Virginia’s numbers at the plate still aren’t stellar, but they Cavaliers are improving. As a result, so is their record in conference play.
A 6-5 win in Sunday’s rubber game at Clemson clinched a second consecutive ACC series win for the Wahoos. A week after putting up 24 runs on 31 hits in taking two of three at Georgia Tech, UVa finished with 15 runs on 30 hits in three games against the Tigers. They’ve have been the two most productive ACC weekends of the season for Virginia, which improved to 8-13 in the league and climbed back above .500 overall (16-15) for the first time in a month with Sunday’s victory.
“We’ve been a little bit more opportunistic. We’ve had some guys step up,” head coach Brian O’Connor told reporters Monday morning. “Hopefully we can keep that moving forward, because that’s what it’s going to take.”
The Hoos have hit .280 as a team and averaged more than 10 hits a game over those last two weekends away from home. That team batting average goes up to .322 with runners in scoring position.
Those numbers are up significantly from the .188 team batting average and six hits-per-game the team put up over its first five ACC series. The Cavaliers have scored 39 runs in their last six conference games compared to 49 in their first 15.
For much of the season’s first month, O’Connor lamented his team’s inability to get productive days at the plate from multiple players in the same game. UVa had zero multi-hit performances in seven of its first 11 ACC contests. The Wahoos went 2-9.
In nine of the last 10 conference games, however, UVa has had multiple players in the lineup finish with at least two hits. Six players did it in an 11-4 win in the finale at Georgia Tech. Five players had multiple hits in Saturday’s 8-4 win at Clemson and four did it on Sunday. Sophomore outfielder Chris Newell had an early two-run triple and a late three-run home run on Saturday. The next day, it was freshman catcher Kyle Teel with a two-run homer to erase an early 2-0 deficit, then a two-run single that proved to be the game-winner—with two outs and down 0-2 in the count—to cap a three-run seventh.
“That’s what you need,” O’Connor said. “You need a collection of players in the lineup having a couple of hits or having productive at-bats at least. And then you need a guy or two really stepping up and having big days.”
Despite the recent up-tick in production, the Cavaliers still sit 10th in the ACC with 156 runs on the season. Their .238 batting average ranks 13th out of 14 teams, while their slugging percentage (.340), on-base percentage (.327) and 16 home runs are all at the bottom of the league.
In conference games, UVa’s slash line (.216 AVG/.286 OBP/.325 SLG) remains last across the board. Devin Ortiz is hitting .313 in ACC games but he’s the only UVa regular hitting better than .260 against conference pitching.
“It’s improving,” O’Connor said Monday. “I think there’s some growth and some development there. Some guys are gaining some confidence. There’s still some other guys we need to get going, get in a better place in order to have a really good offensive club.”
Embracing the Stephen Schoch Experience
O’Connor couldn’t help but smile when a reporter suggested on Monday morning that UVa closer Stephen Schoch has a way of making things interesting when he takes the hill.
“I know he’s not doing it intentionally,” the head coach replied.
Schoch picked up his sixth save of the season in Sunday’s win but did so in dramatic fashion. After allowing an inherited runner to score and cut UVa’s lead to one in the eighth inning, Schoch left the tying run at second and a potential game-winning run at first to end the ballgame.
Over two innings, he was charged with no runs on one hit and no walks but with two hit batters and one wild pitch.
Sunday marked Schoch’s third appearance since returning from an eight-game injury layoff in late March and early April. He’s given up four runs and seven hits in that span, while walking two batters and hitting three more.
“Sometimes it takes a little bit back to get the fine-tuning and the only way you get that back is by putting him out there,” O’Connor said. “And fortunately, we were able to win the game when he wasn’t really at his best.”
O’Connor got another taste of the Schoch experience in last Tuesday’s extra-inning win against William & Mary. Tasked with protecting a 4-3 lead in the ninth, he recorded two quick outs before giving up a double. He then worked a 2-2 count before hitting the Tribe’s Ben Williamson, putting the tying run on base. Matt McDermott followed with a three-run home run off the top of the fence in right field to temporarily put W&M in front 6-4. It was Schoch’s first blown save of the year.
