3 Up, 3 Down: Virginia Baseball Keys to Advancing From Hattiesburg Regional

How can Virginia advance from this week's Hattiesburg Regional and into the Super Regionals?

May 24, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; Virginia Cavaliers outfielder Harrison Didawick (34) makes a catch at the wall to end the ninth inning against the Florida State Seminoles during the ACC Baseball Tournament at Truist Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kinser-Imagn Images | Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

Virginia Baseball is back in the NCAA Tournament and they are hoping to make it to their fourth College World Series in the last six seasons. In head coach Chris Pollard's first season, he has the Hoos back in familiar territory, but is this team capable of reaching the super regionals?

At the start of the season, it looked like UVA was going to be among the top contenders in college baseball. They ranked inside the top 10 for multiple weeks, but they ended the season on a sour note, losing three consecutive ACC series to end the year and falling to 8th in the ACC standings.

This team has talent, though, and they are in a solid position to advance out of the Hattiesburg regional. How will they do it, though?

1. Offense has to re-ignite

Virginia has one of the most talented batting lineups in the ACC and when they are hitting well, this is a tough team to beat, despite some other issues on the team (we will get to later). Eric Becker (who has battled injuries), AJ Gracia, Joe Tiroly, Sam Harris, Harrison Didawick, and Jake Weatherspoon, not to mention Antonio Perrotta and Kyle Johnson, can give opponsing pitchers fits when they are playing at their best.

You can argue that this is the most talented lineup in the Hattiesburg regional and Becker and Gracia are projected to be first round picks in next April's draft.

There were glimpses of their old form last week in Charlotte. They scored 10 runs on an elite Georgia Tech team and the top of the lineup looked fantastic. It was the first tiem the Hoos had turned in a double-digit run game against an ACC team in over a month and despite losing to the Yellow Jackets, it was encouraging to see.

Southern Miss and Jacksonville State have very good offenses, but UVA is better at their best.

2. Can the bullpen step up?

The bullpen is the reason that UVA was not able to beat Georgia Tech last week. When you score 10 runs and still lose by six, something went wrong on the mound.

The starters for Virginia have been good enough, especially Henry Zatkowski, put will Virginia get enough from Noah Yoder, Lucas Hartman, Kevin Jaxel, Tyler Kapa, Thomas Stewart, Christian Lucarelli, and others? If not, it could be a very short stay in Mississippi for Virginia.

3. Starting 2-0

This sounds simplistic and it is not an easy thing to do in the NCAA, but if the Cavaliers can start 2-0 this weekend by beating Jacksonville State and in all likelihood Southern Miss, then it would shift the odds heavily in UVA's favor to come out of the regional.

With this being a double elimination style format, getting off to a strong start is essential. If Virginia loses to the Gamecocks on Friday, I don't know if they can rally to win the regional. Friday's game is going to be huge and Pollard's team should be looking to start hot and ride the momentum for the rest of the way.