Cavaliers solve Strasburg
By Jay Jenkins
Published: May 30, 2009

IRVINE, Calif. — With locals promising that raindrops had not fallen in months, the light mist that fell periodically at Anteater Park seemed almost surreal.

That head-scratching result failed to match the shocking results that actually occurred on the field.

Virginia scored a pair of early runs off San Diego State All-American Stephen Strasburg — giving the phenom his first loss of the season — and the Cavaliers took a 5-1 victory in the opening game of the Irvine Regional.

The win kept the Cavaliers (44-12-1) in the winner’s bracket in the four-team, double-elimination event. UVa will face the winner of Friday’s late game between host UC Irvine and Fresno State.

“This was a great college baseball game,” said Virginia coach Brian O’Connor. “I was pleased with the way that our players responded against the nation’s top pitcher.”

While Strasburg dominated, fanning 15 batters, he was outpitched by Virginia starter Robert Morey.

It took little time for the Cavaliers to score against the San Diego State ace, who is expected to be drafted by the Washington Nationals with the top pick in the MLB Draft.

In fact, Strasburg (13-1) allowed a solo homer to Virginia designated hitter Phil Gosselin, the second batter he faced in the first inning.

Gosselin’s blast, his sixth homer of the season, easily cleared the wall in left field, being collected by a net that protects the monstrous scoreboard.

“Phil put a great swing on that ball,” O’Connor said. “That was a huge lift for our team early.”

The Cavaliers gave Morey another run to work with in the second inning. After Steven Proscia singled and moved to third on a pair of wild pitches, the rookie scored when Jarrett Parker — named a third-team Louisville Slugger All-American earlier in the day — legged out an infield single.

Morey took full advantage of the run support, pitching six scoreless innings as he scattered five hits and struck out nine Aztecs.

It was not until Virginia went to its bullpen that SDSU managed a run.

After working a perfect frame in the seventh, sophomore reliever Tyler Wilson gave up a one-out walk, a double and a sacrifice fly to deep center.

With a runner at third, O’Connor summoned Matt Packer.

It worked.

The left-handed junior escaped the jam, getting junior Easton Gust to fly out to center.

“That was a big spot in the game with our team clinging to a one-run lead,” O’Connor said. “Matt did the job for us and bought some time for our offense.”

Virginia earned breathing room in the eighth inning against San Diego State’s bullpen, scoring three insurance runs, two of which came on a home run by third baseman Steven Proscia.

Kevin Arico pitched the ninth inning, retiring all the batters that he faced.

For the game, Virginia registered 13 hits.

In other NCAA regional action Friday, Kansas State beat Xavier 16-8 in Houston; Boston College edged Texas State 8-7 in Austin, Texas, Oregon State beat Texas A&M 9-8 in Fort Worth, Texas; Arkansas beat Washington State 10-3 in Norman, Okla.; Miami defeated Jacksonville 9-4 in Gainesville, Fla., Coastal Carolina beat Kansas 11-3 in Chapel Hill, N.C., LSU beat Southern 10-2 in Baton Rouge, La., Southern Mississippi outlasted Elon 17-15 in Atlanta; and Middle Tennessee beat Vanderbilt 5-4 in Louisville, Ky.
 

No. 7 Baseball Outduels San Diego State, Strasburg, 5-1
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 05/29/2009

IRVINE, Calif. – Virginia’s pitching staff outdueled San Diego State phenom Stephen Strasburg as the seventh-ranked Cavaliers notched a 5-1 victory Friday afternoon in the opening round of the 2009 NCAA Irvine Regional at Anteater Ballpark in Irvine, Calif. The Cavaliers recorded two early runs, then rode their pitching before tacking on three runs in the eighth inning against the Aztecs’ bullpen to seal the win and hand Strasburg his first loss of 2009.
Virginia, the regional’s No. 2 seed, now will face the winner of the No. 1 UC Irvine-No. 4 Fresno State game at 11 p.m. ET Saturday. ESPNU and Comcast SportsNet each will have live coverage of the game. No. 3 SDSU will play at 7 p.m. ET against the loser of the UCI-Fresno State contest in an elimination game.

Virginia pitcher Robert Morey (So., Virginia Beach, Va.) had one of the best starts of his career, going six shutout innings and allowing just five hits and three walks while striking out nine. He improved to 3-0 with the victory. Tyler Wilson (So., Midlothian, Va.), Matt Packer (Jr., Germantown, Tenn.) and Kevin Arico (So., Flemington, N.J.) allowed just one hit and one walk over the final three frames. As a staff, Virginia struck out 13 batters.

