In reality, the pitching and hitting have been somewhat inconsistent. There are games that we have won that we had a limited number of hits, albiet strategically timed... Certain hitters are going through swings and mini-slumps against better teams. Yes, pitching has help hold opponents to certain numbers of runs. But, in reality, the defense has kept some runs off the scoreboard that would have been tagged to the pitchers. Pitcher ERAs would be higher without the stellar defense. If you think of the plays at the plate earlier in the season, the triple play on Saturday, getting the lead runner, the high fielding percentage.... the defense has been the main difference. I said this yesterday, but past versions of VT teams would likely have lost some of these games compared to the defense of this year's team. The key is will the pitching and hitting be there with the defense for series against say FSU or the regionals ** Edited by VAHokie89 at 3/31/2025, 3:12:44 PM ** Edited by VAHokie89 at 3/31/2025, 3:13:09 PM