UVa is 36-11 overall and 14-10 in the ACC. If the conference tournament (held this year in Louisville) were to begin today, Virginia would be seeded fifth.
The Cavaliers have won four straight ACC series (Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Florida State) and 15 of 18 games overall. UVa, ranked No. 12 in the Baseball America poll, has not been swept in any conference series but dropped two of three games against Clemson, North Carolina, and Louisville, all of whom are ahead in the standings. Virginia took two of three from Duke in bizarre fashion: The Blue Devils won the first game in Charlottesville by an incredible 19-3 score, but Virginia won the final two, both by 13-6 scores.
Virginia is led by two-way All-American Adam Haseley, who is hitting almost .400 (.399) with 55 runs, 45 RBIs, and 12 home runs. On the mound, he's 7-1 with a 3.58 ERA. His roommate, Pavin Smith, is batting .355 with 58 RBIs and 10 home runs. Cameron Simmons (.378, 42 RBIs), Robbie Coman (.355, 32), back after a season-ending injury last season, Jake McCarthy (.322, 26), brother of former UVa star Joe who was hurt for most of last year, and Ernie Clement (..307, 29) are having strong seasons as well. The Wahoos are batting a collective .327, one of the highest averages in the Brian O'Connor era.
A collection of Derek Casey, Daniel Lynch, and Noah Murdock have handled the other weekend starts, with Murdock, a freshman, emerging most recently with some strong outings. The tall 6-foot-7 pitcher is 3-1 with a 2.50 ERA. Lynch was the most recent other weekend starter. He's 6-2 with a 5.11 ERA. Casey, who pitched in the Cavaliers' most recent game against Liberty on Tuesday, is 3-1 with a 3.78 ERA. There's speculation about how the weekend lineup shakes out as the postseason approaches, so there will be more to come on that. Alec Bettinger has been strong in a relief role and is 7-0 with 2.05 ERA. Tommy Doyle has 12 saves and is 1-1 with a 2.05 ERA.
The 'Hoos have two more ACC regular-season series: this coming weekend at home against Miami and then May 18-20 at Georgia Tech. In between those series, on May 16, Virginia hosts Richmond.
UVa is coming off a season in which it finished 38-22 and was eliminated in the Charlottesville Regional. The Cavaliers played well in the second half of the regular season but went a combined 2-4 in the ACC and NCAA tournaments.
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