Three games are in the books, and defending national champ Virginia returns from Myrtle Beach with a 2-1 record.
It rightly feels like the fourth-ranked Cavs left something on the field after the bullpen blew a late two-run lead in a 5-4 loss to #23 Coastal Carolina on Sunday.
But if there’s anything that folks know about UVA baseball, it’s not to get too worked up until, oh, say, June.
That said, what do we know about the ‘Hoos after a weekend of February baseball?
Dominant weekend starting pitching
We knew Connor Jones was good, and not much else.
The good news on Opening Day was that the junior ace didn’t disappoint in UVA’s season-opening 8-6 win over Kent State.
Jones struck out eight and gave up three hits without issuing a walk in seven shutout innings on Friday, picking up pretty much where he left off at the end of 2015.
Freshman lefty Daniel Lynch was solid in his Saturday start, giving up four hits in five scoreless innings in Virginia’s 8-0 win over Appalachian State, striking out nine and walking two.
And then on Sunday, sophomore Tommy Doyle put in the third quality start of the weekend, giving up two runs on four hits in six innings, striking out six and walking two.
Sum totals for the starting rotation for the weekend: 2-0 record, 1.00 ERA, two earned runs on 11 hits in 18 innings of work, 23 strikeouts and four walks.
Not bad.
Shaky relief pitching
So we knew going in that Virginia had Connor Jones and then … we had questions. The back two-thirds of the starting rotation gave us good answers. The bullpen … not so much.
In eight innings of work, the pen was charged with seven runs on nine hits with eight walks. That works out to a 7.88 ERA and a 2.125 WHIP.
The pen almost gave away an 8-0 ninth-inning lead in the opener, then did give away a 4-2 seventh-inning lead on Sunday.
Alec Bettinger is, for now, anyway, the closer, with nothing resembling closer stuff – an 89-mph fastball and a flat slider being his two pitches.
Maybe we need to see more of what Jack Roberts (five Ks in two scoreless innings) and Holden Grounds (four Ks in two scoreless innings) have to offer.
Lineup
Big weekends for Pavin Smith (7-for-11 at the plate with three walks), Ernie Clement (8-for-15) and Matt Thaiss (6-for-13 with two walks). Adam Haseley had an opposite-field homer on Sunday, and Daniel Pinero had a team-best five RBI despite going only 2-for-12 for the weekend.
The Cavs had 20 runs on 38 hits with a .394 team on-base percentage for the weekend.
It was a little frustrating to watch the late innings on Sunday when the Cavs were able to get runners on base (first and second with two outs in the eighth, first and third with one out in the ninth) without being able to punch across the tying run, but the positive to that is that they were at least able to get rallies going.
Defense
The D was flawless for the weekend, with no errors charged. The strength of Virginia baseball under Brian O’Connor has always been pitching and defense, so good early returns to that end.
Bottom line
The offense put up good, consistent numbers on the weekend. The starting pitching was dominant. The defense was solid. The relief staff is a weak point right now.
There you go …
– Column by Chris Graham
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