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Coach Brian O’Connor’s team fell 7-5 to Miami Sunday. |
From a baseball fan’s point-of-view, the rubber match between No. 4 Miami and No. 7 Virginia had everything you could ask for: beautiful weather, marquis match-ups and gritty performances on both sides.
The only thing missing for Virginia? A win. Ironic, considering when Miami came to town, Virginia was riding an 18-game winning streak. In a game that featured four lead changes in only eight innings of play (because of ACC travel restrictions), Miami landed on top 7-5, stealing both the win over the Cavs and an ACC road series win.
But if they couldn’t pull out the win, Virginia Coach Brian O’Connor will take some solace in the fact that his team provided a gritty, hard-fought battle.
“I think its great,” O’Connor said of his team’s mental outlook. “I think it’s refreshing. I think if you are a fan of our baseball program or a fan in general, you come out and watch this team compete, you’ve got to have a smile on your face. They’re not coming through all the time, nobody does in the game of baseball but these guys compete, there is no question.”
Despite playing with a roster that includes 13 freshmen, the Cavaliers are firmly confident in their abilities when the game is on the line.
“Every guy on the team, I have confidence in,” freshman John Hicks said. “It’s the same way for everyone. We all believe we’re going to do it if we have the opportunity.”
That “never-say-die” attitude was more than evident in Virginia’s three-game weekend set with Miami. Virginia successfully battled back from four deficits in the three-game series
Take Virginia’s final at-bat Sunday for example. Virginia had already come back two times in this game and headed to the plate down two runs, 7-5. With one of the league’s best closers, Kyle Bellamy on the hill, the Hoos refused to go away. After a groundout by John Bivens , both Jarrett Parker and Tyler Cannon worked walks from Bellamy. With their 3-4 hitters headed to the dish, O’Connor felt confident.
“Bellamy is good. He has shown a little bit of a wild streak yesterday and today, which is uncharacteristic of him but those are the guys you want at the plate, you know your three and four-hole hitters.”
Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, another comeback was not in the cards Sunday afternoon as Bellamy struck out Phil Gosselin and Dan Grovatt back-to-back to end the game.
But O’Connor expressed confidence in his hitters after the game, deferring instead to the big picture.
“Danny [Grovatt] had a really tough weekend. He did not swing the bat like he is capable of and he knows that. He’s done a lot of great things for us this year and last year and I know he’ll be right back on Tuesday…. They are 18-22 years old, they are not paid professionals, they aren’t going to do it every time but they love to compete,” he said. “That’s pretty rewarding.”
While O’Connor expressed patience with his young hitters, he also said definitively that over 20 runners left in scoring position this weekend against an ACC rival was just not acceptable, especially at home.
“Offensively, we left, jeez, 10 or 11 runners on today and yesterday it was 10. To beat a quality opponent in this league that’s just not going to cut it. That’s unfortunately what it came down to.”
Virginia has shown repetitively in the last few weeks that they have both the will and the offensive tools to mount multiple comebacks inside the game. What no one, including O’Connor is sure of, is how the Cavaliers will respond to losing their first series of the season and being knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten.
“I’m not that concerned about it, it’s just a question mark. … That is always the big question mark with a young team, how they react to that part of it. That’s the ups and downs of a college baseball season. I think they’ve got a lot of character in them. It means a lot to them obviously. I think they’ll handle it the right way.
To Hicks at least, age isn’t and shouldn’t be a factor.
“I’ve never heard any of us say anything about how young we are. … It doesn’t make any difference to us,” Hicks said. “We’re all pretty good ball players. Age doesn’t matter to us. We just want to come out and produce every day.”
Wahoo Weekend Update
Saturday: No. 4 Miami 4 (17-4,6-2 ACC), No. 7 Virginia 3 (19-1,5-1 ACC)
The Cavaliers saw their 19-game win streak snapped as a result of heart-stopping theatrics on the game’s final play. Virginia allowed Miami to charge back with a 4-run seventh inning, only to load the bases in the ninth. After a Dan Grovatt strikeout for the game’s final out, the ball bounced away from the Canes’ catcher, setting up a play at the plate. Confusion ensued over whether or not Kyle Bellamy, Miami’s closer, had to tag Grovatt. The bases were loaded, meaning it was a force out at the plate and no tag was necessary. Virginia starter Andrew Carraway gave the Cavs another solid start with 6.2 innings on the hill.
Friday: No. 7 Virginia 9 (19-0,5-0 ACC) , No. 4 Miami 4 (16-4,5-2 ACC)
Behind strong pitching and timely hitting, Virginia battled past Miami for its 19th consecutive win to open the series. The Cavaliers broke open a 3-3 tie in the fifth with two runs and followed with runs in both the eighth and ninth. Virginia’s offensive production came against All-American Miami pitcher Chris Hernandez, handing the southpaw his first collegiate loss.
