The Virginia Cavaliers baseball team is concentrating on one game at a time as the end of April brings the postseason closer, according to comments made by head coach Chris Pollard on April 23. Recent projections from D1Baseball and Baseball America have placed Virginia as a No. 2 seed in an NCAA regional, but Pollard said he has not discussed these scenarios with his players.
Pollard said after Virginia’s comeback win over Liberty, “Never comes up. We never address it. We try to be 1-0 every day. So today was about facing off against a really good Liberty team.” He emphasized that the team’s focus remains on daily improvement: “We don’t talk about anything other than trying to win the day that we have. I think we talk a lot about being process-driven. and process only knows now. And that’s what we try to do, be really good at winning now.”
Virginia rallied from behind to defeat Liberty 5-4 at Disharoon Park, overcoming a three-run deficit by scoring two runs each in the fifth and sixth innings while relievers Lucas Hartman and Tyler Kapa held off Liberty’s offense late in the game.
Junior third baseman Noah Murray called it “a big win for us against a really solid ball club.” Sophomore pitcher Max Stammel contributed with five strikeouts over nearly four innings and said of his midweek role, “I love to pitch, whatever… As long as I’m going out on the field, I’m a happy man.” Pollard praised Stammel’s attitude: “No complaint, no pout. Just continued to work at his craft.”
Both Hartman and Kapa were recognized as semifinalists for national pitching awards following their performances this season; Hartman is now 8-0 with a 2.39 earned-run average while Kapa holds a 1.48 ERA.
Despite missing key players AJ Gracia and Eric Becker due to injuries—both considered day-to-day—the Cavaliers extended their winning streak ahead of an upcoming series against Pittsburgh.
Reflecting on recent games and team development through adversity, Pollard said, “This team hasn’t always been tough… we’ve started to become a really tough group.” Murray added that with some teammates sidelined, “everybody’s got a job to do,” emphasizing collective effort moving forward.
As they approach crucial games leading into tournament play, Murray summarized their mindset: “We’re just trying to stay in the moment as much as we can… our job as a team is to stay present and stay engaged.” Hartman credited Pollard’s leadership for helping players maintain focus: “Even during the weekend, we’re not focused on the next game… we’re focused on how we can get that win.”
