The Cavaliers came up short in 2023, but are restocked for another run at the College World Series in 2024
The defensive alignment for Virginia will be interesting to watch.
Coming off of a season that resulted in a College World Series run, Virginia baseball’s talented roster had a number of MLB draft-eligible players ready to take the next steps in their playing careers
Kyle Teel and Jake Gelof are the most likely Cavaliers to be drafted, although myriad other Virginia athletes could be drafted during the 20-round event.
Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, many of the bats went cold and late-inning pitching proved costly, leading to their elimination from this year’s College World Series.
What at one point looked like a disappointing repeat of the 2022 season where Virginia could not overcome late season struggles turned into exhilaration at Disharoon Park Sunday afternoon.
Virginia’s leg up in the pitching department from last season is largely due to a bolstered starting rotation.
Virginia has an elite bullpen and talented starting rotation of pitchers, but has been prone to untimely meltdowns in close games, exacerbated by offensive droughts.
Virginia’s struggles continued, particularly on the pitching side with Notre Dame scoring 25 runs across three games.
After a scalding-hot start, the Cavaliers have lost two of their last three conference series.
With the series sweep, the Cavaliers are now an impressive 7-2 against ranked teams this season.
Although the Cavaliers put together 26 runs over the course of three games, the Hokies outpaced them on their way to scoring 29 runs.
Virginia’s pitching proved to be the difference as the Cavaliers improved to 17-0 at home this season.
Virginia is still at the top of the Coastal Division standings after its third ACC series win.
Although Virginia’s weekend ended on a sour note, it should not take away from their strong start to the season.
So far, junior pitcher Matt Poston of the Tar Heels has been the only pitcher this year to shut down a highly potent Virginia offense.
The Cavaliers will need to sustain their high level of play as they fight with fellow undefeated Wake Forest and NC State for first place in the conference.
Consistent fielding and dominant pitching were primary takeaways this weekend, but the potent Cavalier offense can take over a game at any given moment.
Schoch has plans to return to Charlottesville this spring as the men’s baseball team has drawn national preseason attention.
Over the course of three games, the Cavaliers racked up 39 runs, setting the tone that this season’s lineup had the potential to be even better than last year’s squad.