Strasburg (13-1) pitched seven innings, allowing two earned runs and eight hits. He struck out 15 and did not walk a batter. Reliever Andrew Leary gave up three earned runs and four hits in two-thirds of an inning.

Phil Gosselin (So., West Chester, Pa.) and Steven Proscia (Fr., Suffern, N.Y.) each homered for Virginia. The Cavaliers finished with 13 hits, led by Proscia with three. Jarrett Parker (So., Stafford, Va.), Danny Hultzen (Fr., Bethesda, Md.) and Keith Werman (Fr., Vienna, Va.) each had a pair of hits in their first NCAA tournament action.

Virginia (44-12-1) started well in the first inning as Gosselin crushed the first pitch he saw from Strasburg off the top of the scoreboard in left-center field for a solo home run. The long ball was Gosselin’s sixth of the season.

The Cavaliers tacked on a run in their next at bat. Proscia led off the inning with a single and one out later advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches by Strasburg. With two out, Parker chopped a ball just past an out-stretched Strasburg and just beat the throw for a single, scoring Proscia to give UVa a 2-0 lead.

San Diego State (40-22) finally broke through in the eighth inning. With one out, Wilson walked Cory Vaughn. Mitch Blackburn then doubled down the left-field line to put runners at second and third. Chris Wilson then lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to score Vaughn and cut the lead to 2-1. Packer came on to face Easton Gust, who flew out to center field on Packer’s first offering to end the inning.

Virginia wasted no time in putting runs back on the board. Facing Leary in the bottom of the eighth, the Cavaliers got a one-out single from John Hicks (Fr., Sandy Hook, Va.), who then stole second base. Proscia then launched a two-run home run to left field – his ninth homer of the year. The Cavaliers got consecutive singles from Franco Valdes (Jr., Miami, Fla.), Werman and Parker to bring home another run.

Arico then sealed the game by pitching a perfect ninth inning.

 

Cape Henry grad gets big win for U.Va. baseball
Posted to: Sports
The Associated Press
© May 30, 2009
By Solange Reyner

IRVINE, Calif.

San Diego State ace Stephen Strasburg lost for the first time this season as former Cape Henry standout Robert Morey pitched six shutout innings and Steven Proscia hit a two-run homer in Virginia’s 5-1 victory in an NCAA regional Friday night.

Strasburg (13-1), the probable No. 1 overall pick in the draft next month, struck out 15 in seven innings. But San Diego State’s first tournament appearance in 18 years was spoiled by Morey (3-0), who allowed five hits and struck out nine for Virginia (44-12-1). The Cavaliers have won six straight.

San Diego State coach Tony Gwynn announced earlier in the day that Strasburg would start the game after being coy all week about who would pitch the opener for the Aztecs. Strasburg’s electrifying fastball, which has topped 100 mph, helped carry him to the top of the draft board and he is expected to be selected by Washington with the first pick.

Going into the game, U.Va. players welcomed the challenge of facing Strasburg.

“That’s going to be awesome,” said Cavaliers right fielder Dan Grovatt. “That’s really what you want. If we are going to win the national title, we are going to have to beat the best guy in the nation. That makes it legitimate to me, and we have faced North Carolina’s Alex White (twice) and there are going to be a lot of great pitchers that are going to be top picks from the ACC.

“Strasburg is obviously a great talent, we are going to have our work cut out for us, but we will be up for the challenge.”

Luckily for U.Va., its typical lineup included a host of left-handed bats including Jarrett Parker, Danny Hultzen and Grovatt and switch-hitting talents such as Tyler Cannon and Franco Valdes.

“I like the harder guys better,” said Grovatt, the most valuable player in Virginia’s ACC tournament title run. “I never hit the junkballers well. I like velocity, so bring it on I guess.”

Phil Gosselin took the first pitch he saw against Strasburg with one out in the first inning and smacked it over the 380-foot sign in left-center field to give the Cavaliers a quick 1-0 lead over the Aztecs (40-22).

Morey, a sophomore who only had six starts this season, got the run support he needed from his teammates early on with Gosselin’s homer and Jarrett Parker’s RBI groundout in the second.

Cory Vaughn scored on Chris Wilson’s sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 2-1 in the eighth, but Virginia’s Matt Parker closed out the inning by getting Easton Gust to fly out.

Virginia tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the inning to put the game out of reach.

Proscia, who finished 3 for 4, hit a two -run homer off Aztecs reliever Andrew Leary over the left-field wall to make it 4-1.

Parker hit an RBI single three batters later.

The third-seeded Aztecs left nine on base through the first six innings and stranded runners in scoring position in both the first and fourth.
 

