There is a World Series! Cavs with a young squad (7 underclassmen starters) make history punching their first ticket to Omaha. Let's review this amazing run: Cavs as a 6 seed win 4 ACC tourney games in 4 days to capture the crown. Along the way they crush the #2 pitching prospect in the land from UNC Alex White,tagging him for 8 runs. Cavs beat Clemson and FSU (title game) as well. UVA is "rewarded" by being forced out West to the Irvine,CA regional where all they do is beat the top MLB prospect 13-0 phenom hurler SDSU's Steven Strasburg 5-1,and then proceed to thump top seeded UC Irvine twice to win the region. How are the Cavs rewarded NOW? They are forced to travel to Oxford,Miss to face the SEC co-champ Ole Miss. In game 1 the Cavs squander a 3-1 lead and lose a crushing heartbreaker on a walkoff HR in the 12th. In game 2 with the season on the line,the Cavs rally after being down to just 5 outs to win 4-3. Today down again in the 4th the Cavs tie,and proceed to put on a base-swiping clinic (6 SBs) to overwhelm Ole Miss and win the super-regional 5-1. Poor Miss is denied yet again,and I feel for them,but am jubilant and proud of the CAVS. WAHOO!




OMAHA BOUND! Cavaliers Win First Super Regional
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 06/07/2009







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Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com

Virginia earned its first trip to the College World Series Sunday with a 5-1 victory over Ole Miss.

OXFORD, Miss. – The Virginia baseball team captured its first berth in the College World Series after earning a 5-1 win over Ole Miss Sunday in front of 10,110 spectators at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field in the NCAA Oxford Super Regional. After dropping the first game of the super regional, Virginia rallied to take the final two games and win the series.

The Cavaliers will take on LSU next weekend at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb. The brackets for the CWS will be announced Monday evening following the conclusion of the super regionals.

Virginia broke a school record with its 48th victory. That tops the 2006 team’s total of 47.

Virginia’s pitching staff pulled together and scattered seven hits and just a first-inning run. Tyler Wilson (So., Midlothian, Va.) worked 3.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen to earn the win and improve to 9-3 this year. He gave up two hits and a walk while fanning three. Matt Packer (Jr., Germantown, Tenn.) pitched two scoreless innings and allowed a pair of hits while striking out one. Kevin Arico (So., Flemington, N.J.) pitched the ninth to finish off the championship.

Robert Poutier (Sr., Yorktown, Va.) started for Virginia and tossed 2.2 innings, giving up one earned run, two hits and two walks while striking out four.

Rebels’ starter Nathan Baker (4-3) pitched five innings, surrendering four runs (two earned), five hits and one walk. He struck out six.

Steven Proscia (Fr., Suffern, N.Y.) had three hits for the Cavaliers, while Phil Gosselin (So., West Chester, Pa.) and John Hicks (Fr., Sandy Hook, Va.) each added a pair.

Ole Miss (44-20) scored a run in the first inning. Jordan Henry led off with a double to right-center and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Logan Power. After Poutier struck out Matt Snyder, Matt Smith lined a single to right to plate Henry.

The Cavaliers (48-13-1) knotted the score in the fourth inning while taking advantage of their speed. With one out, Phil Gosselin (So., West Chester, Pa.) singled up the middle. After numerous tosses to first, Gosselin swiped second without a throw. Dan Grovatt (So., Tabernacle, N.J.) then walked and the two combined for a double steal. John Hicks (Fr., Sandy Hook, Va.) then lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to bring home Gosselin.

Virginia posted three runs in the fifth inning to take the lead. Steven Proscia (Fr., Suffern, N.Y.) ripped a single to left to open the inning, then stole second. Franco Valdes (Jr., Miami, Fla.) hit a 1-2 Baker offering up the middle for a single to score Proscia. John Barr (So., Ivyland, Pa.) then hit a chopper which shortstop Kevin Mort booted, allowing Valdes to move to third. One out later, Tyler Cannon (Jr., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) hit a sacrifice fly to right to bring home Valdes. Gosselin then slapped a single to right to score Barr from second and push the UVa lead to 4-1.

The Cavaliers added an insurance run in the eighth inning off Ole Miss closer Jake Morgan. Hicks led off with a double to left-center, and Hultzen followed with a single to left to move Hicks to third. Proscia then drilled a double into the left-field corner to score Hicks, with Hultzen stopping at third.

For Cavalier fans interested in following the UVa Baseball team to Omaha for the College World Series, UVa Athletics and the Virginia Athletics Foundation have partnered with Premiere Global Sports – College Division to assist you with booking your travel. Please call them toll free at 1-800-553-5527 for assistance in booking commercial air or hotel reservations. Offices will be open at 8 a.m. on Monday.





Roundup: Virginia heads to CWS for first time in school history
June 7, 2009
CBSSports.com wire reports




OXFORD, Miss. -- Virginia coach Brian O'Connor is headed home, and this time he's taking the Cavaliers along.

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O'Connor grew up watching College World Series games by his father's side and appeared there as a player and assistant coach. Now he's finally going as a head coach after leading the gutty Cavaliers to a 5-1 win over Mississippi on Sunday in Game 3 of their nail-biting super regional.

• NCAA.com: Bracket

O'Connor played at Rosenblatt Stadium with Creighton and was an assistant coach at Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish went to Omaha in 2002 under Paul Mainieri, now the coach at LSU -- and Virginia's opening opponent next weekend.

The Cavaliers got to the College World Series with pitching and defense in a series that was tight and tense.

Matt Packer, in his third appearance of the series, and three others combined for 10 strikeouts and allowed just seven hits as the Cavaliers (48-13-1) set the school record for wins in a season. Virginia improved to 5-1 since the start of the NCAA tournament, allowing just nine earned runs.

The Cavaliers' ERA against Ole Miss was 2.33 and is now 1.50 overall since they won the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament last month. They gave up just 23 hits against the Rebels, who had a .219 batting average in the series, and struck out 26 on the way to setting a school record (567) for strikeouts in a season. Full story