In a brief respite from the grind of ACC play, Virginia will take on Radford and Norfolk State. Virginia will look to rebound after a tough weekend series in Raleigh, N.C., where, despite strong play, the Cavaliers fell to the Tar Heels twice.
Radford will be the first to face the Cavaliers (22-4, 6-4 ACC) this week. The Highlanders (10-10, 4-3 Big South) enter the matchup riding a two-game winning streak after taking the final two games of a three game set against Winthrop last weekend. Senior infielder Alex Gregory is the offensive catalyst for the Highlanders this season, leading starters with a .425 batting average and ranking second on the team with 31 total hits. On the pitcher’s mound, however, Radford might find itself in trouble against the Cavaliers.
Of the 13 pitchers on the team’s staff, the Highlanders only carry three left-handers, and of the three, only freshman Paul DeVito has started any games, compiling a mediocre 6.56 earned run average. Three of the top four hitters in the Cavalier starting lineup — Dan Grovatt, Jarrett Parker and switch hitter Tyler Cannon — can hit from the left side of the plate, which bodes well for Virginia’s offense.
Following its matchup with the Highlanders, Virginia will welcome Norfolk State. The Spartans (4-9, 1-2 MEAC) have struggled as of late, losing four of their past five games. One bright spot for Norfolk State this season is the play of senior second baseman Anselmo Cantu. Cantu is leading the Spartans with a .426 batting average and 20 hits. Cantu also leads the club in total bases with 33 and ranks second with a .702 slugging percentage. On the mound, junior Quinn Bright has totaled half of the team’s wins with a 5.14 ERA.
Virginia must look out for Cantu if it hopes to perform well in these mid-week matches. With the toughest portion of its schedule behind them, the team hopes to continue its strong play heading into the second half of the season.
Going into the March 13 series with Florida State, the Cavaliers knew their next three series opponents — Florida State, Miami and North Carolina — would be a litmus test to prove whether they could compete with the powerhouses of the ACC. The Cavaliers were undefeated entering the challenge, but they played a relatively light schedule until that point.
“As it’s rolling out now, and it’s starting to show, that there are a lot of other really good teams in this league,” O’Connor said. “We knew that this was [going to] be a tough stretch for us.”
The Cavaliers’ most recent losses were all within a couple of hits or pitches though, indicating that they could compete against the three schools. Moving forward, Virginia will look to learn from its mistakes and handle what is expected to be a slightly less challenging portion of its schedule.
“We’re right there,” Grovatt said. “We very easily could still be undefeated. We’re one thing away — that’s baseball, it’s [going to] happen. The biggest thing is how we handle it, and if we make adjustments down the road, I think we’ll be fine.”
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