Exciting Super Regional baseball is officially back in Charlottesville after last weekend saw No. 7 seed UVa advance. Headed to Disharoon Park, of course, will be conference rival Duke for the best-of-three series that will send one team to the College World Series.
After record-breaking crowds at The Dish, Cavalier fans are sure to pack the ballpark again this weekend hoping to see the Hoos clinch another trip to Omaha.
Virginia earned its place in the Super Regionals by rolling through the Charlottesville Regional in three games. UVa obliterated Army 15-1 in the opener and then won a pair of hotly-contested games against a very good East Carolina team to take the regional. The club got good pitching throughout the regional, giving up just five runs total across the three contests, with one coming late in the game against Army with a lot of reserve players in the lineup. Virginia pitcher Connelly Early won Regional MVP after a 10-strikeout performance in Sunday night’s win at the Dish.
Duke meanwhile qualified for this weekend’s Super Regional by advancing through the Conway Regional. That regional devolved into chaos on Friday night with top seed Coastal Carolina being stunned by Rider in extra innings. Duke took advantage, beating UNC Wilmington in the first game and taking down Rider in the winner’s bracket on Saturday. Coastal Carolina did beat the Blue Devils on Sunday to force a decisive game on Monday, which was certainly decisive in Duke’s favor with the Blue Devils blasting Coastal 12-3 to advance to college baseball’s Sweet 16.
And it likely goes without saying, heading into this Super Regional matchup that these two programs are more than a little familiar with each other. Virginia hosted a three-game series with the Blue Devils in April at Disharoon Park. It was a pivotal series in ACC play for both teams, who at the time were battling atop the Coastal Division standings. And while UVa eventually took the division, Duke won the three-game weekend series.
After a rain delay before Game 1, the Blue Devils rolled the Hoos 17-5, with three home runs and nine extra-base hits.
UVa would throw Nick Parker in the second game of the series and would even things up with a 10-2 victory. After a back-and-forth game for the first half of the contest, the Hoos broke things open in the sixth, scoring three runs in that inning and again in the seventh on their way to a big win. Parker had a big day on the mound, striking out 12 and walking just one batter in 6.2 innings of work.
Duke took the finale, though, winning 7-3 after a big three-run first inning got the Blue Devils out in front. It was a bullpen game for both teams, including UVa’s Jay Woolfolk who threw three scoreless innings to wrap up the contest. The series win put the Blue Devils ahead of UVa in the league standings, though Virginia’s hot finish to the season got them the division title.
If UVa is going to take out Duke and advance to Omaha, they Wahoos will need another weekend of stellar pitching performances. Duke has a potent offense that is more than capable of putting up runs in bunches, something the the Blue Devils have already done in this ballpark this season. They hit .279 as a team and have scored 470 runs in 60 games this year, or 7.8 per game. They love the long ball, too. They’ve hit 107 home runs on the season; for comparison, UVa, having perhaps its best offensive season ever, has hit 76.
At the dish, Duke has a bunch of players that can hurt opponents. Catcher Alex Stone has been the most consistent hitter in the lineup, hitting .324 with team highs in RBI (62) and home runs (17). Junior infielder Jay Beshears is another great hitter, averaging .332 for the year, a team high, with 14 home runs and 54 RBI. We have to talk about senior infielder M.J. Metz, too, after a huge weekend in Myrtle Beach. After coming up with an ACL injury in the ACC Tournament, it was unclear if Metz would be able to play again this season. Not only did he play in the regional, Metz had a three homer game and was named Regional MVP. Metz had a home run and four RBI in the series against Virginia in April, too.
Duke’s has some talent on the mound, but they’ve also given up their fair share of hits and runs, too. Opponents have scored 284 runs against Duke this year, or 4.7 per game, and the Blue Devils have a team ERA of 4.01. They do have 659 strikeouts, or 11 per contest, so their pitchers clearly have the stuff that can make hitters miss.
Starting pitcher Alex Gow threw twice in the Regional, and should be penciled in for a start on Friday or Saturday. Gow, who has 16 starts on the season, has a 4.62 ERA with a 1.28 WHIP, a 3-3 overall record and 68 strikeouts on the year. Gow threw 8.1 innings over two appearances in Conway, with 12 total strikeouts and three earned runs. Gow also pitched against UVa on April 28, going four innings with one earned run and three K’s.
Freshman lefty Andrew Healy has 10 starts on the season with a 2.27 ERA and 42 strikeouts. He pitched on Saturday against Rider and didn’t give up any runs but threw just two innings. Sophomore righty Ryan Higgins could start a game, too, as he did against UVa on April 29, the middle content of the three-game set that UVa won. Higgins didn’t appear in the Regional though and hasn’t thrown since May 20th against Miami. One reliever worth keeping an eye on is left-handed freshman Owen Proksch, who has a strong fastball and has 41 strikeouts in 31 relief appearances this year.
Super Regional Schedule
Game 1: Friday, June 9, Noon (ESPN)
Game 2: Saturday, June 10, Noon (ESPN2)
Game 3: Sunday, June 11, Time & TV TBD
