The weekend provided the perfect microcosm of the Virginia baseball season. A series win over No. 10 and ACC Coastal Division leading North Carolina, only marred by a potential sweep that slipped away due to more than a few pitches that got away.

“There’s some bright spots, there’s some things to build on,” UVA coach Brian O’Connor said. “We’re at the halfway point in league play, certainly you’d like to win another game or two, but we’re right in contention for everything that we want to accomplish going into the back half of the ACC season.”

With five ACC series down and five to go, Virginia sits two games back from the top of the Coastal Division as the Hoos chase back-to-back division titles. A 26-7 record, which includes two series wins over top 10 teams and a 6-4 record against ranked teams, while also ranking in the top 10 for RPI is nothing to write off.

Still, the first 32 games for UVA can slide into the classic phrase: the good, the bad and the ugly. The good: an historic offensive lineup, the bad: an up and down bullpen, and the ugly: a real conundrum in the starting rotation made worse by injuries.

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