I Don’t Believe What I Just Saw

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Virginia won its first National Championship in thrilling fashion. ~ Photo courtesy Matt Riley/Virginia Athletic Media Relations

“I don’t believe what I just saw!”

Jack Buck’s iconic call rang out across the CBS radio waves at the end of Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Trailing 4-3 with two outs in the ninth inning, the Dodgers sent Kirk Gibson in to pinch hit on two bad legs and, in his only World Series appearance, he hit a walk-off home run that jumpstarted a series win.

That call has been on my mind. Could any phrase be more fitting than that one to describe Virginia’s improbable run to the National Championship? The baseball team had been on the verge of missing the postseason altogether in April and even after rallying in May to make the field, a run to Omaha and the College World Series still seemed like a long shot.

And then THAT happened?!

Over the last month, the Hoos …

  • Went 10-2 in the NCAA Tournament, coming from behind in seven of the 10 wins.
  • Scored the go-ahead run in the fifth inning or later in all 10 wins.
  • Started off without a hit for six innings in the tournament opener against Southern California, but rallied to sweep the Lake Elsinore Regional as a cross-country three seed.
  • Took out Maryland in doubly dramatic fashion in an unexpected Charlottesville Super Regional, including a walk-off hit in Game 2 to earn a trip to the College World Series.
  • Defeated SEC teams Arkansas, Florida, and Vanderbilt at the College World Series, including an incredible 1-0 win against the high-powered Gators’ offense.
  • Overcame a loss to Vandy in the Championship Series opener to win the next two games and the National Championship. UVa became the first team in 11 years to overcome a two-run deficit in a championship game to win the contest.

I don’t believe what I just saw.

That’s all on the big picture level. There were so many individual moments that caused heads to shake and jaws to drop during the postseason journey too.

Connor Jones pitched a gem in the Lake Elsinore opener, allowing just one run on five hits, and that allowed UVa to rally from its hitless start. Brandon Waddell and Josh Sborz dominated in Omaha, helping the Hoos gut out wins with short-rest performances for the ages against Vanderbilt. In all, Waddell pitched 19 innings and allowed 12 hits with six earned runs to go with eight strikeouts at the CWS. That included a two-hit gem during the 1-0 shutout of Florida in pool play.

Sborz, the Most Outstanding Player of the College World Series, recorded three wins and a save in Omaha without allowing a single earned run in 13 innings of work. In that same 1-0 win against Florida, he knocked down a screeching comebacker at the mound and then got an out at second base that will be remembered for years.

Then there was Nathan Kirby. He made his first appearance since being injured against Miami on April 17 in a loss to Florida in pool play. But with Sborz unavailable for Game 3 of the CWS Finals, Kirby made his first relief appearance of the year and promptly struck out five of the eight batters he faced. His sliders were biting like he had never left the mound. The final out was a beautiful pitch that left the batter frozen and sent the Hoos into full celebration mode.

I don’t believe what I just saw.

The biggest surprise of the pitching staff in Omaha, however, had to be Adam Haseley. With aces Connor Jones and Brandon Waddell unavailable for an elimination game start on Tuesday, Virginia coach Brian O’Connor turned to Haseley for the start. He had not pitched since the ACC Tournament on May 23. So what did he do? He baffled Vandy for five shut-out innings and allowed only four hits.

I don’t believe what I just saw.

There were clutch hits throughout the run too. Joe McCarthy bombed one over the tall wall in right field at Lake Elsinore and scored the go-ahead run in the same game against San Diego State. He also singled and scored in the decisive 11th inning of the clincher against USC. In the CWS opener against Arkansas, he drilled his second home run of the season into the Omaha seats.

In the regional clincher, Pavin Smith sent a shot to left field to score three runs and tie the game in the eighth inning after UVa had trailed 9-5 earlier against USC. But he saved his best for last. Against Vanderbilt in the winner-take-all championship game, Smith sent the ball over the right field wall for a two-run home run in the fourth inning and then added the go-ahead RBI single in the fifth inning.

I don’t believe what I just saw.

