Cavalier Corner

215-pounder — he was 1-1 with a 3.47 ERA in 16 relief appearances before going down last sea- son — the question is consistency and endurance. In addition, southpaw rookies Connor Eason and Daniel Lynch could see midweek action or some extended weekend work. With a roster that includes eight first-year pitchers, O'Connor opted to go the junior college route and pick up two quality arms. Third-year right-hander Tyler Shambora went 6-2 with a 2.77 ERA and just 13 walks in 78 innings for St. Petersburg (Fla.) College in 2015, while third- year right-hander Holden Grounds worked 83 frames at Navarro College in Waxahachie, Texas, and fanned 85 with a 3.13 ERA in 2014. "When Derrick Casey went down last year and I knew that we would be replacing Kirby, Wad- dell and Sborz, we just thought it was important to go out and get a couple of guys that were a little bit older," O'Connor said of Shambora and Grounds. Whatever questions exist for the Hoos, there is no question after the 2015 title run that the Cava- liers have a winning recipe. "I think the culture they've created here and ev- erything the coaches have done for this program is wired into the team and players to move on from year to year," Thaiss said. The culture that is the core of UVA baseball is probably the reason Kuhn hasn't had a chance to soak in being the champions of college baseball. After the title, the coaches went back to recruit the right players to fit the program culture, re- main consistent, set high expectations, win at a high level and make regular trips to Omaha. It is all about passing down that legacy to the next wave of future Cavaliers. "That's absolutely our foundation," O'Connor said. "It's absolutely what I believe. It's that we're very consistent with what we do on a daily basis, and what our expectations of the players are, and how this program is operated. Because of that, I think that allowed us to end up doing what we did last year. "It kept them together enough to give us a chance. If you're inconsistent with how your program is run, or how you run your business, or whatever you do, that's going to let you down at the most important times. There's a big belief that I have on having the right team, being consistent with what your message is and how you do things as a program, and it served us well last year." The consistency of the program and its mes- sage is in part why Fitt believes Virginia is never out of the CWS hunt. "I don't expect Virginia to get back to Omaha this year, but it would be foolish to write off any "In the fall, we realized we had a completely different team than last year, and no one was going to give us credit for what we did last year when it was a new year. It's a totally different season." THIRD-YEAR CATCHER MATT THAISS CAVALIERS AT A GLANCE Head Coach: Brian O'Connor, 558-201-2 at UVA and overall (13th year) 2015 In Review: 44-24, 15-15 ACC (2nd Coastal); de- feated Vanderbilt in the College World Series Finals Lettermen Returning: 17 RETURNING LEADERS Batting Average: Matt Thaiss (.323) Runs: Daniel Pinero (60) Home Runs: Thaiss (10) RBI: Thaiss (64) ERA: Adam Haseley (2.20) Wins: Connor Jones (7)

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