Off The Bat: Champion Cavs Headed In Right Direction

Coming into the weekend, Virginia had won six straight series against Miami. Not since 2009 had the Hurricanes won a series against the Cavaliers, going 6-15 against them in that stretch.

But, this year, Miami went into the series as the No. 1 team in the country, while Virginia was unranked. And the Cavaliers had to travel to Mark Light Field, where the Hurricanes were 20-5 entering the weekend.

As it turned out, none of that mattered. Virginia took Friday night’s opener and Miami evened the series Saturday. The Cavaliers responded with a 7-3 victory Sunday in the rubber game to capture the series.

Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said he thinks the streak is more of a coincidence than anything else.

“I don’t think there’s anything to it,” he said. “We’ve had some really good games, we just happened to come out on good side of them.”

Virginia (26-17) has now won back-to-back series against ranked opponents after beating then-No. 14 North Carolina last weekend in Charlottesville. Those two series victories have the defending national champions moving in the right direction after hitting a midseason lull that saw them lose eight of 12 games and three straight ACC series from March 25 to April 10.

O’Connor said beating the Hurricanes (30-8) was big for the Cavaliers.

“Miami is one of best teams in country, so to go on the road and get a series win was big for this team,” O’Connor said. “For this particular team at the point in time we’re at, this can be big momentum builder for us.”

Virginia took an early lead Sunday, but Miami tied the game at three in the sixth inning. The Cavaliers pushed right back into the lead in the seventh on a two-run single from Matt Thaiss. They added a pair of insurance runs in the ninth, and Tommy Doyle got the final four outs to earn his second save of the series.

After losing Saturday’s game, 9-2, O’Connor said the Cavaliers’ response Sunday showed they took a step forward.

“This team is continuing to learn how to win,” he said. “To win a series against big people, it was a big step forward from a mentality standpoint.”

Virginia also dealt with a scare Thursday shortly after it arrived in Miami. On the way from the airport to its hotel, the team’s bus crashed when driver Bernard Martin lost consciousness. No Cavaliers players or coaches were injured, but Martin, 72, was taken to the hospital, where he died.

“It was a scary and then ultimately sad situation that our team went through,” O’Connor said. “I felt like our guys regrouped and handled it well—as good as they can handle it—and showed really good poise.”

On the field, Virginia got good starting pitching and enough timely hitting to support it. Righthander Connor Jones improved to 8-1, 2.08 with a win Friday night, and Thaiss (.368/.475/.546) and Pavin Smith (.319/.405/.488) continue to thrive in the heart of the order.

The Cavaliers famously pulled themselves out of a deep rut last season, heating up just in time to make a run to the national championship. This year’s team has a long way to match that success and isn’t coming out of as deep of a hole. But the Cavaliers do seem to again be rounding into form at the right time of year.

Southern Miss Takes Control In CUSA

For 27 innings this weekend, Rice and Southern Mississippi played one of the most compelling series of the year. All three games were decided by just one run, the two teams combined to make just one error all weekend and the series—and first place in Conference USA—came down to the final batter Sunday.

After splitting the first two games of the series, Southern Miss won the rubber game Sunday, 2-1, when pinch hitter Daniel Keating hit a one-out RBI single in the ninth inning off Rice closer Glenn Otto. The Golden Eagles walked off with the series win, moving a game ahead of the Owls in the conference standings.

“I’m real proud of our guys and how they ground it out to win the series,” Southern Miss coach Scott Berry said. “It was a heck of a series all the way around. Both teams really competed well.”

Runs were tough to come by all weekend, and the two teams combined for just 13 in the three games. Southern Miss’ two victories were 2-1 games, while Rice (25-13) won Saturday’s relative slugfest, 4-3. Low-scoring games seemingly would have played to the Owls’ advantage, as their 2.85 ERA coming into the weekend ranked 13th in the country.

