Baseball Features 
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TheSabre.com
Your source for independent coverage and discussion of University of Virginia sports
Baseball Features
The Cavaliers played old style small ball and two pitchers shut down a potent St John's offense as UVa earned a 5-3 victory over the Red Storm in the championship game of the Charlottesville Regional. Virginia posted a single-season record 50th win and advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals for the second consecutive season.
Tyler Wilson came within one strike of taming the potent St. John's offense in the bottom of the eighth inning on Sunday in the NCAA Tournament. Red Storm freshman Jeremy Baltz had other ideas. His two-run bomb, the second of the day, gave the visitors a 6-5 lead and snapped Virginia's nine-game winning streak at Davenport Field.
The Virginia baseball team used back-to-back four-run innings in the third and fourth frames to build an eight-run lead that Ole Miss could not overcome in a 13-7 Cavalier victory. For the third consecutive game, UVa notched double-digit runs as it won its third consecutive game and ninth consecutive home contest.
For the seventh time this season all nine Virginia starters recorded at least one hit as the Cavaliers tallied 16 total in a 15-4 rout of VCU in the opening game of the 2010 Charlottesville Regional. Virginia faces Ole Miss at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Ready for the Virginia baseball team to start NCAA Tournament play this Friday? Get fired up about the Hoos by reliving the series sweep against North Carolina at Davenport Field. This photo gallery features 49 images of the Cavaliers' three games with the Heels, including shots of John Hicks, Jarrett Parker, Tyler Cannon and more!
The Virginia baseball team entered the 2010 campaign coming off an ACC title and College World Series appearance in the unique position of returning all of its position players from 2009 and two-thirds of its weekend pitching rotation. Conventional wisdom: Why mess with success? But Virginia coach Brian O'Connor did not approach the year in a conventional fashion. O'Connor made, let's call them, refinements.
Jarrett Parker is a better player this year. Regardless of what some voting may say. Regardless of what some numbers look like. He's more consistent. He's making less mistakes and producing more quality at-bats. He's smarter. He's just better. Ask Virginia coach Brian O'Connor, who didn't even hesitate when the question was posed about Parker's 2010 season this week.
Greensboro, NC - For the fourth time in six games, the Hoos and Hurricanes faced one another and for the third time in those four contests, Virginia (47-11) came away with a victory. Last weekend it was pitching that led Virginia to two victories in Coral Cables as the Cavalier hurlers combined for a 3.19 ERA. Saturday, the bats came alive as UVa took home a 12-8 win.
Ugly may be the best way to describe Virginia's (46-11) lopsided 11-4 loss to Florida State (40-17) Thursday night in Greensboro as for the third consecutive time the lower seed won between the two clubs in tournament play. "Obviously today was not our day," Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said. "Plain and simple, Florida State kicked our butts."
Greensboro, NC - Top-ranked Virginia (46-10) continued where it left off during the regular season as the Cavaliers won their 17th game in 18 tries to claim the opening game of the ACC Tournament on Wednesday. Cody Winiarski pitched six innings of quality baseball, Tyler Wilson got the win thanks to some clutch hitting from the likes of Jarrett Parker, and Kevin Arico finished things off with a save.
Outstanding pitching is nothing new for Virginia baseball. Over the last three seasons the Cavaliers have finished among the top 11 in ERA in the NCAA, including two third place finishes in 2007 (2.81) and 2009 (3.23). This season the Cavaliers currently sit in 10th place nationally with a 3.61 ERA.
He deals heat, upstairs and tight or low in the opposite corner. Orange County's Derek Justice packs the biggest punch when it comes to throwing hard in Central Virginia and he's not afraid to offer it pitch after pitch. His fastball is his livelihood.
Two four-word phrases that make pitchers smile are 'inning-ending double play' and 'bottom of the order' - that is unless they are pitching against Virginia. Over the course of the season, the Cavaliers have produced 31 innings with four runs or more and 13 of those rallies have been started by guys hitting in the seven, eight or nine spots.
Kickers and closers are a lot alike. Two teams battle for two or three hours. It's now the kicker or closer's job to come out and decide the outcome. What happened in those previous three hours, in some ways, is irrelevant. The fans will talk, the radio talking heads will squawk and the writers will write about what you do in these brief moments.
