It’s not an easy thing to do*, but I’ve run the numbers for Virginia’s lineup pre-April 1 and post-April 1, and the difference before and after is staggering.
Entering play on Friday, April 1, down in Atlanta, Virginia was 11-13 overall, 4-11 in the ACC, and had a team hitting slash line of .226/.318/.329, averaging 4.6 runs per game, and had 11 homers in the season-opening 24 games.
Virginia lost that April 1 game, 6-5, but won the final two games of the series – scoring eight runs on nine hits in the 8-2 win on April 2, and 11 runs on 13 hits in the 11-4 win on April 3.
The weekend tear signaled the start of a major turnaround for the Cavalier offensive attack.
How much of a turnaround?
Since April 1, the ‘Hoos have a slash line of .290/.381/.427, are averaging 6.6 runs per game, and the team has hit 31 homers in its last 33 games.
Which is a big reason why Virginia has gone 22-11 since the start of play on April 1, finished the ACC regular season 14-7, went 2-1 in the ACC Tournament to reach the tourney semifinals, and went on to an upset win in the Columbia Regional this past weekend.
In the regional, UVA had a slash line of .291/.367/.457 and averaged 6.2 runs per game.
* The not easy part: I had to pore through each and every box score from April 1 on to get the numbers. It should be easier than that. This is why I get paid the big bucks.
Story by Chris Graham
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