But the Golden Eagles (29-12) proved their starting rotation of Cord Cockrell, Nick Johnson and Kirk McCarty could more than hold its own. They combined to hold the Owls to five runs in 17 2/3 innings, with McCarty delivering the best start of the weekend in the finale. The sophomore lefthander struck out eight batters and scattered nine hits and two walks, holding Rice to one run in seven innings.

McCarty did a good job of pitching around trouble, beginning in the first inning. He gave up a leadoff double, and was shaken up in a collision as he was covering second base on the play. He stayed in the game and, after walking the next batter, got out of the inning unscathed, setting the tone for the game.

“That’s really what he did all day,” Berry said. “One run on nine hits, he really pitched around some tough situations to get some all-important stops for us.”

Southern Miss was able to find just enough offense to pull out the victory and clinch its first ever three-game series win against Rice in Hattiesburg, Miss. With the victory, the Golden Eagles moved up to No. 14 in the Top 25, their highest ranking since 2011.

The series coincided with EagleFest weekend at Southern Miss, with the football team’s spring game held Saturday. That helped bring out large crowds all weekend, with a total of 11,871 fans coming to Pete Taylor Park over the three days.

What a day at The Pete! pic.twitter.com/kgMr83WRwd

— Bill McGillis (@SouthernMissAD) April 23, 2016

Saturday’s crowd of 4,950 set a stadium record for a CUSA game. Southern Miss also brought back many baseball alumni and honored former coach Corky Palmer, who is retiring from the job in the athletic department he has held since retiring as baseball coach after the 2009 season.

“They were outstanding,” Berry said. “The community embraced this series, not only because of Rice but because both teams were in first place coming in.”

Navy Opens A Broadside On Army

Army-Navy is one of college sports’ best and most storied rivalries, holding a massively important place in both teams’ schedules.

The rivalry played out on the diamond this weekend, with Navy (33-11-1) sweeping the four-game series. It was the first sweep in the series since 2012, and Navy’s first sweep against Army since 1998.

Coach Paul Kostacopoulos said it was a great feeling to finish off the sweep with a pair of wins Sunday.

“It means so much to these kids,” he said. “From the minute they walk on campus when their plebe summer starts, one of the first thing ingrained in them is they need to beat Army. For us, it’s like a mini championship inserted in the season.”

Lefthander Luke Gilligham (7-2, 1.46) started the weekend with another superb performance on the mound for the Midshipmen. He struck out 10 batters and held the Golden Knights (14-28) to two runs (no earned) on five hits and one walk in a seven-inning complete game. Navy won the game, 3-2, and never looked back.

All four of Navy’s starting pitchers worked at least into the sixth inning, and combined to hold Army to seven runs (four earned) in 26 innings.

“They were all equally good this weekend,” Kostacopoulos said. “You can’t necessarily always say that. The four starters were very good and the relievers were outstanding.”

It was also senior weekend for Navy, which Kostacopoulos said is especially important for the Midshipmen because this year’s seniors will soon move on to serving their country.

And on senior weekend, Navy got a typically strong performances from senior center fielder Robert Currie, who is now hitting .352/.456/.453 with 12 stolen bases. He is four hits and three stolen bases shy of setting program records in both categories.

“He’s going to be one of best players we’ve ever had here,” Kostacopoulos said. “He means the world to us. He’s our captain, and captain of the captains. He’s our captain, but he’s also captain of the other 30 teams. He’s really well respected here at the Naval Academy.”

The sweep kept Navy in first place in the Patriot League, a game ahead of Holy Cross. It travels to third-place Bucknell next weekend for its final conference series left before the Patriot League Tournament begins with the semifinal series.

After the emotional high of sweeping their archrival, Kostacopoulos said the Midshipmen now face the difficult task of shifting their focus to the stretch run.

“It’s one of toughest things we do here,” he said. “Win or lose against Army, it brings a lot of emotion. You’ve got to get refocused on what you have to do. You can’t deny it, it’s a championship within a season, but you’ve got to get back and refocus. We’ve got to make sure we get some senior leadership next week against Bucknell.”

