With his baseball career unexpectedly on hold last summer, Virginia right-hander Stephen Schoch decided to make a little extra money.

First he spent a few weeks working for a local landscaping company. That was followed by, as Schoch called it, a “desk job” selling insurance. Those four months of cold calls served as a reminder to the sidewinder that he wasn’t ready to pitch renter’s or homeowner’s insurance full-time.

“My goal coming to Charlottesville wasn’t to be the number one insurance agent,” Schoch said with a chuckle.

“In life, everyone finds what they’re meant to do, and I’m meant to close out baseball games,” the fifth-year senior added. “It’s really like nothing else.”

That’s the role the Cavaliers will be counting on Schoch to fill this spring, as he returns to the UVa bullpen following a 2020 season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s a role Schoch had stepped into last year as a graduate transfer from UMBC, where he set school records for both career saves (13) and saves in a single season (10).

Calling the opportunity to pitch for the Wahoos a dream come true, the 6-foot-5 Schoch dropped almost 40 pounds after arriving in Charlottesville in the fall of 2019. The lost weight gave him more confidence, as did the success he had pitching against his new UVa teammates that fall.

As a result, his coaches put Schoch to work last spring. He pitched in 11 of the team’s 18 games before the season’s abrupt end, tied for the second-most appearances in the country. His five saves were one shy of the most in the country in the shortened season.

In his only taste of ACC play before the shutdown, Schoch threw a total of four scoreless innings over a pair of appearances against NC State.

“All I really see is red,” Schoch said of his approach on the mound. “All I think about is pounding the zone and not letting anyone in the other team’s jersey cross home plate.”

UVa head coach Brian O’Connor said Schoch’s side-arm delivery gives the right-hander a unique look out of the bullpen. O’Connor also complimented his closer’s “great competitive spirit.”

“I love Stephen’s mentality,” O’Connor said. “He brings it every day. He loves to compete. He wants to be the guy on the mound toward the end of the game.”

Schoch finished his first UVa season with a 1-1 record and 1.62 ERA, with 24 strikeouts and just five walks over 16.2 innings pitched. Last month, D1Baseball.com included Schoch as a relief pitcher on the site’s preseason All-America third team.

According to O’Connor, Schoch’s established presence at the back end of the bullpen is a big reason why the coaching staff felt comfortable moving lefty Andrew Abbott to the weekend starting rotation to start the 2021 season.

“He proved to us last year what he’s capable of doing at the end of the game,” O’Connor said. “There’s probably going to be a little bit more weight on his shoulders with Abbott moving to the rotation.”

Abbott made 54 relief appearances and logged nine saves in his first three seasons with the Wahoos. In addition to Schoch, O’Connor believes Abbott’s void in the bullpen will be filled by a staff of experienced veteran arms.

“Our league is going to be so good this year,” O’Connor said. “It’s going to be the best it’s ever been in my time here. The depth and the quality of it is remarkable. So you better be good at the end of the game. Not just the guy at the very end, but leading up to that.”

Senior Kyle Whitten has made 52 career appearances and led the Wahoos with nine saves a sophomore in 2019. Fifth-year senior Paul Kosanovich has pitched in 21 games the past two seasons, while fourth-year Blake Bales has made 18 appearances the past two years. That trio of big right-handers—listed at 6-foot-3, Whitten is the shortest of the three—combined to go 3-1 with a 2.30 ERA and 26 strikeouts over 27.1 innings out of the bullpen last season, though Whitten gave up a combined six unearned runs over back-to-back mid-February appearances.

Another big right-hander, 6-foot-6 junior Zach Messinger, is expected to work primarily out of the bullpen this spring. Messinger has a 3.80 ERA in 42.2 career innings, including five starts as a freshman in 2019 and two starts last year. His seven total appearances in 2020 were tied with Whitten for third-most on the staff and he struck out 22 while walking just three in 13.2 innings, after issuing 23 walks to 21 strikeouts in 29 innings as a freshman.

Schoch mentioned sophomore Jacob Baldino and junior Brandon Neeck as potential left-handed contributors out of the bullpen this year. He and his head coach also singled out sophomore right-hander Matt Wyatt as someone who has emerged in his second pre-season.

“He’s been downright scary,” Schoch said.

Wyatt appeared in six games as a freshman last season, including a pair of midweek starts. He finished with a 1-0 record and 3.00 ERA, and didn’t give up a run in his last 10.1 innings pitched. O’Connor believes the 6-foot-5 Wyatt could develop into a bridge between UVa’s starting pitchers and the veterans at the back end of the bullpen.

“I tell you, this guy’s stuff is as good as there is on our staff,” O’Connor said. “He just doesn’t have the experience of doing it, back-to-back outings yet. I look for him to be somebody that’s really going to emerge as a guy, maybe he can come in two or three innings, or maybe it’s just an inning, that can do some pretty special things for us.”

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