The No. 3 Virginia baseball team blanked Towson by a 6-0 margin Tuesday night and a 5-0 margin last night to sweep the Tigers in a two-game midweek series. And though coach Brian O'Connor was glad to see his team come away victorious, he was frustrated with his team's performance in the opening game of the non-conference bout.
"I was really disappointed with the way we played [Tuesday], quite frankly," O'Connor said. "That's no disrespect to any opponent, but we were fortunate to score six runs tonight ... We didn't situational hit, we missed signs. That's as disappointed as I've been in this club all year."
Last weekend, the Cavaliers (21-2, 5-1 ACC) took two of three from then-No. 6 Florida State, battling through three high-intensity extra inning games. Although the team earned a lopsided win Tuesday, O'Connor saw signs of an emotional hangover in his players.
"We've got to get better ... no matter who we're playing," O'Connor said. "It was an emotional weekend with Florida State, but that's not an excuse. You know you only get 56 of these games during the regular season, and you've got to bring it every day."
The Cavaliers threatened early against Tiger senior pitcher Zach Umberger, but failed to capitalize on a bases-loaded opportunity in the second inning. Virginia broke through for two runs in the fourth, however, and added another pair in the fifth, as junior second baseman Keith Werman delivered a two-out RBI single.
Werman entered the season as one of Virginia's most heralded offensive players, but he came into Tuesday's contest with an average sitting at the Mendoza line. O'Connor said he planned to give his second baseman a day to rest, but when sophomore infielder Stephen Bruno re-aggravated his hamstring during the third, Werman had the chance to atone for some of his early-season struggles.
"As a player you always want to go out there and execute for your team and come through when they need you," Werman said. "Fortunately, today I put it together and relaxed."
Wednesday, Werman and the Virginia lineup continued to execute, downing Towson (6-14-1) by a slightly smaller 5-0 margin. O'Connor believed that his team's play had improved vastly in just one day.
"I thought that we played a lot better baseball tonight than we did Tuesday, even though the scores are very similar," O'Connor said. "Early in the [first] game we were kind of going through the motions and we also didn't execute, but I think our guys came ready to play today."
Although his team's energy may have varied between games, O'Connor received standout pitching both nights. Junior Will Roberts and sophomore Whit Mayberry both pitched five innings of no-run ball in their respective starts, and the Tigers did not score a single time during the series. Virginia's midweek shutouts were the team's sixth and seventh of the season - the fourth-most in program history.
"Our pitching staff's been tremendous this year," O'Connor said. "A big reason why we are [21-2] right now is because of our starting pitching and some of those guys out of the bullpen. To have seven shutouts in the first 23 ball games is pretty amazing."
Offensively, a more disciplined Virginia lineup roughed up Towson during the third Wednesday, as Werman built off his previous night's success. The junior doubled down the right field line to lead off the third inning before scoring on junior first baseman John Hicks' single. Hicks then scored on junior infielder Steven Proscia's deep sacrifice fly to right.
During the fourth inning, sophomore outfielder Reed Gragnani was hit by a pitch, stole second and then took third on the catcher's errant throw. Gragnani eventually scored when freshman outfielder Mitchell Shifflett grounded out to third. During the seventh inning, Werman reached safely on a misplaced bunt, setting up Hicks to score once sophomore designated hitter Ryan Levine grounded into a double play.
After Tuesday's mental mistakes, O'Connor appreciated that the team took advantage of errors, rather than committed them.
"I know they are 18 to 22-year-old young men who aren't going to be locked in, but the important thing is that they learn and they understand they can't have those lapses," O'Connor said. "Even though we have a very impressive record through [23] games, if we don't get better, then we won't be where we need to be at the end the season."
Virginia will have a chance to solidify its end-of-season standings this weekend, as it hosts conference rival Maryland. The Cavaliers swept the Terrapins at College Park last year, outscoring Maryland 43-7 during the series. After somewhat dropping off against Towson, however, O'Connor will stress the need to focus for a revamped Maryland squad.
"Maryland brought in about 22 or 24 new players this year, and I know they're a well-coached, hard-nosed ball club," O'Connor said. They're trying to make a statement in this league, and they're trying to get better .., so we're going have to come out and play good baseball"
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