University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Virginia Series Brings Study In Contrasts
May 12, 2006 | Baseball
May 12, 2006
By Adam Lucas
The invention of Gametracker was one of the greatest and worst things to ever happen to college baseball.
It's great because it allows fans and teams across the country the real-time opportunity to keep up with other games. It's the worst because, well, it can be kind of frustrating.
That's what North Carolina and Virginia have learned over the past month as they've battled for control of the Atlantic Coast Conference's Coastal Division. They've watched Georgia Tech and Miami play their way out of contention for the division title, which comes with a preferential ACC Tournament seed and a likely NCAA Tournament hosting slot.
The Tar Heels and Cavaliers have had to eye each other from afar--each weekend firing up the Gametracker to see how the other squad is faring--in the hopes of gaining a sliver of daylight in the Coastal standings. Carolina has gone 11-1 in their last 12 league games, seemingly good enough to put away the division. But over the same stretch, Virginia has gone 10-2, and the Heels travel to Charlottesville this weekend with just a two-game lead in the division.
Both teams, at the moment, control their own destiny for the Coastal title.
Carolina has done it in marquee fashion. They've got headline pitchers Andrew Miller, Daniel Bard, and Robert Woodard, and they've spent the entire season in the top 10 of virtually every national poll.
Virginia, meanwhile, has somehow managed to avoid cracking Baseball America's top 10. They even trail Clemson, a team they swept in Charlottesville in March, in that poll.
Of course, winning at home is the standard for Virginia. They've gone 8-1 at home in the ACC this year and have given up an average of just 2.3 runs per game at home in league contests. Their last home conference game resulted in the first Cavalier no-hitter since 1974, as Mike Ballard blanked Boston College.
Under coach Brian O'Connor, the Cavs have developed a reputation as a team that pitches well and plays solid defense. They don't get much attention for their offense, but their .329 team batting average bests Carolina's .320, and they rank in the top three in the league--ahead of the Tar Heels in each category--in hits, runs scored, RBI, doubles, and triples.
But they're last in the conference in home runs, which means their style of offense requires fundamental execution (their 50 sacrifice bunts is another league-leading figure) and timely hitting. Even though the left field fence was brought in 17 feet this season, Davenport Field remains enormous. There has been only one home run hit by a visiting player there this season; the last homer by a visiting ACC player came on May 14, 2005. The cavernous dimensions can mess with the heads of opponents--after the first handful of potential homers and doubles turn into fly ball outs, it's difficult to resist squeezing the bat a little more tightly. That's important to avoid for a Carolina team that leads the league in homers with 57.
But remember, Virginia has to hit there too. The Cavaliers have just seven homers at home this season, and one was inside-the-park. They'll be facing a Carolina rotation that should also benefit from the big park. Since moving to the Miller/Woodard/Bard lineup on the weekends against Florida State, the Tar Heel weekend ERA is just 2.43. Look for Davenport to be especially helpful to Robert Woodard, whose nearly 12 flyouts per game lead the Carolina staff. Ace relievers Jonathan Hovis, Matt Danford, and Andrew Carignan also have coaxed more flyouts than groundouts this season.
What does it all mean? Solid pitching from both teams is likely to cancel each other out. The series might turn on defense; Virginia's .970 fielding percentage leads the ACC, while Carolina is just behind at .965. That the Tar Heel percentage is that high might be surprising. They committed three errors in the loss to Winthrop and have been plagued by spotty defense in several other losses. Against a team that thrives on pushing across one run at a time, free bases and extra outs will be treacherous.
The Cavaliers and Tar Heels have been interesting contrasts throughout the season. Now, finally, we get to see how they match up on the field--with no Gametracker needed.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. He is the coauthor of the official book of the 2005 championship season, Led By Their Dreams, and his book on Roy Williams's first season at Carolina, Going Home Again, is now available in bookstores. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly or learn more about Going Home Again, click here.
