The Virginia Cavaliers have quickly steered things in the right direction. Following a dominant series sweep over Dartmouth, UVA run-ruled William & Mary on Tuesday, 15-4 in seven innings.
Evan Blanco made his second start of the season, this time ramping up to about 50 pitches. Blanco was not his sharpest, particularly from an efficiency standpoint, but showed his steady progress in what is essentially a rehab program during these midweek games. Expect him to be reinserted into the weekend rotation some time this month.
Virginia’s offensive surge occurred entirely in the first three frames, including a 10-run third inning. Henry Ford, Eric Becker, and Jacob Ference all collected 3-hit games. Ference’s breakout game is especially important, given his struggles to stay in the lineup amidst his cold streak at the plate.
Also of note, Jack O’Connor made his first appearance in almost a calendar year. He looked sharp in a 1-2-3 inning, ticking his fastball velocity up to 97. O’Connor should be a key piece in the back end of Virginia’s bullpen down the line.
Now, the Cavaliers hope to continue their momentum into conference play which opens with a three-game set at home against Boston College.
Once again, after finishing last in the ACC with a 6.63 team ERA in 2024, the main storyline for the Eagles has been their inability to string together outs. The bullpen has especially struggled this season, holding a WHIP that approaches 2.00.
Following a 2-1 weekend against a trio of mid-major foes in the state of Virginia (wins over William & Mary and VCU and a loss to Richmond), Boston College collapsed in the ninth inning against Longwood, falling by a 13-12 final. They are 4-5 to begin the season.
The Eagles will likely roll with left-handers AJ Colarusso (8.1 IP, 7.56 ERA) and Tyler Mudd (11.2 IP, 6.17 ERA) as two of their three starters. Mudd’s performance last Sunday against VCU was a rare bright spot for Boston College this year, as he pitched into the sixth inning with just an unearned run allowed. The other weekend starter has been right-hander Erik Schroeder, although he threw on Tuesday, so he may be out of the rotation.
As much as Boston College’s pitching has been a work in progress (to put things nicely), they have gotten plenty of production from their lineup. Designated hitter Kyle Wolff is living up to his lofty expectations so far as a consistent on-base hitter that is starting to tap into his power. Without his two home run effort in a come back win over USC Upstate in February, the Eagles would be in a much bigger hole right now.
Elsewhere, the Eagles have an experienced, right-hand heavy tandem with the likes of shortstop Sam McNulty (.324/.395/.559 in 41 PA) and third baseman Patrick Roche (.282/.391/.513 in 46 PA) leading the way so far. First baseman Nick Wang is off to a slightly more modest start from a power standpoint but is another bat to look out for.
Virginia will more than likely go with the usual weekend trio of Jay Woolfolk, Tomas Valincius, and Bryson Moore. Valincius has been nothing but brilliant in his freshman campaign. Moore will look to bounce back from an outing that was cut short last weekend, while Woolfolk hopes to build on his best performance of the young season.
All games will take place in the afternoon, with a 4 p.m. start time on Friday, followed by a 1 p.m game on Saturday, and a noon first pitch on Sunday. They can each be streamed on ACC Network Extra. We will have you covered with takeaways when the series concludes.
