Cavs Prepared For Weekend Foes

Kyle Crockett and the Hoos hope for a successful regional weekend. (Photo courtesy Jim Campbell)

When the Charlottesville Region opens play Friday in the NCAA Tournament, the Virginia coaching staff will be prepared. The coaches spent time this week dissecting the three teams coming to Charlottesville. They worked through rosters, statistics, and video in an effort to prepare scouting reports for Army, UNC Wilmington, and Elon.

The Cavaliers open NCAA play with Army at 1 p.m. on Friday.

O’Connor said that “video scouting has really developed” in recent years with more games being televised through the internet. That availability helps the coaches make strategic decisions more than anything as they break down matchups, pitching strengths, and other specific details.

“It’s not that big. It’s nothing that our players see. It’s more for us as coaches to see,” O’Connor said Tuesday. “Different pitchers, what kind of pitches do they have, how quick are they to the plate out of the stretch, and little things like that that we use as coaches. … It still goes back to what we do. We’re not going to change what makes us successful.”

O’Connor’s staff had at least one video already on file for Friday’s opponent. The Cavaliers faced Army in the opening game of last season’s Charlottesville Regional too and won that game 9-1. The Hoos picked up 5 hits, 5 walks, and 6 earned runs against Black Knight ace Chris Rowley in that game. That proved to be Rowley’s only loss of the 2012 season as he posted an 11-1 record with 6 complete games and 80 strikeouts to go with only 22 walks and a .190 batting average against. His ERA finished at 2.40.

This season Rowley owns a 9-3 record with 72 strikeouts, 18 walks, and a .262 batting average allowed. His ERA is 2.68. O’Connor said Rowley uses a slider and a sinking fastball to attack hitters with the goal of drawing contact for groundball outs.

“This guy has really been very, very successful. He’s been very, very consistent in his career. Last year he was an All-American and had All-American kind of numbers. This year it looks like he’s doing about the same thing,” O’Connor said Tuesday. “He doesn’t walk anybody, doesn’t give up many home runs. He’s got pinpoint control, a good sinking fastball, a slider. His velocity is not going to overpower you, although it is good. He’s going to rely on contact and using his slider and two-seam fastball to get groundballs. He looks like he controls the running game very well. He hasn’t given up a lot of stolen bases this year.”

Rowley and his teammates have put together an 8-game winning streak entering the NCAA Tournament. The Black Knights (29-21) earned the Patriot League’s automatic bid to the tourney with a road sweep at Holy Cross. Patrick Mescher is the team’s leader with the bat. He has recorded a .345 batting average and 40 RBIs this season.

Another team in the field is also on a winning streak. Elon (32-28) has won five straight games, all in the Southern Conference Tournament to earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. Sebastian Gomez (.332 batting average) and Ryan Kinsella (.329, 20 home runs) are the top offensive threats for the Phoenix.

UNC Wilmington (37-21) rounds out the field thanks to an at-large berth from the Colonial Athletic Association. The Seahawks won the CAA regular season title. Michael Bass (.387 batting average) and Tyler Molinaro (11 home runs) top the offensive charts.

UVa is expected to start pitcher Brandon Waddell against Army.

“Knowing that we will play Army in the first ballgame, we know what kind of club they have year in and year out. They are always very, very well-coached. They are tough kids who are really fundamental. They will come here ready to play baseball, just like they were last year,” O’Connor said Monday. “We need to understand what we need to do, fundamentally, to be successful. You look at our players who played in that game last year, [Brandon] Downes, [Derek] Fisher, Nate Irving, and players like that, they all have another year under their belt, have a lot more experience, are more developed and are more consistent players than they were last year at this time. That being said, Army has that same thing, too, with some of their players. I am excited to see our guys go out there in front of this great crowd that we will have on Friday and take our first step towards hopefully ending up with a Regional championship.”