SPRING 2024 23
coaches. They also went into the preseason
with a national ranking of No. 14 according
to D1Baseball, their highest preseason rank-
ing since the 2016 season.
It is a long 1,186 miles to get back to the
College World Series, a feat the Cavaliers
haven't done in back-to-back years since
2014 and 2015. This go-around the Cava-
liers won't be lacking experience, unlike the
2021 Cavaliers who went to Omaha without
a player on the roster who had played in the
NCAA postseason.
O'Ferrall and a number of other position
players — Anderson, Harrison Didawick, Henry
Godbout, Saucke, Stephan and Woolfolk —
got their first taste of championship baseball
at its highest level.
"When you have a team that goes to
Omaha, what they learned on that journey to
get there is so pivotal," O'Connor said. "You
can talk about it all you want but there is no
replacement for experiencing it."
There is one thing for certain — win or lose,
you'll see O'Ferrall at the top of the lineup
and in the middle of the Cavalier infield with
his hard-nosed, workman-type approach, do-
ing everything he can to get Virginia back to
the promised land.
Last season, O'Ferrall shattered the program's single-season records for hits (108) and runs scored (76). (Photo courtesy UVA)
