Baseball: U.Va. downs VCU

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Fans left Davenport Field last night not knowing if the University of Virginia baseball team would play there again this season.

The Cavaliers don't know either.

U.Va., ranked No.10 by Baseball America, beat Virginia Commonwealth University 4-1 before a crowd of 1,566. It was the final regular-season game for the Wahoos (38-10-1), but they could be back at Davenport as hosts of an NCAA tournament regional.

"We're not really worrying about that right now," sophomore second baseman Phil Gosselin said. "If we play well, that stuff will take care of itself."

Spoken like a player who's been listening to his coach.

"I just think we've got to win as many games as we can," Brian O'Connor said after his team improved its home record to 29-6. "But that can't be the driving force behind what we do. We want to go down to Blacksburg this weekend and play good baseball to have a chance to win the regular-season title in our division. That's goal No.1."

Virginia, 15-9-1 in the conference, opens a three-game series at Coastal Division rival Virginia Tech (10-16, 30-20) tomorrow night. A series win, followed by a strong showing in the ACC tournament, could only enhance U.Va. in the eyes of the NCAA selection committee.

"I don't really talk to the players at all about the possibility of hosting a regional, but they're smart kids," O'Connor said. "They understand it, and they know what's at stake."

Against VCU (20-23), Virginia started freshman right-hander Will Roberts, and he pitched brilliantly. The graduate of Maggie Walker Governor's School -- a long fly ball from VCU's campus -- allowed only two hits in seven scoreless innings. He struck out six and walked none.

"He was in our gym when he was 8 years old, and in our camps when the old Richmond Braves came in, so we know him pretty well," Rams coach Paul Keyes said. "We knew he had good stuff, and he kept the ball down, and we didn't really have an answer for him."

Roberts, who said he knows about half the VCU players, retired the first 11 batters he faced.

"Will Roberts was in complete control of the game from the start," O'Connor said. "It was great to see. He proved tonight that he's got the kind of ability and kind of stuff to pitch in a fourth game of an ACC tournament or a [NCAA] regional, if we're in that kind of position."

Roberts was coming off a Friday night appearance in which he surrendered a grand slam in an 11-4 loss to Duke.

"It's a long season," Roberts said. "You've got to have a short memory, so really I wasn't thinking about the Duke game at all."

VCU, which closes the season with three games at Colonial Athletic Association rival Delaware, got a strong effort from its starter too. Right-hander Phillip Deane, a former Varina High star, went the distance and allowed only three hits. But the Rams committed two errors, and the Cavaliers stole four bases.

"Without hitting the long ball, we showed that we're still capable of manufacturing some runs," O'Connor said.

Contact Jeff White at (804) 649-6838 or .

VCU ------------------------- 000 000 010 -- 1 6 2

Virginia ------------------------- 101 001 10x -- 4 3 1

Deane and Furry; Roberts, Davis (8), Wilson (8), Arico (9) and Hicks. W: Roberts (4-0). L: Deane (2-5). Save: Arico (7).