Evan Blanco, who will start Game 1 of the College World Series, fires a pitch for Virginia at Davenport Field. ~ Photo by Kris Wright/TheSabre.com
OMAHA, Neb. – The last time Henry Ford was in Omaha, Charles Schwab Field was being debuted to the college baseball world and Ford was far from his debut, sitting in the stands with his dad and uncle watching Virginia in the 2011 College World Series. 13 years later, the Charlottesville native sees it all from a different angle.
“Being on the field is definitely surreal and I’m just trying to soak it all in,” Ford said.
This time around Ford looks far more locked into the game and more alert to his surroundings than in 2011 when Virginia and South Carolina clashed for 13 innings.
“It’s kind of a bittersweet memory,” Ford said. “Remember just passing out at 2 a.m. and waking up to the crowd when [South Carolina] walked it off. But it was such an incredible experience, one of the best experiences of my life being here and hanging out with my dad and my uncle.”
Ford will search for better memories when he and the Cavaliers take the field against ACC rival North Carolina in the College World Series opener on Friday at 2 p.m. UVA returns 19 players from last season’s Omaha roster, who displayed a noticeably more relaxed demeanor when they first took the field on Thursday.
“It doesn’t get old, super surreal,” said UVA pitcher Evan Blanco, who will start on the mound against UNC on Friday. “It doesn’t seem like any of the young kids are nervous, which is great, their first time being on a big stage like this.”
While there is plenty of experience littered throughout the Virginia roster, the other half of players are new to “The Greatest Show on Dirt.” All-American catcher Jacob Ference has a few College World Series under his belt at the Division III level with Salisbury and feels at the end of the day all the nerves are the same.
“Ultimately the stakes of the game are the same, you try to win every game that you can, you try to win every game in front of you,” Ference said. “Play with love, play with confidence, and just go out there and win a ball game.”
With three ACC programs in Virginia, Florida State, and North Carolina along with SEC powerhouse Tennessee on the same side of the bracket, The Sabre breaks down the draw in the College World Series.
Virginia
- Opening Game: vs. North Carolina, Friday (June 14) at 2 p.m. ET
- Starting Pitcher vs. UNC: Evan Blanco
- Other Key Pitchers: Jay Woolfolk, Joe Savino, Chase Hungate, Matt Augustin
- MLB.com Draft Top-200 Players: SS Griff O’Ferrall (41), C/DH Ethan Anderson (75), OF Harrison Didawick (127), OF Casey Saucke (129)
- Path to Omaha: Virginia rode a surprise surge from the pitching staff to go 5-0 in the NCAA Tournament Regional and Super Regional rounds for the second time in program history. Starters Evan Blanco, Jay Woolfolk, and Joe Savino all pitched at least 5.2 innings and no one allowed more than 4 earned runs across the 5 starts. The bullpen comprised of Chase Hungate, Angelo Tonas, and Matt Augustin did not allow a run throughout the postseason until the 8th inning of Game 2 in the Super Regionals against Kansas State.At the plate the Cavaliers received some timely hitting from unexpected places with Charlottesville Regional co-Most Outstanding Player Eric Becker and platoon partner Luke Hanson delivering 5 RBI a piece. Second baseman Henry Godbout led the team with 6 RBI and also 2 home runs.
- Last Matchup against UNC: Virginia faced North Carolina more than two months ago at Disharoon Park, taking two out of three games against the Diamond Heels.“I think this is a totally different – that was a couple of months ago, and this is also – everyone is playing their best ball right now,” shortstop Griff O’Ferrall said.The last time the two squared off, UVA outscored UNC 28-25 over the course of the series. Both squads have seen their pitching settle in since with North Carolina leading the ACC in team ERA at 4.22.
“I think we outscored them like 28-25, it was some crazy large number,” said Blanco, who pitched a gem against UNC in April with 2 earned runs over 6.1 innings. “And I think we have done an excellent job of managing situations, getting ahead in counts, which leads to outs. If we keep doing that like we have the last month or so I think we’ll be in a good spot.”
- What Else They’re Saying: “It’s going to be a great matchup, they’re a great team, they’re a great lineup, great pitching. It’s going to be a dogfight and we’re ready to get after it,” UVA freshman first baseman Henry Ford said.
North Carolina
- Opening Game: vs. Virginia, Friday (June 14) at 2 p.m. ET
- Starting Pitcher vs. Virginia: Jason DeCaro; 6-1 Record, 3.89 ERA, 72 Strikeouts
- Other Key Pitchers: Shea Sprague, Dalton Pence, Matt Poston, Matthew Mattthijs
- MLB.com Draft Top-200 Players: OF Vance Honeycutt (20), OF Casey Cook (172)
- Path to Omaha: North Carolina has brought the thrill to Chapel Hill this postseason with 4 wins decided in the ninth inning. The Tar Heels opened Regional play with a walk-off grand slam by Gavin Gallaher to stave off LIU. UNC then received extra innings heroics from Alex Madera with a walk-off single in the 10th inning to clinch the Chapel Hill Regional over LSU.In the Super Regional it was more of the same, star center fielder Vance Honeycutt finished off another ninth inning comeback with a 2-run homer in Game 1 against West Virginia. To punch their ticket to Omaha, the Tar Heels relied on relief pitcher Dalton Pence to go 2.2 innings with no runs allowed to win 2-1.
