What: No. 18 Virginia (11-5, 2-1 ACC) vs. Towson (3-10, 0-0 CAA)
Where: Charlottesville
When: Tuesday and Wednesday, 4:00 p.m.
The Skinny: Over the weekend, Virginia baseball competed in its first ACC series of 2016, claiming two out of three games from Duke at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Junior catcher Matt Thaiss amassed five RBIs and three runs over 12 total at bats, while junior pitcher Connor Jones threw eight shutout innings and picked up his third win of the season, to zero losses.
The Cavaliers dropped the series finale, 3-0, again unable to figure out Blue Devil transfer pitcher Brian McAfee, who, as the ace in Cornell’s rotation, blanked Virginia through seven innings a season ago. McAfee threw a complete game shutout Sunday, silencing Virginia’s well-worn bats.
Ready to trigger another one of their signature outbursts at the plate, the Cavaliers return to Davenport Field this week for a two-game series with border-state foe Towson. The Tigers have grown accustomed to non-conference defeats in 2016, with only three wins to 10 losses. Towson’s 1-10 record on the road doesn’t bode too well for this week’s trip to Charlottesville.
Defending national champion Virginia has proven itself vulnerable at times this season, especially when opposing lineups have gotten to the back end of its shorthanded bullpen. To add further uncertainty, senior catcher and converted reliever Robbie Coman and freshman outfielder Jake McCarthy, two of the Cavaliers’ potential X-factors, both suffered season-ending injuries earlier this month.
Virginia should take care of business Tuesday and Wednesday at Davenport Field, though. Thaiss, along with junior shortstop Daniel Pinero and the elite sophomore trio of second baseman Ernie Clement, first baseman Pavin Smith and center fielder Adam Haseley, will likely rough up a weaker Tiger pitching staff that has allowed 6.31 runs per nine innings.
Concerning the four Tiger batters who are hitting above .290 — junior catcher Brady Policelli, freshman shortstop Richie Palacios, redshirt junior center fielder A.J. Gallo and freshman first baseman Richard Miller — Cavalier pitching coach Karl Kuhn will tell his guys to stay in and around the strike zone, and trust the defense behind them will make its routine plays.
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