After dropping to 7-8 in ACC play following a series loss against Boston College (18-11, 5-8 ACC) this past weekend, Virginia is looking to claw its way back up to .500 in the ACC with a strong showing against No. 13 North Carolina Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“We’ve always had some really good games with North Carolina,” coach Brian O’Connor said. “They’ve got a very, very good program.”
Even that might be a bit of an understatement by O’Connor.
The Tar Heels (24-9, 8-7 ACC) have gotten off to a blazing hot start and hold a one-game lead over the Cavaliers (21-14, 7-8 ACC) for the second spot in the ACC Coastal division leaderboards. After a 15-0 thrashing of No. 3 South Carolina (28-6, 10-2 SEC) Wednesday, North Carolina outscored subsequent opponents by a jaw dropping score of 239-106 on the season. The team has four starters hitting over the .300 mark.
One such starter is junior outfielder Tyler Ramirez (.395 AVG, 32 RBI), who continues to have a season for the record books. In addition to his 32 RBIs, Ramirez has crushed seven home runs and has a slugging percentage that flirts with .700. Add that to his .520 OBP, and he has an astounding 1.204 OPS on the season.
But in a fickle game such as baseball, run production means absolutely nothing if it can’t be backed up with strong pitching.
And Virginia knows all too well about the Tar Heel’s stellar pitching staff, especially junior right-hander Zac Gallen (4-2, 1.93 ERA). Last year’s matchup between Gallen and the Cavalier’s ace junior Connor Jones (6-1 2.24) resulted in each pitcher going eight innings of near perfect baseball, in what would eventually end in a 2-1 extra-inning Virginia win.
“Gallen is really talented,” O’Connor said. “I think it’ll be a great matchup”.
Thus far, Gallen has given up just 12 earned runs in eight games, while recording 66 strikeouts to go along with just 42 hits in 56 innings. Not to be outdone, sophomore righty J.B. Bukauskas (5-1, 3.15 ERA) is proving to be a reliable source of defense as well, holding opponents to a paltry .217 average to go along with his 68 Ks.
But the Tar Heels’ pitching staff isn’t going to be the only dominant pitching force in Charlottesville this weekend.
In addition to Jones, Virginia sophomore left-hander Adam Haseley (6-0, 1.59 ERA) has been a rock on the mound in 2016. In seven starts, he has notched 31 strikeouts while allowing just seven earned runs to complement his sub-2 ERA. And while Sunday’s probable starter, junior Alec Bettinger (0-4, 4.37 ERA), has been disappointing thus far, a three-game series against a historic division rival may be just what he needs to get himself — and the Cavaliers — back on track.
Plus, the Cavaliers haven’t been too shabby on the offensive end either.
Led by junior catcher Matt Thaiss (.365 AVG, 32 RBI), the Cavaliers have scored 235 runs of their own so far, just four runs shy of North Carolina’s total. They also top the Tar Heels in batting average (.302 to .287, respectively) and only trail North Carolina by .025 percent in OBP.
And if there’s one thing baseball has proven, the lesson is that it takes a team effort to win. So while the Cavaliers may not have a superstar like Ramirez, the offenses will nonetheless be evenly matched.
It looks like Cavalier and Tar Heel faithful alike will be in for a treat of a good, old-fashioned pitching duel.
And despite the huge implications of this weekend’s series, it doesn’t seem like the Cavaliers have an ounce of fear in them.
“We definitely [play] really good baseball against North Carolina,” junior shortstop Daniel Pinero (.300 AVG, 20 RBI) said. “It’s just going to be exciting, and I think it’s going to give us a lot of energy in the dugout.”
O’Connor agreed.
“If you love college baseball, this weekend is a great series to come to,” he said.
The Cavaliers and Tar Heels are set to play at Davenport Field Friday, Saturday and Sunday, at 6 p.m., 4 p.m. and 12 p.m., respectively.
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