From UVa:

Virginia Slugs Its Way Past Pitt, 10-3, to Take Series
Cavaliers score 10 unanswered runs to clinch series win

The Virginia baseball team finished off an ACC series win with a 10-3 victory over Pittsburgh Sunday afternoon at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. Ranked as high as No. 1 nationally, Virginia (12-1, 2-1 ACC) captured the series, two games to one, and has won its last six ACC-opening series.

The teams were forced to relocate the series to Cary following inclement weather in Charlottesville on Thursday. Virginia has played its first 13 games away from home because of poor weather and field conditions - three true road games and 10 at neutral sites.

A day after scoring two runs in their doubleheader split with Pitt (4-8, 1-2), the Cavaliers exploded for 10 runs and 13 hits Sunday. Daniel Pinero (So., Toronto, Ontario) recorded a career-high four hits and was one of three Cavaliers to homer. Eight of the Cavaliers' nine starters recorded hits as UVa matched its season high for hits.

Virginia starter Brandon Waddell (Jr., Houston, Texas) pitched six innings and allowed three runs (one earned), five hits and one walk while striking out six. Waddell (1-0) did not have his best control and hit four batters, but he stranded nine runners on base to mitigate the damage. Pitt starter Marc Berube (0-2) took the loss after allowing six runs (five earned), seven hits and a walk over four innings.

Neither team was solid defensively, with both teams committing four errors. Pitt jumped out to a 3-0 edge in the first inning, with UVa's defense committing a key miscue to fuel the inning. With one out and runners on first and second base, Alex Kowalczyk reached when Pinero booted a grounder to load the bases. Back-to-back batters, Frank Maldonado and Aaron Schnurbusch, were hit by pitches to force in a pair of runs, and Manny Pazos hit a sacrifice fly to left to make it 3-0.

Virginia responded with a vengeance, batting around and scoring five runs in its half of the opening inning. Adam Haseley (Fr., Windermere, Fla.) ripped a leadoff triple to center and scored on a Pinero single. Pavin Smith (Fr., Jupiter, Fla.) bounced a single into right, and both runners scored when Kenny Towns (Sr., Burke, Va.) tripled to the center-field wall. An Ernie Clement (Fr., Rochester, N.Y.) groundout plated Towns to make it 4-3. With two outs, Christian Lowry (Fr., Chesapeake, Va.) beat out an infield single and the throw from the catcher Pazos was errant, allowing Matt Thaiss (So., Jackson, N.J.) to score.

Thaiss homered high off the scoreboard in right-center in the third inning to make it 6-3. The blast was Thaiss's team-leading fifth home run of the season.

UVa scored off the long ball again in the seventh when Pinero went deep to left field for his third homer of the year. The Cavaliers added an unearned run later in the inning when Clement hit a two-out single to bring home Towns.

Virginia tacked a pair of runs on in the eighth on a two-run homer to right by Smith, his third of the season.

Virginia returns home Wednesday to play Old Dominion. The 4 p.m. game at Davenport Field is slated to serve as the Cavaliers' home opener.

Duke's Okafor, Notre Dame's Grant unanimous selections

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Duke freshman Jahlil Okafor and Notre Dame senior Jerian Grant lead the 2014-15 All-ACC Basketball Team, as voted upon by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association (ACSMA).

Okafor and Grant, both unanimous selections, are joined on the first team by Syracuse forward Rakeem Christmas, Virginia guard Malcolm Brogdon and Boston College guard Olivier Hanlan.

Duke's Okafor, a 6-foot-11 center from Chicago, ranks second among ACC scorers at 17.6 points per game and third in rebounding at 9.2 per contest. Okafor has scored 10 or more points in 29 of his 30 games coming into this week's New York Life ACC Tournament, and his 11 "double doubles" in points/rebounds rank fourth in the conference.

Notre Dame's Grant leads the ACC in assists at 6.7 per game and in assists-to-turnover ratio (3.23:1) and is fifth in scoring at 16.8 points per game. The 6-foot-5 guard from Bowie, Maryland, closed the season with a 19-point, eight-assist, five-rebound effort in an 81-67 victory over Clemson Saturday and has scored in double-figures in all but three games this season.

Syracuse's Christmas led the Orange and ranks third among ACC scorers at 17.5 points per game and is fourth in rebounding at 9.1 boards per contest. In addition, the 6-foot-9 senior from Philadelphia, is second in the ACC with 2.5 blocked shots per game and fifth in field goal percentage (.552).

Virginia's Brogdon, a second-team selection a year ago, leads the second-ranked Cavaliers in scoring at 13.7 points per game and is second in assists at 2.6 per game. The 6-foot-5 Atlanta, Georgia, junior is averaging 4.0 rebounds per game and is second in the ACC in free throw percentage at .860.

