When freshman infielder Ryan McCurdy steps onto the field Friday, he will see a familiar face in the opposing dugout.
McCurdy will be reunited with high school friend Ryan Hudson, a senior catcher for Virginia, when Duke (21-11, 2-10 ACC) and the No. 6 Cavaliers (27-6, 8-4) square off in a three-game series this weekend at Davenport Field in Charlottesville, Va.
The Tampa, Fla., natives played at H.B. Plant High School. Although McCurdy never actually played with Hudson, he is still close friends with the catcher and his family.
"He played his senior year when I was a freshman, so I was on JV," McCurdy said. "I didn't actually have a chance to play with him. I just know him, but it'd be fun to play against him."
Often times in the off-season, McCurdy will play with Hudson and his family. McCurdy said Hudson has always maintained a positive attitude, teaching him to never let his poor days on the field affect the play of his teammates.
"Whenever he struggled, he never let that influence anyone else," McCurdy said.
Since his days at H.B. Plant, Hudson mostly has been a backup at Virginia, starting only four games this year.
When McCurdy does step up to the plate, however, potentially meeting with his old friend will probably be the last thing on his mind.
Led by a strong pitching staff, Virginia has allowed more than five runs only five times. The Cavaliers' pitchers have given up a mere 2.44 earned runs per game and have posted five shutouts on the year, as opposed to Duke's one.
Over the three game series, the Cavaliers expect to send Jacob Thompson, Matt Packer and Sean Doolittle, who are a combined 15-3 and have ERAs of 1.75, 3.12 and 2.74, respectively.
"Virginia's a club that's pretty well rounded but built on pitching and defense," head coach Sean McNally said. "We saw two of their three starters last year in Thompson and Doolittle. They're very good, they're very polished and straight throwers."
Virginia enters Friday's game coming off a 5-2 loss to VMI Tuesday.
Duke, on the other hand, hopes the momentum from its 17-12 win at Davidson Tuesday will carry over into this series. In that game, the Blue Devils knocked out 19 hits and four home runs.
"It's nice to see us build some momentum in that Florida State series and carry it through Davidson," McNally said.
After playing No. 1 Florida State last weekend and with No. 2 North Carolina on the docket next, this weekend will be the second of three straight in which the Blue Devils will face top-10 opponents.
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