately has not plagued the Cavaliers much this season. Before this week, only two Virginia games had been cancelled because of weather (Fordham Feb. 25 and Richmond March 2). As varying levels of rain have showered Virginia, three games have already been cancelled this week alone.
At Virginia Tech the Cavaliers were supposed to play one game Friday, one game Saturday and a final game Sunday. When Friday's game was rained out, the schedule changed to a doubleheader on Saturday. When those were rained out, a doubleheader was scheduled for Sunday at noon. An hour later, at Radford instead of Tech, the two schools finally stepped onto the field to get in one game before the rain forced the Cavaliers back home for good.
The return home, however, was not a dreary one. Despite having to wait around all weekend to play, when the game was finally complete, the Cavaliers brought home their 10th straight win, and one against an ACC in-state rival no less. The game was particularly important given that Virginia's record on the road, and against ACC opponents, suffered mightily after it was swept by Wake Forest March 4-6. Although the Cavaliers have compiled a 15-1 record at home, the squad went into the game against Tech 3-3 in the ACC and 5-3 away from Davenport Field.
"I think it's the confidence level that's important when we get into ACC play," coach Brian O'Connor said.
Senior pitcher Jeff Kamrath said the team did not prepare any differently for the team's first away game since March 6.
"You can't ever prepare differently for a game," Kamrath said. "If you are doing well at home and you change what you're doing on the road, that's a bad thing."
Although the Cavaliers' away record is less than stellar, Kamrath said he feels statistics do not reflect the team's actual road performances.
"We don't think we played that poorly on the road," Kamrath said. "We played decent baseball, we just didn't pitch the ball well. I don't think being on the road will be a problem for us in the future."
Preparation is especially important when there is the chance of a game being cancelled. Physically, preparation is important since the team has not played in over a week. Equally important, however, is Virginia's mental preparation.
"Coach O'Conner is really good at keeping us in the game," Kamrath said. "He was always saying to us, 'Guys, we're going to play, we're going to play.' It's not fun just sitting there, but it's something you have to get through."
Last weekend, the Cavaliers' preparation paid off. Virginia beat Virginia Tech 8-5 at Radford in a game that included homeruns by freshman Sean Doolittle and senior Scott Headd.
As for the weather being a contributing factor, Kamrath said there were "bad conditions for both teams, so both teams had to deal with it. You always know something sudden can happen in the game -- someone can slip, someone can drop the ball. We came back, we never believed that we weren't in the game."
Despite speculation on how their first away game would go, after Sunday's game, the Cavaliers have proven that it can handle almost anything: away, home, rain or shine.
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