Boston College's Hanlan, a third-team choice last season, leads the ACC in scoring at 19.4 points per game and is ninth in assists at 4.2 per game. The Aylmer, Quebec, junior closed out the regular season having scored in double figures 24 straight games and has scored 10-or-more points in all but one game this season.

Louisville's Montrezl Harrell (15.8 ppg, 9.4 rpg) and Terry Rozier (17.0 ppg, 2.0 steals), Duke's Quinn Cook (16.0 ppg, .885 FT percentage), NC State's Trevor Lacey (16.1 ppg) and Virginia's Justin Anderson (13.4 ppg, .484 3-point field goal percentage) were voted to the second team.

North Carolina's Marcus Paige (13.5 ppg, 4.4 apg) was the leading vote-getter on the third team. Paige is joined by Duke's Tyus Jones (11.8 ppg, 5.7 apg), Notre Dame's Pat Connaughton (12.6 ppg), Virginia's Anthony Gill (11.6 ppg) and North Carolina's Brice Johnson (12.6 ppg).



2014-15 ACSMA All-ACC Teams

(First place votes in parenthesis, followed by total points)



First Team All-ACC

Jahlil Okafor, Fr., Duke (64) 320

Jerian Grant, Sr., Notre Dame (64) 320

Rakeem Christmas, Gr. Syracuse (51) 294

Malcolm Brogdon, Jr., Virginia (53) 293

Olivier Hanlan, Jr., Boston College (29) 246



Second Team All-ACC

Montrezl Harrell, Jr., Louisville (21) 220

Quinn Cook, Sr., Duke (23) 219

Terry Rozier, So., Louisville (2) 154

Trevor Lacey, Jr., NC State (2) 123

Justin Anderson, Jr., Virginia (5) 106



Third Team All-ACC

Marcus Paige, Jr., North Carolina (4) 97

Tyus Jones, Fr., Duke (2) 89

Pat Connaughton, Sr., Notre Dame 45

Anthony Gill, Jr., Virginia 42

Brice Johnson, Jr., North Carolina 40



Honorable Mention

Jamel Artis, So., Pittsburgh 33

Tonye Jekiri, Jr., Miami 32

London Perrantes, So., Virginia 31

Sheldon McClellan, Jr., Miami 31

Justise Winslow, Fr., Duke 29

Xavier Rathan-Mayes, Fr., Florida State 24

Michael Young, So., Pittsburgh 14

Angel Rodriguez, Jr., Miami 13

Codi Miller-McIntyre, Jr., Wake Forest 12

Kennedy Meeks, So.,North Carolina 10


This post was edited on 3/8 3:14 PM by BradFranklin

UVA wins 10 -3. Waddell gave up 1 earned run. Pinero had 4 hits including a HR. Smith and Thaiss also went deep.
This post was edited on 3/9 1:05 AM by richard2

Somehow, someway, he would have come flying from the side to swat that shot out of bounds.

Losing the last games of the season in back-to-back years and having it not even really faze you as a fan because the ACC regular season title was already in hand.

Boy, Brogdon is a badass!

All I could do was smile when the Louisville player's shot went in. UVA gave it all they had and it takes one supreme effort by the opponent to defeat the Cavs!

After reading Mark Titus's insights on how the committee selects teams, you KNOW a 1/16 rematch with them is coming...

Is how well-coached we were in final minutes. While we did not play particualry well or smart (what was the alley opp pass that LP tried to throw to EN with a couple of minutes left), we were great in the last two minutes. First, MB takes it hard to the hole, draws the foul and hits his free throws. We are now down 2. Needing a stop, we lock down and get it. We then run a perfect play, get MB wide open and he nails the 3. We are up 1 with 9 seconds to go. We then play the pick and roll perfect, requiring Ville's center who has not made a shot in more than a month to nail a 16 footer with a seven footer (MT) in his face. I have no idea if the arc on that shot was his normal arc, but it was a very high arc and was nearly tipped by MT. Unfortunately, it went in.

The final play was also well-designed. Unfortunately, EN threw it wide (although DA did not make a particulary good play on the ball, and I wonder if AG was supposed to be the one who catches the ball and flips it back to MB.)

Regardless, there is always a little luck in b-ball. I am very happy to have this stroke of bad luck happen to us in a meaningless regular season game rather than in the ACCT or in the NCAAs.

I'm not saying it should because he has my vote however sportscasters are talking Calipari with 9 mickyd's playing in a inferior league.should win because Kentucky is undefeated! There is NO ONE who has done close to the job Tony has done, but I think he might get robbed!

With the regular season about to wrap up this weekend, ACSMA members will be voting on All-ACC this week. This morning, Ferber takes a swing at handing out the awards. Take a look at what he came up with and then sound off with your own picks. Who would you tab for postseason honors?

