The 6-foot-2 right-hander fired one pitch after another with precision.

Virginia freshman reliever Matt Augustin understood his responsibility and wasn’t messing around.

“He’s a strike thrower. He’s going to come at you,” UVa coach Brian O’Connor said.

No kidding.

Augustin’s first 10 pitches out of the bullpen in the Cavaliers’ win over Navy on Wednesday night were all strikes. Of the 14 total pitches he threw, 13 were strikes. He retired the Midshipmen in order in the sixth and seventh innings.

“I try to throw as many strikes as possible,” Augustin said, “and then if I have to expand the [strike] zone, then I’ll expand the zone. But we were up when I came in and I just know to attack when I come in with a lead.”

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That’s exactly the kind of approach O’Connor and the Hoos would expect from any reliever and particularly in a situation like Augustin was put in on Wednesday with the Cavaliers comfortably ahead in a lopsided contest they eventually won by mercy rule in the seventh inning on Anthony Stephan’s game-ending homer.

No nibbling on the corners or trying to force hitters to chase off-speed pitches out of the strike zone. Augustin operated at a quick pace, inducing a ground out, fly out and pop out on five pitches in the sixth before getting a fly out, strike out and ground out on nine pitches in the seventh.

Virginia pitcher Matt Augustin throws during the Cavaliers' win over VCU last month at Disharoon Park.

“He pounds the strike zone with a low 90s fastball,” O’Connor said. “He’s got a good breaking ball, a good split-change and when you have that combination, you’ve got the ability to get outs in the ACC.”

The two perfect innings Augustin threw also secured UVa’s second shutout victory during its four-game winning streak, providing some proof that the Cavaliers’ pitching staff could finally be headed in the right direction.

Top starter Evan Blanco, the Hoos’ most reliable pitcher this spring, was excellent while striking out five over the first five innings on Wednesday to improve to 5-3 on the campaign. In Tuesday’s 8-4 win at VCU, the Cavaliers got scoreless appearances from starter Bryson Moore as well as relievers Ryan Osinski and Aidan Teel.

This past Saturday to take an ACC series at Boston College, five pitchers — Joe Savino, Angelo Tonas, Teel, Blake Barker and Chase Hungate — combined for a five-hit shutout. The day before, Hungate’s strong work to escape a bases-loaded jam in the eighth inning kept the score tied at 3, enabling UVa to go in front in the ninth.

“It does a ton [for confidence],” Hungate said about successfully pitching out of trouble like he did against the Eagles.

The Hoos have given up only 4.75 hits and 3.5 walks per game over the last four contests, and both of those numbers — albeit in a small sample size — are significantly down from season averages of 10.3 hits and 4.8 walks allowed per game by the Cavaliers. Over the last week, they haven’t had to outslug their opponent to win.

“There’s just been more consistency from the pitching staff,” O’Connor said after UVa’s victory against Navy.

“I’m really proud over the last handful of games with the way we have pitched,” O’Connor said. “That’s exciting, because we’re going to need good, consistent pitching to accomplish what we want to.”

Savino, a graduate transfer from Elon, missed the first two months of the season with an injury, but his return has strengthened the depth and experience of the pitching staff. He started 18 games and pitched in 50 games for the Phoenix, so he is being built up as a starter to pair in the weekend rotation with Blanco and Owen Coady, a graduate transfer from Penn who has adjusted nicely to starting after beginning the year as a reliever.

Virginia pitcher Chase Hungate (39) throws during a game against Wichita State this past February in Jacksonville, Fla.

Hungate, a side-arming righty, tops the bullpen pecking order and has been used in almost any situation, whether it’s as a long reliever like he was needed for when he threw five innings of one-run ball into extra innings in a win on April 20 against Georgia Tech, or a late-inning, high-leverage spot like when he bailed out fellow reliever Jay Woolfolk when Woolfolk walked the bases loaded last Friday at Boston College.

“Honestly, I’m just trusting my stuff, trusting the defense, trusting the pitch call,” Hungate said. “I’ve trusted everything and I’m attacking the hitters.”

He is 6-0 with a 3.08 ERA.

“Chase is a ground-ball pitcher and he fills the zone with strikes,” O’Connor said. “He believes in himself and you’re going to have to hit him to beat him, and he’s very steady and very consistent. He gets a ton of ground balls and you can win a ton of baseball games with that.”

Teel, a hard-throwing right-hander, has recorded three straight scoreless appearances, and the lefty Tonas has a 3.71 ERA while Augustin, native of Cherry Hill, New Jersey has increasingly earned more impactful opportunities in his first season at UVa.

Eight of his last 10 outings have been scoreless efforts. He earned a win against North Carolina on April 4 with his 1.1 hitless innings that finished the game.

Augustin said the older pitchers around him have taught him well and that he’s gotten advice from injured pitcher Jack O’Connor about how to further develop a slider and that Savino has shared thoughts about how to properly locate the fastball.

“[Augustin] was the guy in the middle of the season when other guys weren’t getting it done,” Brian O’Connor said, “he’d be the guy to stop it and get the big outs and there’s something to be said for that. I think that kid, in our uniform, is going to do some really good things.”

Augustin said he thinks the Cavaliers’ pitchers are trending in the right direction with the postseason nearing. UVa has only seven regular-season games left.

All seven are at home with George Washington slated to visit for a 1 p.m. contest on Wednesday ahead of a series against NC State from next Friday to Sunday and then a three-game set with rival Virginia Tech from May 16-18 to wrap up the schedule.

“It’s definitely a confidence boost for us all,” Augustin said. “It’s awesome to see each other working and if you see one guy do well, you want to keep it going and it helps everyone out.”