Don't blame the Virginia Cavaliers if they never want to see another pitch from the University of Miami.
They didn't get a good look at many this weekend.
The top-ranked Hurricanes didn't just sweep the 16th-ranked Cavaliers; UM's pitching staff blew through Virginia's lineup as if it wasn't there, topping off the three-game sweep with a 10-0 victory Sunday afternoon.
The Cavaliers, who showed up in Coral Gables on Friday with a team batting average of .299, managed 13 hits over three games, and batted .144 for the series.
''This was an incredible weekend for us,'' said Enrique Garcia, who pitched his best game of the season, shutting out Virginia for seven innings on three hits, while striking out five and walking two.
''Virginia came in with a highly touted pitching staff, but everyone pitched great this weekend,'' he said. ``I think our pitching staff is a little underrated. I think we showed some people this weekend.''
The Hurricanes allowed two earned runs over 28 innings (0.64 ERA), and did not allow a run in 26 of the 28 innings.
The Canes (36-5, 20-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) managed to squeak by in the first two games, winning 1-0 on Friday and 4-3 in 10 innings Saturday. UM was hitting .186 over the first two games against what coach Jim Morris called ``the best pitching staff we've seen this year.''
Morris wasn't happy after Saturday night, saying, ``I'd like to see them show more energy.''
They lit it up Sunday.
UM third baseman Mark Sobolewski produced twice as many runs Sunday as Virginia produced all weekend.
Sobolewski drove in a run in a three-run first with a groundout, hit his fifth homer of the season -- a three-run shot in the fifth -- and drove in two more in the sixth with a double to give UM a 9-0 lead.
Virginia's Andrew Carraway, who had the fourth-lowest ERA (2.82) in the ACC, was the victim. He lasted 4 1/3 innings and never recovered from Sobolewski's homer.
Dennis Rabin followed Sobolewski with a shot off the wall in right field for a double, and Ryan Jackson knocked out Carraway with his second RBI single of the game.
''We had more energy today,'' said Morris, who watched the Canes pound out 16 hits. ``We were swinging the bats, and we had a lot more to be excited about in the dugout.''
The only scare of the day came when Yonder Alonso left the game after a rough slide at the plate in the sixth. Alonso, who leads UM in homers (12) and RBI (44), was safe, but the hard slide scared the crowd at Mark Light Field.
''He's fine,'' Morris said. ``It's just a bruise on his leg.''
With first base open, Virginia intentionally walked Alonso in the fifth and elected to face Sobolewski, who smacked a 1-0 pitch over the wall.
''It will make them think the next time they walk Yonder,'' Morris said. ``And the game was on TV so [the ACC teams] saw it, and it will make everyone think the next time they walk Yonder.''
But the story of this series was UM's pitching. Chris Hernandez, Eric Erickson and Garcia -- UM's 1-2-3 in the rotation -- pitched well.
The Hurricanes, who had a team ERA of 4.13 when the series started, have 10 games left in the regular season, and Morris figures there is no better time to get his pitching in line for the stretch run -- and a chance at the College World Series and a national title.
''They will have three or four more starts to get to the promised land,'' he said. ``And they are gaining confidence.
``I think that [our pitching] could be the difference. If you are going to win [it all] you have got to have pitching. All three of our starters have been very good, and this was a good day for Enrique.
''It's a confidence thing,'' Morris said.
``He feels good about himself right now.''
It's not an accident.
''I have been bearing down lately,'' said Garcia, who had a 6.18 ERA before Sunday. ``It's time to get serious.
``You don't have to throw that good at the beginning of the year, but you have to at the end.''
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