Cavalier Corner

BY GREG WATERS T HE 2015 BASEBALL SEASON didn't go exactly as scripted. In the end, though, the Cavaliers claimed Virgin- ia's first College World Series title and the ACC's first baseball championship since 1955. But no one could have predicted the improbable run that carried the Cavs to the pinnacle of college baseball. Skipper Brian O'Connor's club started the sea- son ranked as a top-five team by every major outlet. Three All-America third-years were back with outfielder Joe McCarthy, and pitchers Nathan Kirby and Brandon Waddell, plus last year's lead- ing hitter in classmate and infielder John La Prise. Even though O'Connor and his staff began the season knowing they would need major contribu- tions from first-year players, Virginia's 2014-15 recruiting class was rated second nationally by Baseball America. Then injuries devastated the team. McCarthy went down before opening weekend for 12 weeks with back surgery. La Prise was lost for the season after just four games with a hip injury. Later, it was Kirby missing eight weeks due to a strained left lat muscle, while brief stints on the injury list to other key players were scattered through the spring. In all, projected or opening days starters missed 154 games due to injuries. Of the 544 po- sition player starts this season, rookies accounted for 44 percent of them. Mother Nature also stood in the way of Vir- ginia's success. Inclement weather forced UVa to postpone or cancel four midweek games and relocate three weekend series. In all, Virginia had 14 home games altered because of weather and played its first home game March 11. Naturally, it followed a two-hour rain delay. With all that, it's not surprising that following the exam break UVa stood at 27-18 and in jeop- ardy of not even making the 10-team ACC Tour- nament with an 11th place, 10-14 league record. None of the five publications that ranked Virginia so highly in preseason had the Hoos in their pro- jected NCAA Tournament field of 64 teams. But that's when things started to turn around. UVa concluded that weekend taking two of three games from Duke and a week later, in what became an NCAA elimination series, the Hoos swept North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., to fin- ish seventh in the conference at 15-15, earning a trip to the ACC Tournament at Durham, N.C. In typical — for the 2015 season — roller- coaster fashion, after going 7-1 following the break, including a win in the ACC play-in game, the Cavs lost all three tournament games in pool play. Despite the 1-3 finish, Virginia was awarded a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament at the Lake Elsinore (Calif.) Regional, becoming one of six Division I baseball programs to reach the NCAA Tournament in each of the last 12 seasons. UVa won its opening outing against No. 2 seed Southern California, 6-1, and moved into the re- gional finals with a hard fought, 3-1 win over fourth-seeded San Diego State. In game three, the Cavaliers again faced USC and put away a back-and-forth affair in the top of the 11th with a five-run barrage, claiming the regional title game, 14-10. After the game O'Connor stated what could have been Virginia's theme for the 2015 cam- paign. "This particular game, it certainly wasn't how you would draw it up," O'Connor quipped. "But maybe that makes it all the more special." Despite the difficulties of the season, the fact that Kirby was still on the shelf and that four rook- ies were part of the Cavaliers' everyday lineup, there was no dog pile or raucous celebration. Regional titles, Super Regional crowns and trips to the CWS in Omaha, Neb., are the expec- tations in Charlottesville. Still, O'Connor took a moment to reflect on his club's accomplishments.

• Cover