Caroline White had two priorities during her college search — the school had to be small and have a baseball team.

White grew up in a community near Philadelphia. She attended a private high school with about 30 girls in her class and desired a similarly close-knit environment for her college experience.

“The University of Richmond felt perfect. It seemed like the type of school that would let me get involved in anything I wanted to and allow me to know my professors,” she said. White, a member of the Class of 2026, says that’s exactly how it’s been over the last three years.

“I came in as an economics major and was also taking math classes just because I liked math,” she said. “Then I took an accounting class and fell in love with it.” So much so that she decided to double major in mathematical economics and accounting.

White applies the analytical skills developed through her coursework to her passion for baseball. She and her family are fervent Philadelphia Phillies fans. Many of her relatives played Little League. “I grew up going to all my brother’s games, and my cousins all played too,” she said.

White first learned about the role of data analytics in baseball while watching the film Moneyball as a preteen. The main character helped revolutionize the use of sabermetrics to evaluate the players on his major league team.

Observing pitching patterns

Last year, after meeting with coaches Mik Aoki and Josh Epstein, White joined about a dozen other analysts who sit behind the home plate every game.

The team uses Trackman technology, which captures detailed, real-time pitch data that White and her peers quickly log. “It records every pitch’s velocity, movement, and where it lands in the strike zone,” she said. “I tag every pitch, entering what type it was and what happened on it.”

The coaches use this data to track their pitchers’ development, including changes in velocity and windup effectiveness, to identify opportunities for improvement. It also helps anticipate the opponents’ pitching behavior — does the pitcher tend to throw inside or outside, high or low, and how fast?

Since baseball matchups are played in multi-game series, UR can analyze opposing pitchers’ data from the first game or two and then coach batters accordingly. “They’re looking for patterns, trying to get a sense of what to expect,” White said.

Every detail matters

White’s classes have enhanced her skills for gameday. For example, her Introductory Econometrics class has taught her the importance of accounting for skewed data. “If there’s a wild pitch in the dirt, that can throw off your averages if you don’t record it correctly,” she said. “Little details make a big difference.”

Her Managerial and Cost Accounting class bolstered her skills in Microsoft Excel, which she uses for data input. “I feel way more confident using pivot tables and building out spreadsheets,” she said.

Other extracurricular activities, such as her involvement with the Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity, have helped White further explore this subject matter. Last fall, she studied abroad at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where she took economics electives and explored the local culture.

Afternoons behind the home plate aren't merely a commitment to White; they're a refuge and a way to connect with others. “It’s always something to look forward to and provides a break, since my mind never shuts down,” she said. “And the relationships I’ve formed have been incredible.”

When the Spiders win, the experience goes from enjoyable to ecstatic. Few victories are more memorable for White than the March 30, 2024, matchup against George Mason University, in which the Spiders recovered from an 11-point deficit to win 17–16 in extra innings.

“Seeing the joy on the players’ faces is so much fun,” she said.