Virginia battles No. 8 seed East Carolina Saturday night

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Virginia will take on the hottest team in America tonight when the Cavaliers face host East Carolina in the NCAA Tournament in Greenville, N.C.

UVA (39-17) defeated Coastal Carolina in Friday night’s opening round by a 7-2 score, while ECU (43-18) walloped Coppin State, 17-1. It was the 19th straight win for the Pirates, the longest streak in the nation. East Carolina is the overall No. 8 seed in the 64-team field.

Virginia pounded out 11 hits against Coastal, led by third baseman Jake Gelof, who went 3 for 4. Left fielder Alex Tappen, freshman right fielder Casey Saucke and designated hitter Ethan Anderson each had two hits for the Cavaliers, who broke out of a bit of a hitting slump.

Coach Brian O’Connor has said that to advance in the NCAA Tournament that players need to step up offensively.

“You need multiple players to have multiple hits and multiple RBI games,” O’Connor said.

That’s exactly what he got on Friday. Gelof, Saucke and catcher Kyle Teel, all delivered two RBI each.

Virginia will need to keep that aggressive mindset at the plate tonight against the Pirates, who are expected to start left-hander D.J. Mayhue, who has 70 career games under his belt. He was a preseason All-America third-teamer by NCBWA. O’Connor will counter with lefty Brian Gursky, who is 7-2 this season with a 4.04 ERA. Gursky, a transfer from Southern Cal, has a nasty change-up among his pitching repertoire.

In ECU’s opening win Friday, Bryson Worrell blasted two home runs in the same inning, one right-handed, another left-handed, as the Pirates posted eight runs on five hits in that inning for a commanding 12-1 lead. Coach Cliff Godwin watched his team gather 14 hits in the win.

For a complete breakdown of both teams, see the graphics below. Tonight’s game starts at 7 o’clock on the ACC Network.

Greenville Regional Bracket: