Baseball in first place paradise

Adam Stern
Sports Editor

Exactly halfway through this season’s conference schedule, VCU is unexpectedly at the top of the heap in the CAA and shows no signs of slowing down following a three-game thumping over Hofstra in Hempstead N.Y. this weekend.

The Rams followed up last weekend’s away sweep of Towson by bringing even more heat this weekend in a three-game thumping over the Pride, pounding in 38 runs off of 49 hits and not winning any of the games by fewer than six runs.

VCU is still tied with second place James Madison in the wins column with 11, but the Dukes have three more losses, leaving the Rams in sole possession of first place.

Rounding out the top four (critical in baseball because only the top quartet makes the conference tournament), George Mason and UNC Wilmington are tied for third place, each with a record of 7-5.

Georgia State, VCU’s opponents this weekend in what will be the Rams’ second-to-last home series of the season, are in fifth with a record of 5-4.

Amazingly, despite the near perfect record in conference play, VCU doesn’t have one batter in the top 10 of any of the Triple Crown categories (hitting percentage,

Redshirt-junior Joe Van Meter (Oyster Bay N.Y./Arizona State) is eighth in hits with 51, leads the league in triples with five and is third in stolen bases with 11.

VCU’s starting pitching staff is faring slightly better in the statistical department, particularly sophomore Seth Cutler-Voltz (Richmond/Henrico). The Henrico product is now 5-2 after picking up another victory this weekend following his first ever shutout last weekend versus Towson—his fifth in the CAA in ERA with a mark of 3.26.

Cutler-Voltz has also clocked the second most amounts of innings pitched with 66.1 and is third in strikeouts with 49.

Similarly, VCU’s bullpen, which only amassed six saves in the entirety of last season, has already seen their best reliever, senior Robbie Andrews (Covington/Alleghany), single-handily tie that mark with a league-leading six saves.

The Rams, picked to finish seventh in this season’s preseason CAA Coaches Poll, will be back in action when they face VMI on Tuesday in Lexington.