Years before he was Virginia’s left fielder, Brendan Rivoli was a left winger on his high school’s hockey team in Pennsylvania. As a sophomore, Rivoli earned all-county honors after scoring 27 goals.

Rivoli was reminded of those days on the ice after taking a fastball to the face in UVa’s game at Florida State last Friday. He had to leave the game to get stitches, and with a shiner below his right eye and a small bandage just above his cheek on Tuesday he still looked like he’d recently dropped the gloves.

“I was joking around, saying I wish baseball was a little more like hockey, where I can just go in the back, get stitches, and come back out and play,” Rivoli said after a 2-for-4 performance in UVa’s 7-0 win against Richmond on Tuesday. “But baseball doesn’t work that way.”

Leading off the third inning Friday night, the lefty-swinging Rivoli found himself down 0-2 in his first at-bat against FSU left-hander Parker Messick.

“I didn’t really see the ball coming at me, if you couldn’t tell,” he admitted with a chuckle. “Left-on-left, I try to see it longer with two strikes, just watching for the breaking ball. And it just didn’t break, and it hit me in the head.”

Rivoli was stitched up and back in the UVa dugout a few innings later, and back in the lineup for Saturday’s game against the Seminoles. An 0-for-4 performance in that game dropped his batting average to .204 on the season.

That average is now up to .289 entering the first weekend of ACC baseball at Disharoon Park this season. Rivoli drove in runs with base hits in his first two at-bats in Sunday’s finale at FSU; they proved to be the difference in UVa’s 2-1 win. He had another RBI and scored a run against the Spiders on Tuesday.

“Brendan Rivoli has been swinging the bat pretty darn well for the past four or five games,” UVa head coach Brian O’Connor said after the Richmond win. “It’s been great to see.”

Rivoli’s recent numbers were a foot or two away from being even better entering this weekend’s Notre Dame series. He drove a fly ball deep to right field in his final at-bat in the eighth inning against the Spiders. With his back against the fence in front of the UVa bullpen, right fielder Austin Masel extended his glove to rob Rivoli of a potential three-run home run. It would have been his first homer of the young season.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Rivoli admitted. “Because this is our home field, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody jump as high as the fence in right field to catch a ball. So as soon as I saw that, I was just straight in awe, just because I was like, “‘Wow. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen anybody jump that high.’”

When a reporter suggested tongue-in-cheek that Rivoli’s recent success at the plate could be traced back to getting plunked in Tallahassee, the senior responded with a laugh.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Just kind of going with the flow right now.”

Entering this weekend, six ACC pitchers have made at least six relief appearances. All but two pitch for the Wahoos.

Blake Bales leads the conference with seven appearances. Three other UVa right-handers—Zach Messinger, Kyle Whitten, and Matt Wyatt—have pitched in six games. All but Whitten have pitched in all three of the Cavaliers’ midweek non-conference games. All four appeared out of the bullpen in Tuesday’s shutout at Disharoon Park.

As part of this year’s 50-game schedule, ACC teams are only playing one midweek non-conference game per week. O’Connor has used those midweek games as an opportunity to get a variety of relief pitchers work. The Wahoos used eight pitchers in their first midweek game against VMI, and seven against both George Washington and the Spiders.

Only one reliever has gone more than two innings in a midweek appearance: Messinger, who pitched three perfect innings on Tuesday after entering the game to start the second inning. He took over for starter Nate Savino, who was forced to leave after one inning because he wasn’t feeling well.

O’Connor has grown fond of the bullpen-by-committee approach on Tuesdays.

“Because then you can kind of chop the game up with all the relievers that are available, and keep them sharp for the weekend,” he explained. “Because you don’t want those guys, if they’re only going to throw an inning or two, you won’t want them just pitching once a week. So to get them back out there and keep them sharp is good.”

UVa enters the weekend with a 2.96 bullpen ERA in 52.2 relief innings pitched. The bullpen has only been charged with six runs in the Cavaliers’ six ACC games. The Wahoos are 6-0 when leading after six innings this season.

“We just try to go out there and we take what the game gives us,” Messinger said. “Whether it’s no runs or whatever it is, we need to go out there and fill up the zone.”

Messinger says he tries to build off each of his appearances, whether good or bad. He admitted on Tuesday that he gave himself a low bar to clear with his first outing against UConn.

“Four earned runs, three walks and a hit batter,” he rattled off. “Something wild like that.”

It was actually two walks and a hit batter, plus one hit and four earned runs allowed in the Cavaliers’ 10-9 loss to the Huskies on February 20th. But Messinger has trended upward since opening weekend. He hasn’t allowed a run in his five appearances since that UConn game, and has only surrendered three hits and a pair of walks across eight innings pitched. His 9.1 total innings are the most among UVa relievers.

“I think he’s throwing the ball really well,” O’Connor said after Messinger’s spotless performance against Richmond. “The best he has in his career.”

Messinger spent his extended offseason during the COVID-19 quarantine trying to “find one thing to fine-tune every single day.” He lifted weights before shifts at the exclusive Kinloch Golf Club near Richmond - Justin Verlander and Michael Vick are among the course’s members, Messinger said - then threw after he got home. That work has paid off.

“His stuff has gotten a lot better. His velocity,” O’Connor said. “Physically, he’s a different person. He’s imposing, strong.”

On the mound, Messinger has focused on getting ahead in the count, and throwing a better percentage of his total pitches for strikes. He was able to do both against the Spiders. Messinger threw first-pitch strikes to seven of the nine batters he faced; of his 35 total pitches, 25 were strikes.

The Hoos used Messinger as both a midweek starter and as a reliever in his first two college seasons. This year, he’s a full-time relief pitcher, and taken on a more prominent role. He has been the first pitcher out of the UVa bullpen in both of the Cavaliers’ ACC weekends. He has thrown three scoreless innings in those conference games; entering the season, Messinger had a 6.75 career ERA against ACC opponents.

He says he’s a more mature pitcher now, trusting his stuff and believing in that off-season work he put in.

“I wanted to be able to come out here and give myself a chance, and be able to be that guy out of the bullpen whenever they needed,” Messinger said. “I just wanted to be able to put my best self on the mound, whenever my number was called.”

O’Connor hopes Christian Hlinka could be available this weekend against Notre Dame, as the senior outfielder works his way through the UVa concussion protocol.

Hlinka hasn’t played since the finale of the Cavaliers’ ACC opener at North Carolina two Sundays ago. He had to leave that game in the sixth inning after colliding with UNC’s Danny Serretti as the shortstop threw to first base to complete a double play. Serretti’s shin caught Hlinka in the head as he slid into second base.

“He’s getting better. He’s not full clearance yet,” O’Connor said on Tuesday. “Maybe, possibility by the weekend. I hope.”

Hlinka had started two of UVa’s first seven games at designated hitter. He’s 2-for-7 on the season, with both hits coming before he got hurt against the Tar Heels.

JOIN CAVSCORNER TODAY!

If you are not already a member of CavsCorner, come join us and see what all of the buzz is about.

Click HERE to subscribe and get all of the latest news and join hundreds of other UVa fans in talking about Cavalier football, basketball, and recruiting. You won't be disappointed!