Despite a No. 14 ranking, the Virginia baseball team has sometimes performed erratically. From the Cavaliers' young roster has emerged inconsistency; blowout losses to teams barely mustering a .500 record have been mixed with big wins against nationally ranked conference opponents. In today's baseball culture, most starters for respected college baseball programs have a good shot at being drafted by professional teams. For this reason, it is common to see players leaving college early to give professional baseball a shot.
Virginia (24-6, 8-4 ACC) is one example of a team affected by this practice: For example, the Cavaliers' roster features 14 freshmen but only five seniors, and that young, unbalanced roster will be tested in this weekend's series against No. 6 Florida State (25-3, 11-1 ACC) Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Tallahassee, Fla.
Three of these Virginia freshmen -- Dan Grovatt, David Coleman and Jarrett Parker -- will continue to be the three starting outfielders in Virginia's lineup this weekend. Though only 30 games have been played this season, these three have already gelled into a formidable outfield.
Particularly notable is the left fielder Grovatt, who has regularly been hitting fourth in the lineup drawn up by Virginia coach Brian O'Connor. Across all of baseball, this spot is usually reserved for the team's most trusted power hitter.
"Danny Grovatt is a very good hitter." O'Connor said. "He's having an unbelievable freshman year. We wouldn't be where we're at right now without the contributions of Danny Grovatt."
Grovatt has not only put up impressive numbers -- including a .426 average that leads Virginia starters -- but has performed well in important situations.
"Danny's proven to be able to get clutch hits for us all year," O'Connor said. "That's what allowed him to be in the four-hole for us. He's one of those guys that you want up in the clutch at the end of the ball game."
Right fielder Coleman and center fielder Parker have also made contributions to the team. Coleman has notched up 14 RBIs in 77 at-bats, and Parker is the only starter with at least five steal attempts to have not been caught.
These three are among the five freshmen who regularly see time on the starting lineup. This weekend will be their first chance to play as Cavaliers in Florida. The Florida sun, along with the large numbers of Seminole fans who regularly show up to Howser Stadium, have earned Florida State a reputation of being a very exciting baseball atmosphere. Furthermore, the ACC stands out as a particularly strong conference, so a contest against the team leading the conference standings offers a chance to achieve more national attention and to establish momentum as the 56-game season moves into the stretch run.
The prospect of playing a tough conference opponent in comfortable weather is exciting to Grovatt.
"Any time you get the chance to play a good team in a beautiful stadium, in the state of Florida and in warm air, it's going to be fun," he said. "We're just going to go down there, compete and see what happens."
The games against Florida State will provide a glimpse as to how the Cavaliers might perform as the second half of the season continues to progress. From the team's 11-0 start to its occasional struggles in recent weeks, O'Connor has said consistently this team really will be defined by how it plays during this late-season stretch. With a talented corps and reliable starting pitching, success is possible for this team -- both in Tallahassee this weekend and for the rest of this season.
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