Photo Virginia Athletics
When a team loses eight players to the MLB draft, it would be expected for them to struggle the following year. But as the national runner-up, expectations remained high for the University of Virginia. Losing a good chunk of their team, only to compete the next year has almost become second nature for the Cavaliers.
This year has been different as UVA has seen almost, human, and has seen their fair share of struggles. Whether it is injuries or inexperience, the Cavaliers have seen their fair share of obstacles early in the season.
Relying on pitching for the majority of the season, offensively the Cavaliers have relied on several freshmen until they can get their best returning hitter back in Joe McCarthy. Pavin Smith and Ernie Clement jumped out of the gate for the Cavaliers and are still producing while starting each and every game for UVA.
Another freshman has taken off after a recent switch in position, as a move to center field sparked Adam Haseley and his bat to where he was one of the key players in UVA winning four of five games this past week.
Entering the game against Georgetown the Windermere, Florida native was batting .223 on the season but after a ten hit week the freshman found himself sporting a .271 mark.
With multiple hits in four out of the five games played by UVA, Haseley was the catalyst for a Cavaliers offense that has seen its struggles. As a team, UVA ranks 11th out of 14 ACC teams in batting average, sporting a .267 combined average (league mark is .277).
In their weekend series against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Haseley nearly batted .500 out of the leadoff spot (7-for-13), and with two doubles and his first college home run slugged .615. Nearly half of his extra base hits came against the Irish, as he now sports eight on the season.
The Cavaliers are still trying to find their footing in the ACC, all though the sweep helped them move all the way into a three-way tie for second place in the Coastal division. Having Haseley at the top of the order and hitting the way he did against the Irish will go a long way in the Cavaliers pending matching against top dogs Louisville (first overall in conference) and Miami (first in Coastal).