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Kevin Doherty cleared the bases at the Super Regional as Davenport Field erupted in cheers. ~ Ian Rogol

Kevin Doherty’s big moment came in the Super Regional against Maryland. UVa trailed 3-0 entering the eighth inning of Game 1, but the Cavaliers scored two runs to cut the lead and loaded the bases after an intentional walk of McCarthy. Doherty, who had never batted at Virginia before this season as a junior pitcher, launched a line drive to deep center field that Terp center fielder LaMonte Wade dropped at the last moment while crashing into the wall. Davenport erupted as the bases emptied with Doherty celebrating on second base.

Doherty added an important single in Game 2 of the CWS Finals when he connected up the middle with two outs. The grounder bounced off of second base to prevent a possible out with the infielders closing behind the bag. It was symbolic for many Sabre.com fans as the hit that killed 2B (second base), the mythic Rule 2B that’s a message board creation along the lines of Murphy’s Law. Virginia went on to score three runs in the inning and won 3-0.

Doherty wasn’t alone with his Super Regional heroics. The Hoos trailed once again – it felt like they spent the entire tournament rallying from behind – against Maryland. This time it was 4-2 headed to the bottom of the ninth inning when UVa came through another time. Robbie Coman, who had the only RBI in the 1-0 win against Florida later in the tournament, singled among three walks as the lead dwindled to 4-3. Ernie Clement stepped into the batter’s box as the No. 9 hitter and laced a 2-2 pitch into shallow left field for the walk-off win.

Both of those Super Regional moments came against Maryland’s career saves leader Kevin Mooney.

I don’t believe what I just saw.

Wait, there’s more. In the CWS Championship Series against Vanderbilt, Game 2 remained a scoreless tie through five and a half innings. Haseley had helped UVa get there with his unexpected start. Doherty had kept things alive with his shot to 2B. Clement had added another moment to his postseason performance with an RBI single to break the tie.

But the story of the night had to be Thomas Woodruff. The senior walk-on had limited opportunities outside of pinch-running in his career before this season and even though he started 12 other games in the regular season, an elimination game in Omaha is a totally different situation. Woodruff got the outfield start with Haseley on the mound and went 3-4 hitting in the game. He completed his clutch performance when he followed Clement in the bottom of the sixth inning. He drilled a single to center field that scored two more runs and Virginia advanced 3-0.

I don’t believe what I just saw.

Finally, Kenny Towns. In the middle of many classic moments for Virginia in his career, Towns had more magic in his final run as a Cavalier. He scored a run in the Lake Elsinore opener and added three RBIs in the clincher. Towns hit an RBI single in the Super Regional opener, scoring the first run during the five-run eighth that Doherty finished off with his double. He also had an RBI single in the first inning of the second Super Regional game.

At the College World Series, Virginia opened with a critical 5-3 win against Arkansas because it kept the Hoos in the winner’s bracket of double-elimination pool play. With the game tied at 3-3, the go-ahead RBI in the eighth inning came from Towns as he fired a double deep into right field. With the season on the line in an elimination game against Florida one week later, Towns was there again with three RBIs in the 5-4 win. That included the game-winning RBI in the seventh inning when he lofted a sacrifice fly to right field.

In the final at-bat of his Cavalier career, Towns left as you would expect. With Virginia leading 3-2 in the seventh inning of the championship game, he smacked a single to center field for an RBI. That wrapped up his school record as the 28th postseason RBI of his career.

Towns also had a defensive play in the final game that may have saved the National Championship. In the bottom of the fourth inning in a 2-2 game, Vanderbilt had the go-ahead run on third base with two outs. Tyler Campbell laced a shot up the third base line that appeared to be the go-ahead hit, but diving out of nowhere to his right was Towns. He stopped the grounder from getting past the infield and rolled to his feet to fire an out to Smith across the diamond.

I don’t believe what I just saw.

All of those moments. Every moment of an unexpected, but incredible run to a National Championship. Unbelievable. No, I don’t believe what I just saw, but I’m sure glad I did.