Over the past two seasons, Virginia baseball has not often found itself with a losing record of any sort. Following last weekend's sweep at the hands of then-No. 11 North Carolina, however, the Cavaliers now find themselves buried in eighth place in the ACC standings with a 4-6 conference record.
Despite the team's struggles in conference play, particularly on the road, the players have maintained their confidence.
"For our team, this [UNC series] shows we can play with anyone," senior third-baseman Ryan Zimmerman said. "We had a chance to win every single game."
Although the Cavaliers were swept 3-0, the individual games were more competitive than the record indicates. Virginia lost two one-run contests in extra innings, including a 3-2 decision in an 11-inning game Sunday. Senior pitcher Jeff Kamrath held the high-powered Tar Heel offense to one run in 8.1 innings, but Virginia was unable to hold the lead. The Cavaliers were able to stay in every game but could not close out the Heels, leaving many team members frustrated with the disappointing results.
"We're upset because we feel we easily could have taken two games," Zimmerman said. "But you know, that's baseball. You can't win them all."
In addition to Kamrath's performance, the Cavaliers also can look to their offensive output as a positive aspect of their performance. Virginia's hitters tagged North Carolina's highly-touted pitching duo of Andrew Miller and Daniel Bard for four and five runs, respectively, proving they can produce against top pitching.
The ACC boasts some of the strongest pitchers in the country, with All-America caliber players like Miami's Cesar Carrillo and North Carolina State's Joey Devine, in addition to traditionally strong pitching staffs at Florida State and Georgia Tech. With runs at a premium in the ACC, the Virginia offense will need to do everything it can to help the team get back in contention.
Virginia also has been the victim of recent unfortunate weather. Two of the three games against struggling Virginia Tech were rained out, leaving the Cavaliers with only one win against the Hokies, robbing them of the extra two wins from the likely sweep in Blacksburg.
The remaining ACC schedule offers the Cavaliers many chances to move back up the standings, with four of their final six series played at spacious Davenport Field. Davenport's expansive field should help frustrate and contain the talented hitters from No. 13 Miami and league-leading No. 4 Georgia Tech and force them to adapt to the Cavaliers' more methodical and fundamental style of play.
Before resuming ACC play Friday against the Wolfpack of North Carolina State, the Cavaliers will look to take out their frustrations on Liberty today in Lynchburg. The Flames stand at 17-8 on the season and 12-4 at home, making it a game that Virginia cannot afford to overlook.
Coach Brian O'Connor said he believes the team needs to return to the timely hitting the Cavaliers displayed earlier in the season to get back on the winning side of one-run games.
"We just need to get back to getting our clutch hits," O'Connor said. "If we do that, we're going to have success."
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