Latest Field of 64 Projections See Virginia Baseball Slide in National Seeding

Virginia has not been playing their best as of late and it could cost them when the NCAA Tournament field

Just a short time ago, it seemed like Virginia baseball was a lock to host a regional and be among the top seeds in the NCAA Tournament. That is still a possibility, but the Cavaliers recent play has made that tougher. Before beating George Mason on Tuesday, UVA was coming off getting swept in their ACC series this past weekend and the offense has really struggled. There is still time to get things turned around, but Chris Pollard's team is in a bit of a funk right now.

We are still three weeks away from the start of the ACC Tournament, but that is getting closer and then it will be selection Monday.

The latest field of 64 projections are here from D1Baseball and Virginia is no longer hosting a regional. The D1 staff projected Virginia as the No. 26 overall seed and the No. 2 seed in the Lawrence regional, hosted by Kansas. The Jayhawks are the top team in the Big 12 and the other teams included in the regional include Missouri State and Oral Roberts.

Would ths be a favorable regional?

That depends on if the bats for UVA have woken up. If not, this could be a quick exit for them. If so, they have the opportunity to not just compete in the regional, but win it. Kansas has been one of the hottest teams in the Big 12, and Missouri State is not an opponent that should be overlooked.

Will the win against George Mason on Tuesday prove to be a catalyst for this team heading into the final stretch? Pollard was pleased with how the team bounced back after a tough weekend on the road:

"I thought the job by our pitching staff to limit free offense was huge. That is a team that is really good at the bunt game and the straight steal game. Not to give them anything free to capitalize and turn into offense with no walks. That team doesn’t strike out much and we were able to keep them off the bases. The handful of times they had baserunners, I thought Coach Kirkpatrick did a great job managing the run game with picks and timing holds. I thought it was a really well-pitched game and a really well-called game by Brady Kirkpatrick. The big two-out RBI at-bat by Jake Weatherspoon, but for me, the player of the game was RJ Holmes. I am just really proud of the player that he is growing into and how he has taken advantage of this opportunity that he has gotten.”

UVA has a double header against Radford on Sunday, a series against Cal next weekend, a midweek game vs Richmond, and then an ACC series against Louisville to close out the season. Virginia has a chance to finish strong and get back in the regional hosting conversation.