Charlottesville, VA (cvillerightnow.com): Virginia Baseball’s upcoming series with Virginia Tech has about as much to play for as you could hope for as a Baseball fan.  Naturally, here in Charlottesville, the hope was to just kick back, relax, and watch a three-game blowout to go at a leisurely pace into the ACC tournament.  However, despite their recent run of form, Virginia Tech has been excellent against superior opposition this season.  The Hokies have earned impressive conference series victories against Louisville, Wake Forest, and Notre Dame.  However, their series win against Notre Dame has been their most recent ACC series victory, with nearly a month and a half since its conclusion.   They remain in the conversation for one of the few spots that remain in the NCAA Tournament, but they remain, according to most outlets, among the first few teams on the outside looking in. 

That could change with a series victory against a red-hot Virginia team that is coming off its most impressive series sweep of the year over the Miami Hurricanes.  Two dominant performances in games one and three and a resilient comeback victory in game two has had the Hoos flying high coming out of the exam break and looking at a first round bye in the ACC tournament.  Their win over the Canes also has inserted them into the group of teams that will likely be the last four selected for the NCAA field of 64.  It is all humming for Brian O’Connor and his men, but that could all change with one bad weekend.  Should the Hokies find a way to win the series, they stand a real chance of stealing the Wahoos’ provincial tournament spot, removing their first round bye in the ACC tournament, and forcing their rivals to take the field again on Tuesday with the chip on their shoulder that can only come from losing in embarrassing fashion to your mortal enemy.   On the Virginia side, finishing with a series win, or even a sweep of the Hokies, could lock up their spot in the field of 64, potentially advance their seeding in the ACC tournament, and provide the ultimate performance boost knowing you handed your bitter rivals a mortifying defeat to end their regular season.     

Unfortunately, these conclusions will remain speculation until Sunday morning.  The only course of action is to win Baseball games.   

Tech’s squad is a grizzled one, filled with older hitters but mostly younger and less experienced pitchers.  Their star utility man, senior Sam Tackett, has been a career Hokie, and has only gotten better with age, slashing .324 this season with 13 homers and 42 RBIs.   His speed is a factor as well, with 12 steals in 14 attempts.  Tackett shares the RBI lead with five tool third-year outfielder Jared Davis, who also has notched 42 RBIs, slashing .296 with 9 homeruns and 13 steals.  There is more talent on this roster this year than has seen substantial action.  Ole Miss transfer Treyson Hughes has grown exponentially in speed and contact since arriving in Blacksburg two years ago.  Mercer transfer Jackson Cherry has torn up the SOCON before his arrival in Blacksburg this year and has been good in limited playing time.  Finally, Big South star Cameron Pittman, an excellent five tool outfielder down the road at Radford before joining, has slotted in nicely for his senior year.  

Tech has won the lions’ share of its games this season courtesy of their bats, as many of their pitchers are still developing, particularly in the starting rotation.  That being said, particular distinction must be given to second-year ace Brett Renfrow.  He has not only pitched to a sterling 3.45 ERA in 13 starts this season, struck out 71 batters, and held opponents to a .256 average, but done so in a total of 62.2 innings pitched in just his sophomore year as a pitcher.  That level of endurance must be commended, and Jay Woolfolk will have a worthy opponent in this evening’s game.  Lefty Jake Marciano is due to start game two against Bradley Hodges for UVA.  Marciano, while more experienced, is pitching to nearly double his teammate’s ERA, although with solid and comparable swing and miss stuff.  The big lefty Tomas Valincius is set to go for UVA on Saturday, and does not yet have an opponent announced.  Opponents have hit .263 against Hokie pitching this season, and their staff ERA is just north of 5 at 5.20. 

The signs are there for the Hoos to finish their regular season strong, but the question marks that remain regarding their postseason hopes exist due to letting one too many games get away.  The talent has always been there for Virginia this season, they are playing with cohesion, faith, and calmness as a unit.  It will simply be matter of keeping focus for three more days.  They do that, and they can ride the heatwave through the ACC tournament and on, hopefully, to some regional greatness. 

Cheer the Hoos on listening live here on Cvillerightnow.com with coverage beginning at 5:45pm tonight for game one, 2:45pm tomorrow for game two, and 12:45pm for game three.  Pregame reporting begins 15 minutes before first pitch, and Adam Hawes will bring you the action in its entirety on Newsradio WINA.