For the season, he has a 2.65 ERA in 17 innings out of the UVa bullpen. Schoch’s six saves rank third in the ACC. He has walked five and given up 10 hits in 17 innings but also leads the Hoos with four hit batters. And his three homers allowed are tied for the most among UVa relievers.
“He’s a risk-taker,” O’Connor conceded. “He’s just not a guy who’s going to stand on the mound and just throw side-arm fastballs. He’s going to mix and match and move the ball around. He’s going to essentially do what he thinks he needs to do. He’s an older guy that understands what he needs to do to each hitter to be effective.
“It hasn’t been smooth, it hasn’t been easy the last couple of times out. That’s for sure,” Schoch’s head coach conceded. “But he finds a way.”
Consistent Options Out of the Bullpen
Blake Bales picked up the win in Sunday’s finale at Clemson by throwing 2.2 innings of shutout baseball out of the UVa bullpen. That performance came a day after Bales kept the Tigers off the board for the final two innings of Saturday’s victory.
Those were the latest scoreless outings for the senior, who is yet to be charged with a run this season. Bales has now thrown 27 scoreless innings across 17 appearances.
He did allow an inherited runner to score in Sunday’s fifth inning, which tied the game 4-4 and put the right-hander in position to pick up the win. Bales has inherited 18 runners on the season; only three have scored.
“Bales has been just the rock, all year long,” O’Connor said on Monday. “The biggest thing with Blake Bales is his ability to come in, in crucial situations with runners in scoring position, and pitch us out of it. That shows you something. Not only does he have good stuff, he’s pretty calm, and understands what he needs to do to execute. He’s been really special.”
Bales and left-hander Brandon Neeck have emerged as the team’s two most consistent options out of the bullpen in recent weeks. The inherited run surrendered by Schoch in the eighth inning on Sunday was the first charged to Neeck all year, raising his ERA to 1.23.
UVa coaches have been cautious with Neeck, who is still working his way back from the shoulder surgery that cost him his freshman year in 2019. He has pitched just 7.1 innings over 11 appearances. After recording a pair of outs to end the seventh inning on Saturday, Neeck gave up a hit to the only batter he faced in Sunday’s game. It marked the first time he’d pitched in back-to-back games.
On Monday O’Connor indicated that Neeck could be working his way into a bigger role out of the bullpen.
“We’ve kind of been using him primarily to get left-handed hitters out, and he’s really, really effective at that,” he said. “But he’s proven to us that maybe we can start to extend him a little bit and use him a little bit more.”
McGarry to Face Monarchs
UVa plays eight of its next nine games at home, a stretch that starts against Old Dominion on Wednesday afternoon. O’Connor plans to start senior right-hander Griff McGarry against the Monarchs.
It will be his first midweek start since he faced VCU at The Diamond as a freshman in March 2018. His last 22 starts have come on weekends, including seven this season. McGarry (0-4, 6.85 ERA) got bumped from the weekend rotation after struggling with his control and averaging slightly more than three innings in those seven starts.
McGarry has walked 9.2 batters per nine innings in his UVa career. In 22.1 innings this season, he has walked 27; only 53.6 percent of his pitches have been for strikes. He last pitched in the opener at Georgia Tech, where he took the loss after giving up four runs on five hits and four runs over two innings.
“We all know, we saw it in the fall, we know what he’s capable of doing,” O’Connor said. “He knows what he’s capable of doing. It’s just a very fine line. He needs to be a little bit more consistent.”
With UVa trying to climb back onto the NCAA Tournament bubble, Wednesday’s start will be an opportunity for McGarry to help the Hoos pick up a nice non-conference win. ODU ranked No. 29 in the country in the new RPI update released on Monday while UVa had climbed to No. 55 after the series win at Clemson.
McGarry has gone eight starts without picking up a win. The Hoos have lost his last seven starts.
“The opportunities are the same,” O’Connor said. “Bottom line is, we need him to go out and pitch well, because we need to win on Wednesday. That’s the goal.”
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