Cavalier Corner

body's had to talk about it," O'Connor said. "It doesn't really impact me. It doesn't impact the players. I think they understand when they decide this is where they want to play baseball that there's gonna be high expectations and so I haven't really thought about it. "I'm proud of the national championship. I'm proud that we won, but I haven't really paid atten- tion to the repeat thing." Manuel said he thinks a third trip back to the CWS Finals is unlikely for the Hoos, but for a rea- son that's more about probability than talent. "The main reason is, you're basically asking do I bet UVA or the field, and I'll take the field," he explained. Whether or not the Hoos make a return trip to the College World Series or not, the pieces are in place — like they seemingly always are for an O'Connor team — to make another run. Virginia returns seven position players from last season and should be a more potent offensive club. It starts with a trio of returning .300 hitters. Pinero has often shown stretches of being very effective at the plate, but started 2015 off with some inconsistency. He turned things around by June, hit- ting .391 (9 for 23) with a .462 on base percentage in the College World Series, and finished the year with a .308 average, a team- high 60 runs scored, six home runs and 29 RBI. Freshman All-American Pavin Smith — the 2015 title game hero, who hit the game-tying, two-run home run and then a two- out, go-ahead single in the decisive game three against Vanderbilt — is back from Tommy John surgery and is expected to at least serve as a des- ignated hitter. Last year, he hit .307 with seven homers and 44 RBI. Thaiss, who has been tabbed as a preseason second-team All-American, led the team in bat- ting average (.323), home runs (10) and RBI (64) in 2015. In addition, second-year outfielder/pitcher Adam Haseley seems to be adjusting to being a college hitter and is likely to offer a little pop with the bat. In 2015, he hit .250 with 56 runs scored, one home run and 19 RBI. O'Connor said he likes what he has coming back from an offensive and position player perspective. "We've got a lot of our offensive ball club back," O'Connor said. "We have some really good and ex- citing new players. There's a couple of things we'll need to figure out. There's who's going to play third base and who's going to be consistent over there. "I have no idea who that's going to be yet, but we've got a number of guys competing for it. And certainly, we have some spots open in the outfield and who's going to fill those roles. But, yeah, I feel good about all our ex- perienced positions player wise." D1Baseball's Aaron Fitt agreed. "There's still a lot to like in that lineup, espe- cially the Thaiss-Pinero- Smith-Haseley core," Fitt said. "And I think the Cavs will be sound on of- fense and defense." Second-year first baseman/outfielder Pavin Smith hit .307 with seven homers and 44 RBI en route to freshman All-America accolades in 2015. PHOTO BY KELSEY GRANT/COURTESY UVA

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