Charlottesville Region 2014 Baseball World Series Breakdown
#3 Virginia, Arkansas, Liberty, Bucknell
The Virginia Cavaliers secured the number three overall national seed with a very strong body of work over the course of the 2014 season. The pitching staff sets the tone led by sophomore Nathan Kirby who is 8-1, with a 1.48 earned run average on the season. They are in the top ten overall in earned run average heading into the postseason at 2.24 as a team. Nick Howard anchors the back end of games as one of the top closers in the nation. The offense has had to battle their way through some adversity at times this season but seems to be getting going after a nice showing at the ACC Tournament. Offensively, the return of Derek Fisher to the lineup only adds to the likes of sophomore outfielder Joe McCarthy and junior outfielder Mike Papa, who has 10 homeruns and 47 runs batted in on the season.
Arkansas should provide an interesting challenge for every offense in this regional as the Razorback have their usual excellent starting pitching. They will go as far as Chris Oliver, Trey Killian, and Jalen Geeks take them on the mound this weekend. The offense is not the most explosive in college baseball. Liberty is an excellent mid-major team out of the Big South that can battle with anyone nationally on a given day. The Flames are led offensively by junior infielder Ryan Seiz, who is hitting .362 with 12 homeruns and 45 runs batted in. On the mound, Liberty has some nice depth with Trey Lambert and Parker Bean combining for an 18-4 overall record. These two go deep enough in the games that should save the Flames bullpen in a loser bracket situation. The Bison of Bucknell out of the Patriot League are led by offensively by senior outfielder Corey Furman, who is hitting .388. Bucknell has three guys with multiple complete games on the mound so the key will getting into the bullpen early for teams in the Charlottesville Regional.
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