Riding the wave of a six-game winning streak, the Virginia baseball team (30-13, 9-10 ACC) travels to No. 24 Florida State (35-13, 10-8 ACC) this weekend brimming with confidence. The Cavaliers are looking to sustain the momentum they built following last weekend's sweep of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Davenport Field.
Tallahassee is a tough place to play for a visiting team in any sport. The Florida State baseball program has long been among the elite programs in the nation, and the Seminoles have developed a strong fan base. Sitting just across the street from the cavernous Doak Campbell, Florida State's Dick Howser Stadium is one of the gems of college baseball. It can pack in up to 6,700 rabid Seminoles fans.
"Florida State is a very difficult atmosphere to play in," Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said. "It will be the most hostile environment that we've played in during the last couple of years. They'll have four or five thousand fans there. We need to go down there with the same fearlessness we had last weekend. Pitching well, play defense and timely hitting will be keys."
O'Connor said he feels no trepidation entering the series, however. His Cavaliers currently stand in the seventh spot in the ACC standings, one game behind N.C. State and one and a half games behind the Seminoles.
"We're really looking forward to this weekend," O'Connor said. "It's a great opportunity for us to get back in the thick of things in the ACC.If we take care of business down there, we can leapfrog a couple spots, and we'll be in better shape than a lot of people would have imagined a few weeks ago."
Virginia also will seek to bolster its resume for an at-large NCAA Tournament. The Cavaliers likely will have to win at least four more conference games to be assured of a spot in baseball's version of the Big Dance. Including this weekend's series, Virginia has nine more regular season conference games on the schedule.
"I know it's a cliché, but we're just taking it one game at a time," senior right-fielder Matt Street said of the Cavaliers' NCAA hopes.
Virginia's offense has achieved a higher level of productivity as of late. Yet, it is the Cavaliers' pitching that has served as the driving force behind their recent success. Over the past six games, Virginia pitchers have surrendered only 1.83 earned runs per game. Senior right-hander Jeff Kamrath has been a bedrock of the weekend pitching staff, accumulating a 7-3 record with a 2.44 ERA. Freshman left-hander Sean Doolittle has cemented himself in the setup role, averaging 1.32 strike outs per inning pitched and notching a 1.16 ERA. In addition, sophomore closer Casey Lambert continues to build on his Virginia single season saves record, which currently stands at 11.
Street sees parallels between Virginia's and Florida State's approach on the diamond.
"They play a very similar style to us," he said. "They just don't make mistakes. So we're just going to have to come out and beat them."
O'Connor said he wants his team to maintain its aggressive attitude that has aided them in recent weeks.
"You've got to go in there and take the fight to them," O'Connor said. "It's going to be a difficult environment. You've got to go out there with confidence and play the game."
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