The members of the Virginia baseball team had several reasons to celebrate Tuesday night's victory against George Washington. The Cavaliers improved their record to 25-2 on the season with the 2-0 victory and saw junior pitcher Will Roberts toss the program's first perfect game . Now, the Virginia squad will carry the positive energy earned from its most recent performance into this weekend's road series against in-state foe Virginia Tech.
"You live up this moment and then we get right back to business again when we approach Friday," junior second baseman Keith Werman said. "It's a big, important series, as [it] always [is] with the ACC."
Coach Brian O'Connor will warn the Cavaliers against becoming too complacent after Tuesday's emotional game, especially against an intense rival such as the Hokies (14-13, 1-8 ACC). And although Virginia Tech has limped out to a poor record in conference play, O'Connor believes the Hokies are still a potential threat to the top-ranked Cavaliers.
"Virginia Tech had one of the better clubs in our league last year, and they return a fair amount of players," O'Connor said.
Last season, the Hokies posted an impressive 40-22 record behind an offensive unit bolstered by redshirt senior shortstop Tim Smalling and redshirt senior second baseman Michael Seaborn. Both infielders have continued to lead the Hokies' lineup this season and currently sport batting averages above .300.
From a pitching standpoint, Virginia Tech touts a staff that holds a collective 3.88 ERA. Senior ace Joe Parsons highlights the group with a 4-1 record and 2.43 ERA.
O'Connor indicated that the Hokies are mere inches from turning their season around and would like nothing more than to spark a mid-season run with a win against the Cavaliers - winners of 18 of 19 games during the month of March. This month, Virginia Tech lost five games by a one-run margin.
"They've been in a lot of games in the league and just haven't quite gotten over the hump," O'Connor said. "They're in a situation where they're fighting right now, and it's something that we take seriously, so we'll go down there Friday ready to play and hopefully we'll come out with success."
For the Cavaliers to avoid dropping a game against the Hokies, they will need to get the most out of each of their weekend pitchers. Junior Danny Hultzen is slated for the Friday start, while seniors Tyler Wilson and Cody Winiarski are scheduled to take the mound Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Hultzen boasts a team-best 1.12 ERA through 40.1 innings of work, and he will look to quiet the Hokies' bats early to allow his squad to grab a momentum-building victory at the start of the three-game series.
"We're looking at Friday night, getting another ACC Friday night win," senior first baseman Kenny Swab said. "It's Virginia Tech, so we'll go out there and play hard, and win it"
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