The Virginia baseball team looks to build on a 12-3 Wednesday night drubbing of VMI when it hosts Clemson this weekend for a three-game series.\nVirginia (12-8-1, 2-4 ACC) had lost three in a row before downing the Keydets with an impressive offensive showing which featured a total of 16 hits, including four from junior shortstop Chris Taylor and three from freshman outfielder Mike Papi. The game also served as a confidence booster for the Cavaliers' developing pitching staff, which allowed its second-lowest run total in the past seven games.
"We're still trying to figure out who's the right guy in what spot on our pitching staff," coach Brian O'Connor said. "Sometimes when you lose the amount of quality innings that we did off last year's team, it takes some time to figure that out. You have to give guys opportunities to figure out who's best in what role, and I think as we continue to move forward that will start to sew itself up."
The Cavaliers' bullpen was responsible for a pair of late-inning comebacks in last weekend's losing three-game series against Florida State and has been a source of concern this season. But O'Connor is confident the relief pitchers will be in proper form by the end of the season.
"I think our bullpen's been doing a pretty nice job," O'Connor said. "We certainly took a couple of leads late in the ballgame down in Tallahassee and allowed them to then take the lead. [But] I think as these guys settle into roles and [we] have them build relief positions, they'll do a more consistent job for us."
Clemson (11-8, 3-3 ACC) comes to Charlottesville riding a five-game winning streak with a 4-2 victory against Elon in its most recent outing. The Cavaliers are looking forward to renewing their rivalry with the Tigers after sweeping a three-game set last March when the two teams were each ranked in the top 10.
"They've got a great ballclub," Taylor said. "We always have tough games with them, and I'm excited and ready to go and get back out there."
The Cavaliers must prepare for Clemson's talented pitching staff which has six pitchers with ERAs less than 3.00. Sophomore righthander Kevin Pohle has posted a stingy 1.09 ERA and a 3-0 record in five appearances.
Clemson also boasts some impressive bats with three players hitting more than .320. Senior utility player Phil Pohl has blasted three homers and driven in 21 runs to go along with a .324 batting average.
The Cavaliers believe they are up to the challenge of playing a solid conference opponent as they look to right their 2-4 start to ACC play.
"We just need everyone to have good, quality at-bats, good pitching and defense and just keep going with what we had [against VMI]," freshman pitcher Barrett O'Neil said.
The Cavaliers will need strong offensive production from some of the same places they got it from Wednesday night - namely Taylor, Papi and first baseman Jared King - to overcome a Clemson team which has yet to win a road game.
Taylor leads the club in home runs with three, King has a team-high 23 RBIs and Papi is tied for third on the team in hits with 25.
The Cavaliers hope to complement their formidable offense with quality starts from an improving pitching staff this weekend. Senior Scott Silverstein and juniors Whit Mayberry and Branden Kline look likely to take the hill. Silverstein sports a 2.22 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 28.1 innings. Mayberry has given up a batting average of .313 but holds a 2-0 record in five starts. Kline had his best performance of the year with 6.1 innings of one-run ball Sunday after initially struggling since shifting to a starter's role this season.
Virginia will play five games in the next six days. Although some teams might view the busy schedule with trepidation, the Cavaliers see an opportunity to continue the ongoing process of meshing as a team.
"The good thing about playing that many games is it does give you the opportunity to get a lot of different looks at different guys," O'Connor said.\nTonight's first pitch is set for 6 p.m. The games Saturday and Sunday are scheduled for 1 p.m.
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