- Last Matchup against Virginia: On the flip side North Carolina dropped two of three games against the Cavaliers earlier this season. UNC put up 25 runs, but saw their ACC leading pitching staff give up 28 runs over the three games.Both teams have drastically changed their starting pitching rotation since the midseason series with North Carolina riding All-ACC starters Jason DeCaro and Shea Sprague, after the two were the Saturday and Sunday starters in the previous matchup against Virginia.“I think both teams are way different. I know we are,” UNC coach Scott Forbes said. “So I’m looking forward to playing Virginia because we also have a lot of respect for them. They do it the right way. It will be a battle, that’s for sure. Two really, really good teams.”
- What Else They’re Saying: “The plan is to go after Virginia and go after that game. That is the plus of being out here and running the pitching staff and having those conversations. At the end of the day, we don’t play during the season unless it’s midweek, but we play those big weekend series in our league. You don’t get a day. So every one of our relievers, they’re all horses, they all can handle a big workload. They’ve all been managed well all season. So we will move Aidan [Haugh] back into that bullpen to start for sure. He’ll be available ready to rock ‘n’ roll against Virginia. Then we’ll try to beat Virginia, and then we’ll announce a [Game 2] starter after that,” UNC coach Scott Forbes said about the pitching plan against UVA to start the College World Series.
Florida State
- Opening Game: vs. Tennessee, Friday (June 14) at 7 p.m. ET
- Starting Pitcher vs. Tennessee: Jamie Arnold; 11-3 Record, 2.77 ERA, 155 Strikeouts
- Other Key Pitchers: Carson Dorsey, Connor Whittaker, Brennan Oxford, Connor Hults
- MLB.com Draft Top-200 Players: Cam Smith (14), James Tibbs (16)
- Path to Omaha: Florida State is one of four teams in Omaha that went 5-0 this postseason to reach the College World Series along with Virginia, Kentucky, and Texas A&M. As one of the most balanced teams in the ACC led by conference player of the year James Tibbs and first team All-ACC pitcher Jamie Arnold, the Seminoles got the job done in multiple ways this postseason.Florida State received a lockdown start from Arnold against UCF in the Regional winner’s bracket game, going 7.0 innings while only allowing 2 earned runs with 12 strikeouts. Over their final three games in the postseason, Florida State combined to score 46 runs, including 24 in the Super Regional opener against UConn. The Huskies got the better of Arnold in Game 2, but Tibbs showed why he is a top draft prospect by hitting 3 home runs to help clinch a spot in Omaha.
- Last Matchup against Virginia: The Seminoles and Cavaliers never faced each other during the regular season, but squared off in an ACC Tournament elimination game. Florida State received another stellar performance from Jamie Arnold going 6.0 innings with only 2 earned runs and 9 strikeouts. Virginia struggled to gain any momentum throughout, ultimately falling to FSU 12-7 and bowing out of the ACC Tournament.
- What Else They’re Saying: “I told the guys, and I’ll tell them again: Once the game starts, it doesn’t know. So our stats, their stats, the game doesn’t know what’s supposed to happen. You have to go manage and take charge of the game. There will be opportunities for that game to go one way or another. Either you’re bringing your A stuff in the A moment or you’re not, and the pendulum, it will go one way or another. I know how good they are. They’re unbelievable, unbelievably talented. This is a little bit of Clash of the Titans,” Florida State baseball coach Link Jarrett said describing the Tennessee offense, referring to the matchup as “top-of-the-food-chain stuff.”
Tennessee
- Opening Game: vs. Florida State, Friday (June 14) at 7 p.m. ET
- Starting Pitcher vs. Florida State: Drew Beam; 8-2 Record, 4.44 ERA, 85 Strikeouts
- Other Key Pitchers: A.J. Causey, Zander Sechrist, Nate Snead, Chris Stamos
- MLB.com Draft Top-200 Players: 2B Christian Moore (25), 3B Billy Amick (26), RHP Drew Beam (63), 1B Blake Burke (64), OF Kavares Tears (65), OF Dylan Dreiling (72)
- Path to Omaha: Tennessee entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall national seed after winning the SEC Tournament Championship. The Volunteers cruised through the Knoxville Regional outscoring Northern Kentucky, Indiana and Southern Miss 33-12.In the Super Regional, Tennessee faced NCAA Tournament Cinderella Evansville, who battled against the Goliath in Knoxville. After falling behind early in Game 1, reliever AJ Causey calmed the Purple Aces with no earned runs allowed and 8 strikeouts over 4.2 innings. The wheels fell off in the middle innings of Game 2 with Tennessee starter Drew Beam allowing 5 earned runs as Evansville scored 7 unanswered. The Volunteers fell behind again in the first inning of Game 3, but overpowered Evansville 12-1 to reach the College World Series in back-to-back seasons.
- Last Matchup against Virginia: The last time Virginia and Tennessee stood in opposing dugouts was at Charles Schwab Field in the 2021 College World Series. The trip to Omaha in 2021 proved to be the first of three in four years for both programs. In a memorable Father’s Day moment, catcher Logan Michaels hit his first home run of the season to open the scoring.The Cavaliers followed the lead of ace pitcher Andrew Abbott the rest of the way as Abbott picked up his first win of the postseason behind 6.0 scoreless innings and 10 strikeouts.
- What Else They’re Saying: “I don’t know. You’re kind of helping us out. We don’t know who they’re throwing. They’ve thrown out a few names at us. We’ll kind of sit back and relax and wait and kind of picking up where we left off with our last game here. We went over to Creighton and just hit. So I guess that’s part of the deal. When we do know who we’re starting, we’ll prepare as best we see fit. The DH spot is one spot we’ve altered some guys. Otherwise, we’ve almost kind of cemented and found our lineup, which is what you want to do towards the end of the year, but it could be a couple of lefties with really good stuff,” Tennessee coach Tony Vitello said about potentially facing Florida State ace Jamie Arnold.
