The first Virginia run came on a Cameron Comer double. Comer, the catcher, wasn’t supposed to be an everyday player this season, but has harnessed that role because of injuries.
Charlie Cody scored the second run on a wild pitch. Cody’s been at UVa for four years and hasn’t cracked the everyday threshold until this season.
The third run was driven in on a single by Alex Tappen — a freshman right fielder who was thrust into the role due to a preseason injury.
“There’s a lot of young influence on the team,” Tappen said. “The more reps, more experience we get in the game, the more you understand each situation, the more we can execute and produce. It’s what we’ve been seeing the last three, four, five games.”
The point is becoming clearer and clearer for Virginia by the day — if it’s going to win this season, the winning is going to come from previously unheralded players. That was the case on Friday in a 4-0 win over No. 22 North Carolina on summer-like night at Davenport Field.
Derek Casey pitched six scoreless innings for the Cavaliers. He has not allowed a run in 15 innings following his shutout last week against Virginia Tech. The redshirt junior got into a few jams, but used double plays in the second and third inning and some timely pitching to get out of the first and sixth inning without allowing any damage.
This is a monumental series for the Cavaliers (20-14, 7-9 ACC), who dug themselves an early ACC hole after losing to some of the conference’s bottom feeders. In order for UVa to make the ACC Tournament and have a shot at the NCAA Tournament, it will take wins against the likes of the Tar Heels (22-12, 10-6 ACC) — the preseason favorite in the ACC Coastal.
“A little bit more confidence, a little bit looser,” head coach Brian O’Connor said of his team. “That comes with time, that comes with those young kids getting more and more at-bats, and gaining confidence in themselves. Certainly, we’ve proven at this point in the year that we’re a different ball club at home than we are on the road. … Our guys are playing with a lot of energy.”
The win was the fifth in the last six games for the Wahoos, and it comes at the continued assistance of Virginia’s inexperienced players.
Tappen, who hit a grand slam in Wednesday’s win over Radford, made a diving catch to start the game in right field and had the line-drive single in the third inning. Comer, who was hitting below .200 before a walk-off single in last Sunday’s 4-for-4 performance, got the scoring started in the second inning.
Of course, it was all backed up by a masterful performance from Casey. He closed his night in the sixth inning, hovering near 100 pitches with runners at second and third with two outs. But he got Ike Freeman, UNC’s hottest hitter in ACC play, to ground the ball right back to him to close out his evening.
“It was obviously a big moment,” Casey said. “I really didn’t want him to get a hit. I was trying to throw strikes, as I’d been struggling with that all day.”
Trouble throwing strikes was why he couldn’t go more than six innings. But it was Andrew Abbott who closed out the evening for the Cavaliers without any drama.
Fitting with the theme of the night, the freshman pitched three innings and didn’t allow a baserunner, while striking out five batters and throwing just 36 pitches in workmanlike fashion.
Like many of the other regular contributors, Abbott’s role became more defined with injuries to Chesdin Harrington, Noah Murdock and Evan Sperling. He’s the first and most reliable pitcher out of O’Connor’s bullpen.
“When I went in, I was just going to try and flood the zone with strikes, just try and get ahead, stay ahead, keep people off base, so we didn’t have to use anybody else in the bullpen today,” Abbott said. “I wouldn’t say it was the best I’ve thrown; I would say I’m getting more consistent.”
When Virginia was losing weekend series, it was the injuries and young players that were at fault. Now, that youth is what’s winning those games.