In danger of missing the postseason altogether less than two months ago, the Virginia baseball team completed its resurrection story Saturday with another thrilling victory. The Cavaliers scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to secure a 5-4 walk-off win against Maryland and simultaneously punched a return ticket to the College World Series in Omaha.
The drama-filled finish set off another raucous celebration at Davenport Field that included everything from a dogpile near second base to players climbing the outfield walls to share high fives with the fans.
“You are proud of every team that you coach,” UVa coach Brian O’Connor said. “I have said it over the last few weeks, this one is really, really special. I couldn’t be more proud of them and how they have handled themselves. This game is a reflection of our season. We hung in there, the guys didn’t quit, and we found a way. That is what they have done all year long.”
Trailing 4-2 entering the ninth inning, the Cavaliers found another way to complete a comeback. Pavin Smith drew a lead-off walk and Robbie Coman followed with a single. Joe McCarthy walked to load the bases and Kevin Doherty – Friday’s star from the eighth spot in the batting order – walked to bring home a run. That made it 4-3 with zero outs.
That’s when Ernie Clement stepped to the plate with a chance to end the game as the nine-hole hitter. The bottom of the order delivered again. One day after Doherty’s double brought home the decisive runs in the eighth inning, Clement connected on a breaking pitch for a walk-off single that scored two runs. UVa managed to rally each day with Maryland closer Kevin Mooney, the school’s all-time saves leader, on the mound.
“I went up there pretty loose,” Clement said. “I was looking for a fastball at first, but what we saw in the report was his go-to was a breaking ball, so that turned out to be what I got and I put it in play.”
The moment immediately brought back memories of Chris Taylor’s clutch hit in 2011. Taylor, of course, carved his name into Cavalier lore in that Super Regional when he knocked home the winning runs. Down to the final out with the bases loaded in the ninth inning of that game, Taylor drilled a shot that shot through the infield and led to similar pandemonium at Davenport.
Clement’s shot carried over the third baseman’s head and landed safely in the outfield grass. Virginia’s Matt Thaiss said he called it in the dugout.
“I think I’m going to go buy a lottery ticket after this,” Thaiss said, “because I told Ernie he was going to get up that inning and he was going to come up with a big hit so I’m going to go do that first. I also told our strength and conditioning coach in the dugout that Ernie looked a lot like Chris Taylor. It all kind of worked out.”
The chance to cash a CWS ticket with those late-inning fireworks would not have been possible without a grinding effort from Brandon Waddell. The junior started the 50th game of his career for Virginia, but didn’t have his best stuff from the outset. He walked two batters and gave up a run in the top of the first inning. He let the lead-off runner reach base five times in the game and allowed single earned runs in the first, fourth, fifth, and eighth innings.
Still, Waddell battled throughout to keep the game within striking distance and finished with seven strikeouts and two walks in eight innings of work. Waddell handed the ball over to Alec Bettinger, who retired all three batters in order in the top of the ninth inning. The Wahoos’ late-inning magic took care of the rest.
“The job that Brandon Waddell did was really terrific,” O’Connor said. “Just like Connor Jones yesterday, he hung in there and gave us a chance to win. Brandon Waddell did the same thing today. There was a time in the eighth inning, we thought about going out there and getting them, but I just couldn’t take the ball out of the kid’s hand. Even though he gave up the one run, he never let it get out of reach.”
As O’Connor mentioned earlier, the comeback story Saturday certainly mirrored the comeback story of the entire season. Dealing with weather, injuries, and more, the Wahoos stood at 21-14 and 7-11 in the ACC after losing the series at Georgia Tech on April 12. That capped a stretch where Virginia had lost six of eight games. Five days later, the Cavaliers lost All-American pitcher Nathan Kirby to an injury and they entered the exam break with three straight losses. At that point in the season, the Hoos were on the outside looking in for the ACC Tournament with a 10-14 league record and missing the field there likely would have left them out of the NCAA Tournament as well.
After the break, however, the Cavaliers took series wins from Duke and North Carolina to push themselves into the ACC Tournament where they added a win against Georgia Tech. That was enough to push them into the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team. Over the last two weekends, UVa has posted a 5-0 record to return to Omaha.
This postseason surge is part of an 18-8 record since that loss at Georgia Tech on April 12 as the Hoos have put it together at the right time.
“Sure. Absolutely. There were many days and nights of frustration,” O’Connor said. “My expectations and our coaching staff’s expectations are going to be higher than anybody’s. We did learn something as a coaching staff this year and what we went through this season is a great lesson and that is that you can’t take winning for granted. Wins are hard to come by. … It just felt like all year long we just couldn’t find that consistency that we’ve become accustomed to. Wouldn’t you know it? We found it at the most important time.”
