Monday may have been Opening Day for Major League players, but for the Virginia Cavaliers, the baseball season already is in full swing.
After nearly two months of games, Virginia currently stands at 20-9 on the season, which at first glance may seem like an admirable record for such a young team. What the overall win-loss tally does not reveal, however, is that six of those nine losses have come at the hands of ACC opponents. After suffering another heartbreaking sweep in North Carolina last weekend at the hands of the Tar Heels, the Cavaliers now sport a disappointing 4-6 league record, good for seventh place in a conference in which they finished second just a year ago.
Coach Brian O'Connor said he is frustrated about his team's ACC troubles but remains optimistic that his players could turn things around.
"We're not happy about it, obviously," O'Connor said. "We'd like to be in the top half of the league, but there are a lot of games left to play. We've got 18 ball games left, 12 of them at home."
The Cavaliers' road to ACC redemption begins this weekend at home in a crucial three-game series against N.C. State. Virginia has lost just one of the 17 games it has played at Davenport Field this season. The Cavs hope a successful weekend against the Wolfpack can propel them back to the top of the ACC.
"We're ready for it," first baseman/designated hitter Josh Darby said. "It's a big series for us. We have to come out with intensity and show N.C. State how to play some ball."
N.C. State also heads into this weekend in desperate search of a win. The Wolfpack are 22-9 on the season. In addition, their 5-7 ACC record has them in a virtual tie for 7th place with the Cavaliers. Like Virginia, N.C. State has played poorly on the road, compiling a 4-6 record outside of Raleigh. With both teams sitting on the NCAA tournament bubble and both looking to avoid the 8-9-10-11 play-in mini-tournament at the ACC tournament in May, fans can expect a postseason-like atmosphere this weekend.
"We're back to playing at home," O'Connor said. "We're against a team that's also in the middle of the pack in the league. We play very well at home, and we're looking forward to having this ACC series at home."
Not that the Cavaliers need any more motivation, the Wolfpack were the ones who knocked them out of the ACC tournament last year.
Despite a tough contest in Chapel Hill last weekend, the Cavaliers actually enter this series with a bit of momentum thanks to their 10-2 drubbing of Liberty Wednesday afternoon. Virginia slugged a season-high four home runs against the Flames.
"We're hitting the ball really well," Darby said.
Hitting, pitching and defense will go a long way in determining the direction in which Virginia will move in the ACC standings after this weekend.
"Everybody's placement now [in the standings] won't be how it is in the end," O'Connor said.
Unlike the Majors, where less than a week into the season optimism beams eternal, the heat is on in the ACC for Virginia.
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