Coach Finwood and crew took on their first major challenge of the season as they squared off against the UVA Cavaliers in a midweek matchup in Charlottesville. Both teams entered the contest 3-0, sweeping their respective opponents over the previous weekend.
The Hoos squad is projected to have an impressive season as they hope to return to Omaha and the College World Series. Virginia was able to make it to that promised land last year, but immediately suffered losses to Florida and TCU which sent them home without any hardware.
The UVA baseball program is definitely on the rise as they tallied six College World Series appearances in the last fifteen years, as well as a national championship in 2015 and placing as a runner-up in 2014. This season, the Cavaliers are currently slated at #14 in the country and are among five ACC teams in the Top 25.
In the most recent meeting between the teams, UVA was able to gain a decisive 8-1 win last spring in Charlottesville. Unfortunately for the Monarchs, UVA gained another decisive win, blanking the visiting squad 8-0 on Wednesday afternoon.
The Monarchs’ day was kept manageable through the early portions of the game as the Hoos put up runs in the second, third, and fifth innings. Fortunately for the Monarchs, UVA could not put up any crooked numbers on the scoreboard and left the visiting squad down 3-0 going into the sixth inning.
The bottom of the sixth is where the wheels fell off the bus for the Monarchs. UVA was able to score four times, first off a wild pitch, then followed by two singles. This big inning for the Hoos put Finwood’s team down 7-0.
The UVA bullpen on the day was too much for the Monarch hitters. They tallied a single hit over the last three innings and were downed by strikeouts for six out of the nine final outs. Also, to add to the Monarchs’ offensive struggles, they left a total of ten runners on base throughout the afternoon, stunting their chances at tallying runs.
A positive amid the ODU offense was sophomore Alex Bouche who went 2-3 with two singles. This bodes well for the young infielder as he tallied two hits in three at-bats after tallying one in his first nine. The Monarchs will need his bat after the loss of slugger infielder Hunter Fitz-Gerald to the pros.
From a pitching standpoint, the Monarchs were a revolving door as they backpedaled to find an arm that would be able to keep the ACC team at bay. The Monarchs threw a total of nine pitchers on the day. Earned runs were tallied on five of nine of the pitchers, with none going more than 2.0 innings.
The Monarchs will look to get back at the in-state opponents of UVA during two separate matchups later in the season. ODU will travel to Charlottesville on April 2, then the Cavaliers will come to Harbor Park on April 16.
Finwood and crew will be back in town over the weekend to take on Rutgers, a BIG 10 opponent from the state of New Jersey. The Scarlet Knights came out to a 3-0 start, sweeping a series against Winthrop, and are projected to finish middle of the pack at fourth at the end of the season.
The first pitch of game one of the series is slated for Friday at 3 p.m., with game two on Saturday at 2 p.m., and the series finisher Sunday at 1 p.m.
