2013 Baseball World Series Charlottesville Regional Breakdown
#6 Virginia, UNC-Wilmington, Elon, Army
The Virginia Cavaliers come into the postseason as the number six overall national seed and bring one of the more prolific offenses in program history to the table for this 2013 Charlottesville Regional. The Cavaliers at 47-10 have earned the right to host for the fourth year in a row, joining South Carolina and UCLA as the only other schools nationally to do so. This is a testament to the consistency of the total overall program under the direction of Head Coach Brian O’Connor and the assistant coaching tandem of Kevin McMullan and pitching coach Karl Kuhn. The bar has been raised and no matter how many players they lose to the draft, you can pretty much bet on 40 plus wins and a Regional host opportunity for the program on an annual basis. The biggest difference this year for the Cavaliers has been their ability to just put the hammer down offensively and pound ACC pitching into submission. For example, Virginia, in the last weekend of the regular season, came ever so close to sweeping the number one overall national seed North Carolina right in their backyard. Mike Papi sets the tone for this offense with his .400 average and has great power at the top of the lineup. Brandon Downes, Kenny Townes and Derek Fisher also provide power to the Cavalier lineup, which has seven players posting over a .300 batting average this season. Scott Silverstein and Nick Howard have been solid on the mound by making the batters put the ball in play, not walking guys, and limiting opponent’s opportunities to match the Virginia offense on a consistent basis. The depth in this rotation, along with arguably the most dynamic offense in Brian O’Connor’s tenure, should be enough to allow for a deep run at the College World Series.
The number two seed in the Charlottesville Regional is the regular season champion from the Colonial Athletic Conference, the North Carolina Wilmington Seahawks. As one of the top mid-majors in the country, the Seahawks have been a consistently tough opponent in Regional play over the years. They are led by Michael Bass who sets the tempo of the offense with a .387 batting average. Tyler Molinaro, a local kid from Charlottesville and Albemarle High School, has a team leading 11 home runs this season.
The number three seed is Elon out of the Southern Conference. Elon is in the tournament for the sixth time in their 14 years of existence, which is a very impressive feat. The key for the Phoenix is Ryan Kinsella, who has hit 20 homeruns this season. It will be important for opponents to limit the amount of runners on base and give him solo homeruns instead of three-run homers that can change the dynamics of a game very quickly.
The number four seed belongs to the Army Black Knights, the champions of the Patriot League. They will be battling Virginia in a rematch of the opener in the 2012 Charlottesville Regional when the Cavaliers won 9-1. Chris Rowley is the ace on the mound and will have the task of trying to slow down a very explosive Virginia offensive attack. Patrick Mescher leads things offensively with a .345 batting average and has driven in 40 runs so far this season.
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