Tackling the All-ACC teams

Joe Lunardi said it. We have a big lead on everybody but Kentucky for a one seed. If Justin comes back, it is a done deal. Quit worrying. No matter what happens in the ACC.

Once again most teams would have gotten blown out tonight and we could have come out of there with a win.

What happen to Gill? We are still a 1 seed as long imo as we don't lose the Thursday game of tourney. We will get to the 8 imo. Anything after will depend on matchups. This is our time. Let's go.

Here are the collective resumes of the potential 1-seeds using ESPN's RPI #s. I excluded Kentucky because they are a lock.

UVA: 5-2 vs. top 25, 8-2 vs. top 50, 15-2 vs. top 100; losses are to #4 Duke and @ #14 Louisville; SOS #25

Duke:: 6-1 vs. top 25, 10-2 vs. top 50, 17-3 vs. top 100; losses are @ #24 ND, @ #43 NCSU and vs. #60 Miami; SOS #14

Wisky: 2-2 vs. top 25, 7-2 vs. top 50, 14-2 vs. top 100; losses are vs. #4 Duke, @ #9 MD, and vs. #164 Rutgers; SOS #21

Arizona: 3-0 vs. top 25, 6-0 vs. top 50, 13-2 vs. top 100; losses are @ #84 ASU, @ #100 UNLV and @ #114 OSU; SOS #46

Nova: 6-1 vs. top 25, 11-1 vs. top 50, 16-2 vs. top 100; losses are @ #21 GTown and @ #81 Seton Hall; SOS #45

I think it's pretty clear that the 1-seeds right now are Kentucky, UVA, Duke and Nova in some order. Wisconsin and Zona are pretty far behind when it comes to top 25 wins. They would definitely need to run through their conference tourneys without a loss and then they're in the conversation.

Tweet from a few minutes ago

"I am doing great, thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers!! Miss my brothers already, but I know they will turn up for me tonight! #Hoos"



I have mixed feelings on the matter.

1. Anything to get him better quicker is great.
2. If he can't travel now I have a hard time believing he will recover and get re-conditioned in time to play any time in the ACCT
3. We might miss his energy on the bench today, the team definitely rallies around him.

My only real thought the whole game was " We are not winning the ACC Tourney or Naty without JA on the court".
His ability on D , athleticism in the open court and shot making will be needed to get that far.


Curt:
GO HOOS!!!!

Hits the game winning 3 against Murrey State.

With Duke out three starters, Roy figures out a way to lose momentum and give up a lead. Then Duke pulls their usual run with 3s. Roy on the brink again.

This post was edited on 3/7 11:01 PM by harrybear

A little more than an hour from the tip at No. 16 Louisville between the Cardinals and No. 2 UVa. We'll be back with starters and game updates shortly.

As always, have at it folks....

From UVa:

Virginia Splits Doubleheader vs. Pittsburgh
Panthers take opener, 1-0, before Cavaliers claim 2-1 win in nightcap

The Virginia baseball team opened ACC play with a doubleheader split against Pittsburgh Saturday afternoon at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. Ranked as high as No. 1 nationally, Virginia (11-1, 1-1 ACC) suffered its first defeat of 2015 with a 1-0 loss in Game 1 but bounced back to win the nightcap, 2-1.

The teams were forced to relocate the series to Cary following inclement weather in Charlottesville on Thursday.

Strong pitching was the theme of the day as the teams combined for four runs 19 hits in the doubleheader.

Game 2
UVa starting pitcher Connor Jones (So., Chesapeake, Va.) worked a career-high seven innings, allowing an earned run, four hits and one walk while striking out seven; he earned the win to pick up his fourth win in as many starts. Josh Sborz (So., McLean, Va.) pitched two scoreless innings to nab his fourth save.

Pitt starter Aaron Sandefur (1-1) fired 6 1/3 innings and allowed two earned runs, three hits and three walks in taking the defeat.

The teams combined for seven hits in the game. Virginia finished with three hits, but made them count.

After being shut out in Game 1, Virginia quickly rebounded by scoring a run in the first inning. Ernie Clement (Fr., Rochester, N.Y.) doubled on the first pitch and moved to third on an Adam Haseley (Fr., Windermere, Fla.) sacrifice bunt. Pavin Smith (Fr., Jupiter, Fla.) hit a slow grounder to second baseman Jordan Frabasilio, who fired home but Clement slid in safely just before the tag.

Pitt tied the game in the fourth inning. With two outs and Aaron Schnurbusch on first base, Nick Yarnall lifted a high fly to center that Clement lost in the lights, resulting in a run-scoring double.

UVa executed well to score the eventual winning run in the seventh. Christian Lowry (Fr., Chesapeake, Va.) hit a leadoff single and stole second. On a 2-2 count, Justin Novak (Fr., Tokyo, Japan) got down a great bunt on a pitch that was high and tight to move the runner to third. That proved key when Clement hit a fly ball to right field, with Lowry scoring on the sacrifice fly.