"Blown saves are definitely a tough thing because you know your team is counting on you to get the job done and you let everybody down," says former Cavalier and the ACC record holder for career saves Casey Lambert. "But I think that's what separates closers from other pitchers because typically a closer is someone that's going to be able to bounce back and not harp on something for too long."
Last season the Virginia baseball team played its best baseball in the later part of the season, leading to a berth in the College World Series. But that was last year. The question is have we seen the best of the 2010 edition of Virginia baseball? That's a question skipper Brian O'Connor is somewhat reticent to answer.
Stephen Bruno Jr. is on his knees, with a ball and glove in hand. His father, Stephen Bruno Sr., stands 10 feet away. The younger Bruno turns so that his left shoulder points toward his father, cocks, and fires, and the ball smacks into Bruno Sr.'s glove directly in front of his chest. The elder Bruno moves back a few feet; again, his son hits the target. Back and back goes Bruno Sr., until his son can no longer hit the glove with pinpoint accuracy. At that point, the elder Bruno begins to move in, and the drill is repeated until he is back at the starting distance. For the 6-year-old Bruno Jr., it was the beginning of a baseball career that has only gotten brighter.
Last season, the Virginia baseball team made its exit from Omaha after three games. The Cavaliers, in their first-ever trip to the College World Series, lost to eventual-champion LSU, beat Cal State Fullerton, and lost to Arkansas to end their dream run. The Hoos were young, untested, and a newcomer to the national stage.
There is no such anonymity this season for the Cavaliers. The entire college baseball world knows about Virginia. And perhaps the most amazing aspect of this No. 1 team is, in fact, it's relative youth.
The Virginia baseball team has won three straight ACC series, including a pair of strong weekend showings at Davenport Field. The Hoos swept Boston College and took 2 of 3 games against Clemson. Check out some photos of Tyler Cannon, Keith Werman, Robert Morey, and other Hoos in this EDGE gallery that features 71 images.
During his tenure at Virginia, senior shortstop Tyler Cannon has emerged as one of the pillars of the program. His consistency and durability are truly remarkable; last season he played in 64 of 65 games played by the Cavaliers, and he is on track to repeat this feat of endurance in 2010. Cannon has played and started in 20 of 21 games thus far this season, making valuable contributions on offense and defense. Even though Major League Baseball came calling this summer, he decided to finish what he started here at Virginia.
The Virginia baseball team swept Boston College in its first ACC home series this weekend, capping the series with an 11-1 drubbing of the Eagles on Sunday at Davenport Field. Paced by third-slot starting pitcher Cody Winiarski, UVa's bullpen allowed only 8 base hits and stranded 8 batters with superior defense. The nation's top-ranked team improved to 17-3 and 5-1 in the ACC.
Coming off a phenomenal postseason run with his team returning virtually intact, Brian O'Connor's Virginia Cavaliers are a consensus top three preseason selection and most college baseball talking (or blogging) heads have them as a lock for a return trip to the College World Series. What could keep the Hoos from returning to Omaha? As we look ahead to the 2010 season, we'll tackle that and four other important questions - once we know the answers, it likely will indicate how far this team can go in the 2010 campaign.
How do you cap off an ACC tournament championship and a trip to the College World Series? For Virginia men's baseball coach Brian O'Connor, enrolling all 12 members of his 2009 recruiting class - a class recently ranked 10th nationally by Collegiate Baseball - certainly counts. Five of the 12 prospects were selected in the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft, but all five decided against turning professional and headed to Charlottesville.
OMAHA - The Cavaliers were one strike away in the top of the ninth inning Wednesday night from prolonging a dream. And that's just the beginning.
In one of the wildest finishes in College World Series history, the Cavaliers were eliminated from their first ever College World Series with a 4-3 loss. From the ninth to the 12th innings, Virginia stranded nine runners while loading the bases twice without scoring a run. At game's end, numerous Cavaliers - Franco Valdes and Andrew Carraway included - were in tears.
TheSabre.com is an independent publication and is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the University of Virginia.
Copyright © 1996-2013 TheSabre.com All Rights Reserved Privacy Policy