Davenport Field will see two top-10 baseball teams face off today, as No. 1 Virginia (34-9, 15-6 ACC) takes on No. 10 Coastal Carolina (36-5, 14-0 BSC) -a team that has dominated the Big South Conference by winning its last 17 games with an average of eight points.
The Chanticleers' potential win is not unexpected, Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said.
"Coastal Carolina's got a great program - they do every year. They're in the top 20 every year," he said. "It's a great matchup for both of us. We have two top-10 teams that are gonna battle it out here tomorrow night and should be a great college baseball game."
Given Virginia's top ranking, however, the squad does not have much reason to be worried. The team recently swept a series against a struggling Maryland team and has won six of seven conference series thus far. The team's success largely can be attributed to the depth of the roster, sophomore pitcher Danny Hultzen noted. This is particularly true in light of senior catcher Franco Valdes' absence recently, the result of knee surgery.
"Him not being there does give other guys a lot of opportunities," he said. "[Junior catcher Kenny Swab] got a lot of big hits, hit a long home run - that's the great thing about our team - one guy's hurt, one's not doing well, there's two or three other guys that can step right in."
Swab, who hit six RBIs against Maryland, also has eased this transition by playing different positions such as catcher and first baseman.
Sophomore third baseman Steven Proscia also gave an impressive performance against Maryland, despite suffering from a midseason slump to score three home runs against the Terrapins.
"He's been making a conscious effort of trying to hit the ball the other way a little bit, and you do that for a while, get back in rhythm," O'Connor said. "Sometimes it just takes a big weekend or big game to get you back on track."
Freshman pitcher Branden Klinewho has been a reliable relief pitcher this season,
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