The Hoos fell into the loser’s bracket in Greenville after dropping one 4 to 2 to host East Carolina last night.

It’s a familiar spot for most of these Hoos after the 2021 run. And that means the games are going to come fast and furious as long as the Wahoos stay alive.

They’ll battle Coastal Carolina in an elimination game at 1:00 today.

The expected pitching matchup is UVA LHP Jake Berry against Coastal Carolina RHP Michael Knorr.

Let’s take a quick look at what Knorr brings to the table.

Coastal Carolina RHP Michael Knorr (6-5 245)

5-0 / 2.81 ERA / 64.0 Innings Pitched / 10 Walks / 84 Strikeouts / .216 Batting Average Against

Knorr is in his first season at Coastal Carolina having transferred across the country from Cal State Fullerton after his third season with the Titans.

And that leads us to an interesting bit of trivia.

During the 2019 season, UVA’s third game was in the MLB4 Collegiate Baseball Tournament at Salt River Fields in Arizona. The first two games of the season were against Vanderbilt and TCU. The Hoos closed the event against Fullerton.

The starter for the Titans in that game? A freshman pitcher named Michael Knorr.

Fullerton rallied in the 9th to defeat the Hoos 6 to 5. Knorr did not factor into the decision going 4.0 innings. The Hoos touched him for 4 hits and 4 runs (2 earned). Knorr walked 3 and struck out 2 in the outing.

UVA’s Alex Tappen started in RF in that game and went 1 for 4. He’s the only Wahoo regular to have played in that game but Drew Hamrock also started in LF where he went 0 for 3 and scored a run.

Now back current Knorr. His work during the 2022 season earned him Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors.

Knorr has made 12 starts in as many appearances in 2022. He’s made starts on Sunday, Saturday, and Friday for the Chanticleers. But most recently he’s been the Saturday starter for Coastal.

His most recent outing was a start on May 27 against Troy in the Sun Belt Conference tournament. Troy won that game 6 to 4 but Knorr did not factor into the decision.

In the start against Troy, Knorr pitched 6.2 innings of 6 hit baseball. He gave up 4 runs (all earned) and walked 1 while striking out 11 batters. He threw 105 pitches in the outing.

In D1 Baseball’s 2022 Sun Belt Conference preview, they rated Knorr the third best 2022 MLB Draft prospect in the conference. D1 also tagged Knorr as the top pitcher in Greenville in their preview of the Greenville Regional. Keep in mind that Coastal’s Friday starter against the Hoos, VanScoter, was the conference pitcher of the year in the Sun Belt.

In a feature on Coastal Carolina for D1 Baseball from May 17, 2022, Aaron Fitt got Coastal Carolina head coach Gary Gilmore to go on the record about Knorr. He offered a better scouting report on Knorr than I could possibly do justice with. So I’ll simply quote that here:

“Most of the time in the fall he was 92-96, he might occasionally flash something better. Before he got hurt, heck, he was up to 99 and hitting it fairly regularly,” Gilmore said. “But I’ve coached some good guys over the years, and he may be the most consistent strike thrower of a high-velocity guy I’ve ever coached. He doesn’t walk guys, he’ll give up a home run occasionally because somebody will ambush a fastball here or there. But for the most part he just flat throws strikes, you’re gonna have to hit him to beat him. 

“For him, I still think when he gets into pro ball, he’s gotten way better at throwing to left and right, and he’s gotten better at going up and down too. His secondary stuff needs to continue to get better, he’ll throw a slider, a curve and a change, all three probably about equal, probably throws the slider a little more than the others. The slider’s in the 80-83 range, changeup’s upper 70s, and the curveball, my generation called it a get me over curveball, 72-73, not loopy but not intended to be a constant swing and miss pitch, but you get swing and miss on it when you try to catch up to 95-97. He just flips it in there, and it’s a real good pitch for him, especially when he only uses it 10 times per game. The other thing he’s learning to do is to conserve himself. We’ve pretty much reeled him in once he gets close to 100 pitches. He’ll out there and pitch 92-95, and if he gets in trouble, then he finds a way to become 94, 97, 98 real fast. He’ll use that until he gets out, then he’ll go back and just kind of settle in.”

Outlook

I’m intrigued by this challenge for the Hoos.

Knorr is going to want to pound the zone with his velocity.

The Hoos love to attack fastballs, especially early in the count.

Sometimes it leads to quick trips through the batting order without much to show for it. And sometimes it leads to large offensive outbursts.

In a way, this matchup reminds me of UVA’s Friday game against Wake Forest last year where the Deacs started RHP Ryan Cusick. Cusick would be picked 24th overall by the Atlanta Braves in the 2021 MLB Draft. He was a big bodied RHP (6-6 235 pounds) with a high velocity fastball that could run up to 100 MPH.

The Hoos tagged Cusick for 5 hits and 5 runs (all earned) in just 4.0 innings in his start in a game more known for UVA’s combined no hitter, Andrew Abbott’s dominance (16 strikeouts in 7.1 IP), and 17 to 0 UVA victory. Cusick also walked 6 and had 2 wild pitches against just 4 strikeouts.

I don’t expect Knorr to implode like Cusick did, but the profiles feel really similar to me. Max Cotier, Devin Ortiz, Jake Gelof, Chris Newell, and Kyle Teel all started in that game. And Alex Tappen had multiple at bats after pinch running although I’m not sure he saw Cusick. In any event, they’ve seen a similar pitcher albeit last season.

And there’s some historical knowledge on Knorr even if it’s dated. The Hoos will have current scouting reports and video too, obviously, but I’m still a believer in having eyes on a pitcher too.

The Hoos can have some success here if their at bats don’t turn into a race to get through the batting order as quickly as possible.

By Karl Hess

UVA sports fan since the mid 80s. Graduated from UVA in 2000. Currently residing in Virginia Beach. Also not the hoops ref.