Cavalier Corner

innings for the save. Six days later, Waddell again faced the Gators. UF man- aged to get on the scoreboard with four runs, but the southpaw left the game with it tied at four. Virginia eventually won the contest, 5-4, to move into the CWS championship series against Vanderbilt for the second consecutive season. Asked what makes him so special when the lights are brightest, the answer came easy. "When you're a child in the backyard imaging yourself in the major leagues, you're pitching in the big game," he said. "I feel like it's something everyone wants to do. Everyone wants to be in the big game. You want to be in that situation, and I think everyone in our clubhouse wants to be in that situation. I think it comes down to making pitches, keeping it simple and trying to go out there to do your best." With the finals on the line, coach Brian O'Connor again called on "Big Game," and he did not disappoint. Waddell worked seven innings in his school record 53rd career start, surrendering a pair of first-inning runs. The veteran made the necessary adjustments to counter the Vandy of- fense and slammed the door shut, allowing just three base runners over the final six frames while retiring the final 11 hitters he faced. Behind that effort, UVa won, 4-2, to claim the 2015 CWS championship, but the pitcher's stellar performance did not come as a surprise to O'Connor. "First of all, coming into this game I knew we'd get his best," the coach explained. "How he's pitched in this championship two years in a row is pretty special and doesn't really happen. And so I knew he was going to give us everything he had." Waddell finished the season with a 5-5 record and a 3.93 ERA, but was 2-0 with a 2.62 ERA in five NCAA Tournament starts — all of which resulted in UVa wins. Not typical numbers for the star hurler, but he delivered when his club needed him the most. The title game was Waddell's 19th start of the season, tying him for the national lead. It was his fifth CWS start, which is tied for fifth most in the history of the event. In those outings, he pitched 35 innings and posted a career mark of 3-0, with UVa winning all five of those starts. He leaves Charlottesville having tallied the most career NCAA Tournament starts in program history with 11 and owning the top spot for wins with six. — Greg Waters Waddell was 2-0 with a 2.62 ERA in five starts — all UVa wins — in the NCAA Tournament. PHOTO BY MATT RILEY/COURTESY UVA

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