As a sports writer for The Cavalier Daily, I find that one of the indirect consequences of covering a team, especially a non-major sport like baseball, is to increase turnout at games, particularly among my fellow students. The effect that my articles have on attendance, however, depends greatly on the team's performance -- anything short of a Pamela Anderson appearance during the seventh-inning stretch won't lure fans out to cheer on a lackluster squad.
Fortunately, the Cavaliers don't have this problem. But I'm going to give them a shameless plug anyway.
Sitting at No. 5 in the nation, Virginia is playing nearly flawless baseball. The Cavs first took down North Carolina, the No. 1 team at the time, in two out of three games in Chapel Hill. The team then made a pit stop in Richmond to squash the Spiders 11-1, on their way back to Charlottesville to take two out of three from Miami, last year's runner-up in the College World Series.
Need another reason to come out to Davenport Field? Try superstar-value. With the help of sophomore pitcher Jacob Thompson, let me guide you through the (long) list of reasons why pro scouts had better pay a visit to Davenport Field.
Where to begin? How about the pitching staff. If major league scouts weren't drooling over the Cavaliers' starting rotation before the season began, you can bet they are now. Here's Thompson's two cents: "I feel like we have all number one pitchers," he has said.
Let me elaborate. Thompson, the team's ace, gave up a total of two runs in his last two starts against two college baseball powerhouses in the Tar Heels and the Hurricanes, and has a fastball that is consistently clocked at 92 mph. (Just to give you an idea, this is about as hard as the heater from Roy Halladay, the all-star ace of the Toronto Blue Jays' staff.) The team's Saturday starter, freshman Matt Packer, has also shown promise. In his last outing against Miami, his 5.1 shutout innings set the stage for Virginia to hold Miami scoreless for the first time in 168 games.
Then we arrive at junior Sean Doolittle, the Sunday starter, who has a chance to play in the Bigs as a pitcher or as a first basemen. A first-team All-ACC pick and second-team All-American last year, Doolittle is well on his way to piling on more accolades this season with his 3.20 ERA, .309 batting average and four homeruns.
The bullpen is even scarier. Jacob Thompson, would you care to comment? "Our bullpen's just been lights out this year," he said.
Indeed it has. To start, senior closer Casey Lambert is just three saves shy of the all-time ACC career save record of 41. Sophomore reliever Andrew Carraway, meanwhile, has given up all of two runs in 20.2 innings this season, and sophomore reliever Jake Rule has nearly matched that effort, allowing just two runs in 16 innings.
And we haven't even gotten to the lineup yet.JT, do you have something for us? (No, Justin, there's a new JT in town.) "It makes pitching easier when you know you've got a two or three-run lead," Thompson has said.
It certainly does. To be a bit more precise, Virginia averages about eight runs per game, compared with less than three runs per game by its opponents. So Virginia tends to lead by a few more runs than "two or three." Contributors include junior Brandon Guyer, and sophomores Greg Miclat, Jeremy Farrell and David Adams, who are all hitting above .390. Miclat has been particularly impressive, stealing 20 bases on 23 tries, and showing impressive range at shortstop before being relegated to designated hitter and first base in recent weeks due to a shoulder injury.
So, Cavalier fans, now that the basketball team has bowed out of March Madness, it's time to show some love for the baseball team. The atmosphere in the series against Miami was fantastic -- over 2,300 fans showed up for each game in the series -- but there is still plenty of room for you loyal Hoos to sprawl out in the grass, slip off your flip-flops and watch the Cavaliers pound the opposition into submission. If nothing else, do it for JT. There is nothing like a good crowd -- "That always gets you pumped up," Thompson has said.
Plus, you never know. There might just be another Ryan Zimmerman on this team, and you wouldn't want to miss him.
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