Eight for Omaha

Florida, Florida State, Miami, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Texas Christian, Vanderbilt

For the first time this year, Louisville is not in this space. The Cardinals have played four road series this season, and lost them all, falling this weekend at Boston College. Louisville still ranks second in the RPI and may still end up with a national seed, thus rendering their road struggles a moot point, but it’s become a real concern. So in comes Florida State, which has had its own difficulties away from home. But having already beaten the Cardinals and sitting at first place in the ACC, the Seminoles are in better position to be awarded home-field advantage.

Eye-Catchers

Five players or programs who stood out this weekend.

Dallas Baptist: In a weekend showdown between the top two teams in the Missouri Valley Conference, Dallas Baptist swept Indiana State on the road. The Patriots (27-11) have won nine of their last 10 games and have established themselves as the team to beat in the conference.

Gene Cone, of, South Carolina: On Sunday, Cone set a program record as he extended his hitting streak to 27 games. In South Carolina’s three-game sweep of Missouri, the junior went 10-for-12 with seven runs and six RBIs. He is now hitting .377/.475/.523 this season.

Logan Gray, of, Austin Peay: In a sweep of Eastern Kentucky, Gray went 8-for-13 with three home runs and 11 RBIs. The junior has homered five times in his past six games, and is hitting .384/.471/.837 with nine home runs in 24 games this season.

Brian Serven, c, Arizona State: Serven helped Arizona State sweep its first series at Stanford since 1997, hitting the go-ahead home run in the 10th inning of its 8-7 victory Sunday. In the series, the junior went 7-for-13 with three runs and three RBIs.

Tennessee: The Volunteers (23-17) had lost their first five Southeastern Conference series entering this weekend, and dropped the first game of their series against Vanderbilt. But Tennessee rebounded to win its next two games and win the series against the Commodores for the second time in three years.

Looking Ahead

Three weekend series we’re most excited for:

(1) Florida at (6) South Carolina: The top two teams in the Southeastern Conference’s East Division will square off in Columbia for what promises to be an outstanding series. Florida will come to town as the top-ranked team in the country, while sixth-ranked South Carolina will try to hold its one-game advantage in the standings.

(13) Texas Tech at (7) Texas Christian: While both teams are coming off weekend series losses (Texas Tech to Texas, TCU at Oklahoma State), they remain first and second in the Big 12 Conference standings. The Red Raiders have a two-game lead going into the weekend and can go a long way toward winning the regular-season title with a series win this weekend. But the Horned Frogs will have home-field advantage and could be in first place themselves by the end of the weekend.

(16) Michigan vs. Michigan State: There will be plenty on the line this weekend when these intrastate rivals meet. Michigan State needs a signature series win for its postseason resume, while Michigan is a game out of first place in the Big Ten Conference. The series is split between the two campuses, with Friday and Sunday in Ann Arbor, and Saturday in East Lansing.

Two weekend series you shouldn’t overlook:

(14) Southern Mississippi at Florida Atlantic: A surprising series loss to Florida International leaves Florida Atlantic in third place in Conference USA, two games behind Southern Miss. But with the Golden Eagles coming to Boca Raton, Fla., this weekend, the Owls can make up that ground in a hurry. The Golden Eagles, meanwhile, fresh off a series win against second-place Rice, can consolidate their hold on first place.

Cincinnati at (21) East Carolina: Cincinnati has won four straight series to open American Athletic Conference play, and will now travel to face East Carolina, the defending champions. The Bearcats lead the Pirates by a game in the standings and will be looking to continue their surprising hot streak.

One midweek game to keep an eye on:

Cal Poly at California (Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET): Since meeting at Cal Poly two weeks ago, these two teams have trended in opposite directions. The Mustangs have won six games in a row to climb to the top of the Big West Conference standings. The Golden Bears have lost five of their last seven games, including back-to-back Pac-12 Conference series. Both will have a chance to pick up a needed quality win Tuesday.