Cavs don beards for stretch run

By Jay Jenkins

Published: May 12, 2008

Hitting his 10th homer in just his 35th game Sunday did not ease the verbal jabs thrown in the direction of former Virginia standout Sean Doolittle’s direction.
Now with the Stockton Ports, the Class A team for the Oakland A’s, Doolittle tried unsuccessfully last year to bleach his pencil-thin playoff moustache to gain street cred inside Virginia’s clubhouse.
Virginia’s baseball players at back at it — for better or worse — and have tweaked the idea that was spoiled when eventual national champion Oregon State won the Charlottesville regional.
This year, the Cavaliers have decided to — or at least attempt to — grow beards.
“We are doing a little push for the postseason thing,” explained Virginia pitcher Pat McAnaney. “We are just trying something to get everybody fired up.”
Jeremy Farrell, who connected on a two-run game-winning bloop single Sunday to beat No. 2 UNC, 5-4, had some help with his from the team’s beard stylist, catcher Franco Valdes.
“I have to keep it classy,” Farrell joked. “Franco lined me up. Now, I have a little Latin flavor.”
The move is symbolic of a team facing the pressure of playing its way into the NCAA tournament, which it has played every year since 2004.
Virginia (34-17, 14-13 ACC) currently is in solid standing for the NCAA tournament with the 24th-best RPI and a ticket punched for the ACC Tournament next week as the fifth or sixth seed.
The Cavaliers’ fate could change with six games scheduled in the next 12 days, a stretch that starts tonight at home against VMI at 6 p.m. UVa also hosts Georgia Tech, which is ranked in several of the polls, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
“I don’t think [the North Carolina win] plays a factor in that, quite frankly,” said Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said. “How we do against Georgia Tech and how we do in the ACC Tournament is going to determine this team’s fate. I really believe that. We have got three games with Georgia Tech next weekend and then we are going to have guaranteed three high-RPI games in our conference tournament.
“If we do not do the job in those six games — that doesn’t mean win all of them or win our share of those games — we could not like the news on NCAA selection day because of not having wins against high RPI teams. We just haven’t done it this year, but are going to have opportunities in the next six league games.”
Virginia and every other ACC team can take solace in the fact that from this point forward, baseball can become the top priority as final exams are completed.
“It’s kind of like being a pro player a little, I would imagine,” said pitcher Andrew Carraway. “You are done with school, you are done with all the distractions. It’s just baseball.
“I think it brings us closer together.”
Avoiding being known as the team that ended the NCAA tournament run is not something any of the players want to be classified as, according to Carraway.
“Nobody wants to end their career on that note. We have a lot of guys that don’t know what the next year holds for us, and you can tell with [Sunday’s] game that everybody is leaving it all on the field.
“That’s the only way to play the game. That’s the way everyone wants to be remembered.”
Inside the rotation
Jake Cowan, a rookie right-hander, will get the start tonight on the mound for Virginia against VMI.
A 14th-round draft pick last summer by the Boston Red Sox, Cowan is 2-1 on the season with a 2.77 ERA and is averaging almost a strikeout per inning.
The player that will follow Cowan on Thursday against Georgia Tech, however, remains a mystery.
On Monday during his weekly coach’s show, O’Connor said his rotation would have a new look for the series with the Yellow Jackets. The skipper did not elaborate, but said junior Jacob Thompson and senior Pat McAnaney would start a contest in the series.
Supporting the troops
It has not been uncommon for O’Connor to ask members of various branches of the military to speak to his players during his tenure.
With that as one of the driving forces, Virginia’s program has established Military Appreciation Night. For tonight’s contest, fans with a military ID may purchase up to four tickets at the reduced rate of $4 apiece. A limited number of hot dogs for $1 will also be available for fans in attendance.