Pitt got a runner to third with two outs in the eighth against Sborz, but Frabasilio hit a grounder deep in the hole at shortstop on which Daniel Pinero (So., Toronto, Ontario) made a nice pick and throw to first to end the inning. Sborz then retired the Panthers 1-2-3 in the ninth inning.

Game 1
Virginia's season-opening 10-game win streak came to a halt as Pitt's T.J. Zeuch and Matt Pidich combined on the four-hit shutout. UVa was shut out for the second time in its last 193 games. Zeuch worked eight innings, allowing just four hits while striking out eight. Pidich worked a perfect ninth inning for his first save.

UVa starter Nathan Kirby (Jr., Midlothian, Va.) was the hard-luck loser after pitching seven strong innings. Kirby (3-1) allowed a run, seven hits and two walks while striking out 13. It marked Kirby's second-most strikeouts in a game in his career, behind only his 18-strikeout performance in a no-hitter at Pitt in 2014.

Kirby worked out of a bases loaded, no-out jam in the fourth inning to keep the game scoreless, striking out Schnurbusch, Manny Pazos and Frank Maldonado consecutively.

The game's lone run came in the seventh inning. With one out, Maldonado tripled to center. Kirby bounced back to strike out Eric Hess for the second out, but Ron Sherman stung the 0-1 pitch to left field to plate Maldonado.

UVa advanced only one runner past first base over the first seven innings - Matt Thaiss (So., Jackson, N.J.) on a fifth-inning double. The Cavaliers had more than one runner on base in just one inning, the eighth. With two out and runners on first and second base, pinch hitter Robbie Coman (Jr., Lake Worth, Fla.) hit a grounder up the middle that shortstop Charles Leblanc booted. The ball rolled toward second base, and Charlie Cody (Fr., Chesapeake, Va.) never stopped as he rounded third and headed home. Frabasilio picked the ball up at second and chucked it home to nail Cody at the plate by a step and keep the shutout in tact.

The 1-0 final marked UVa's first 1-0 game since winning by that count against Marshall on March 8, 2011, at Davenport Field. The Cavaliers' last 1-0 defeat came on April 25, 2008, at Miami.

The rubber game of the series is set for 1 p.m. Sunday. Live audio will be available online at VirginiaSports.com as part of the Cavaliers Live subscription package. Live statistics (GameTracker) will be available as well. The audio and live stats also can be accessed through the Virginia Sports app, which is available through iTunes. WINA 1070-AM will have the live radio broadcast in the Charlottesville area.

Tough loss, but no shame here. Great game. Two excellently coached teams and players fighting for it all game long. Hats off to Louisville.

Now we go to work. Time to take care of business and win the ACC and the NCAAT.

I love this team!

Go Hoos!!!!

Heels win keeps us probably at second two seed. C'mon UNC.

If Louisville shoots like that all year, they'd be top five still.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

Wow! Did anyone see the highlights of Belmont and Murray State! Taylor Barnette puts Belmont in as the first team in the Tournament! Wow!

Loses 1st game 1-0 Yuk

Why have I been looking at them comparing Men's and Women's programs quest to go undefeated as if it were apples an apples? Promotion doesn't require a lot of thought, does it?

Just doing a little forecasting this morning and from my perspective things couldn't be breaking better for us. We already know that we'll be on the opposite side of the bracket from Duke/ND. That leaves the biggest threats on our side UNC/Louisville, both who I feel we match up with well.

Additionally, it looks like NCSU and Miami will probably be on the Duke/ND side of the bracket. Since these are the 2 teams I worry (mildly) about most outside the "Big 5", I'm glad they might be on the opposite side of the bracket.

That would leave the Clemson/(Pitt or FSU) game winner as our first round game (none remotely scare me) and then a game verses the UNC/Louisville winner if the tourney goes chalk.

Obviously, there are still a few moving parts and nothing is given in a single-game elimination tourney, but IMHO things are breaking the way I wanted to see them break.

I want another shot at Duke so bad I can taste it.

The argument for Calipari over Bennett is that it is harder to go 29 - 0 against weaker competition with 9 McD AAs than it is to go 28 - 1 against tougher competition with players that Kentucky, UNCheat, Duke, Kansas, etc., didn't recruit. Most of Bennett's players were not top 50, many were not top 100 recruits. But it is more difficult to win with top 20 recruits apparently.

OK, let's say we buy that argument for just a moment. Then the next logical question is . . . why would Calipari and Krzyzewski and Roy and Bill Self and the rest of the elite coaches recruit a bunch of McD AAs?? I mean if the goal is to win and it is harder to win with McD AAs, why would they recruit them? Why wouldn't they make it easy on themselves and recruit guys like Bennett has?

Do you see why I'm confused? It just makes my head hurt every time I hear the argument for Calipari.