As of March 26, the UVA Baseball team had a 12-11 record, a team batting average of .287, and an average of 0.87 home runs per game. They were also recording a .427 slugging percentage, scoring 6.78 runs per game, and averaging just 2.87 extra base hits per contest.
However, as the team approaches the 2025 exam break, some improvements have been made.
Despite these improvements, UVA is still in a critical spot for NCAA Tournament consideration but fortunately controls its own fate. Two teams ahead of them in the Atlantic Coast Conference are on the schedule to finish the regular season. UVA will face the Miami Hurricanes the weekend after the break at The Dish and will wrap up the regular season at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.
The consensus is that if Virginia can win midweek games, take both series, and finish the regular season with at least a 15-12 conference record, they should be well-positioned for a postseason berth.
Head coach Brian O’Connor’s squad has been performing well over the last six weeks, winning 14 of their 19 games (.736 winning percentage), including a narrow series win over Georgia Tech in Atlanta. The Cavaliers handed the Yellow Jackets two of their eight home losses this season.
The team has been successful in the games they should win, including a thrilling 9-8 victory over VCU. In that game, O’Connor pointed to a six-run fourth inning as a key turning point, with contributions from Jimmy Nunnallee’s double and Henry Ford’s three-run home run.
UVA closed the week with a 5-1 win over Navy.
“We’re playing some of our best baseball right now, and this is the perfect time to do it,” O’Connor said. “Winning college baseball games is hard.”
The veteran coach reminded his players to stay focused as they enter the exam break.
“We can’t afford to give any games away,” he said. “It’s do-or-die time, and we’ve put ourselves in this position.”
O’Connor believes the team has responded well over the last seven games and understands the stakes.
“They know they need to play great baseball the rest of the season to have a shot at June. That’s the message we’ve been giving them.”
Since late March, the Cavaliers have seen significant improvement. Their winning percentage has surged from .521 to .736, a 30% increase. This has been largely driven by a power surge that was absent earlier in the season.
Virginia has raised its team batting average from .287 to .307, increased runs per game by 2.33 (up to 9.11), and nearly doubled their home runs per game. The team now averages 4.2 extra-base hits per game, a 1.33 improvement, and their slugging percentage has jumped 59 percentage points from .427 to .486. On top of that, their on-base percentage has risen by 14%.
Not only are the bats coming alive, but key pitchers are also returning to action as the regular season winds down. Drew Koenen, Chris Arroyo, and Bryson Moore all saw action this week ahead of the exam break.
“You need to have as many pitchers as possible available going into the postseason,” O’Connor explained, noting that they’re preparing for the ACC Tournament, where teams could play on any day.
The team took Thursday off and will have brief practices over the next few days around the exam schedules, focusing also on strength training. However, as student-athletes, their primary focus over the next week will be on academics.
“They came to UVA for a world-class education, so that’s the priority right now,” O’Connor said.
With the team’s impressive performance lately, UVA fans are hoping the strong play continues, allowing them to cheer on the ‘Hoos well into June.
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