Cavaliers Stun Strasburg, SDSU
By Abbey Mastracco
Special to CollegeBaseballInsider.com

IRVINE, Calif. – The perfect season came to an end Friday night at Anteater Ballpark.

All season, the presumed first-overall draft pick Stephen Strasburg has been nearly unhittable, going a perfect 13-0. But the much-talked about right-hander fell to a much less-talked about right-hander, Virginia’s Robert Morey, as third-seeded San Diego State fell to the second-seeded Cavaliers 5-1 in the first game of the Irvine Regional.

Morey (3-0) picked up the win, as Strasburg (13-1) was tagged with his first loss of the season. Steven Proscia led the Cavaliers, going 3 for 4 with a two-run homer, two runs and three RBI.

“Our plan worked, and that plan was to battle Strasburg the best that we could,” Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor said. “We knew he was going to be right around the zone so our hitters went up there and were very aggressive. We got in deep counts and fouled the ball off and put balls in play and hopefully got his pitch count up.”

Strasburg lasted seven innings, giving up two runs on eight hits and striking out 15, in his first postseason appearance. Looking just as vulnerable as any other college pitcher in the game, he admitted that even the great Strasburg is susceptible to first-time nerves.

“Coming in, I think everyone had the jitters, it’s our first time in a Regional,” Strasburg said. “I was pretty fired up to be out there but it’s pretty tough to pitch against a team that you’ve never really heard of.”

One out into the game, Phil Gosselin launched a solo shot over the left-field fence.

In the second, Proscia slapped a single into left to lead off the inning. Strasburg struck out Franco Valdez and Keith Werman but threw two wild pitches to Werman, putting Proscia on third. Jarrett Parker then hit a ball to second baseman Mitch Blackburn but beat the throw, allowing Proscia to score.

Morey did his part for Virginia, pitching six shutout innings, scattering just five hits and striking out nine. The sophomore even won over the opposition, being praised by the Hall of Famer in the opposing dugout.

“I thought he pitched great,” Aztecs coach Tony Gwynn said. “He was changing speeds and going up the ladder and mixing in his breaking ball. When he needed to make a pitch he made a pitch.”

After settling himself, Strasburg used his typically-dominant form in dueling it out with Morey, but failed to receive any run support from the free-swinging Aztecs. SDSU hitters swung at just about every pitch. Most of the hits they did manage were untimely, as they left 10 stranded.

“We were right there in it,” Gwynn said. “We had opportunities, but they all came with two outs and we couldn’t get anything across until we finely broke through and got the run.”

The Aztecs avoided the shutout putting up one run in the eighth, but a two-run shot to the left-field power alley by Proscia put the game out of reach in the bottom half. The Cavaliers then tacked on another to push the score to 5-1.

“We have to pitch better than we pitched in the eighth inning,” Gwynn said.

Virginia advances to the winners’ bracket and will play the winner of UC Irvine and defending champion Fresno State. San Diego State will play the loser at 4 p.m. PST Saturday. The winners will play at 8 p.m. PST.
 

Aztecs fireballer a machine, so Cavs used one to prepare
By Tim Sullivan, Union-Tribune Columnist
2:00 a.m. May 30, 2009

IRVINE – They placed the pitching machines at point-blank range, maybe 30 feet from the batter's box, half the standard distance between the pitching rubber and home plate.
To provide his hitters with a foretaste of San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg, Virginia baseball coach Brian O'Connor arranged to fling fastballs down their throats.
“We were mainly tracking pitches,” designated hitter Phil Gosselin said last night. “We didn't swing a lot. We'd take one to see where it (was) and say 'ball' or 'strike' out loud. Then we'd do a lot of stop-on-contact (drills), just being short to the ball, trying to stay back up the middle.
“It's tough, just like it is hitting him. So it was a pretty good simulation.”
If Virginia's pitching machines were arrayed too close for comfort this week in Charlottesville, they were set at the perfect distance for discipline. They served to sharpen the Cavaliers' reflexes, refine their approach and build their confidence before last night's 5-1 NCAA Tournament victory over San Diego State.
Strasburg had been unbeaten, 13-0 in 14 starts, and virtually unhittable. With three-digit velocity and precision placement, he had no-hit Air Force, had struck out 180 hitters while allowing just 57 hits, and had become such a certainty of being selected No. 1 overall in next month's amateur draft that many clubs have stopped scouting him.
Still, as Johnny Bench liked to say, a good hitter can time a bullet if he knows it's coming.
Phil Gosselin correctly surmised that Strasburg would start him off with smoke last night, and the week's drills helped the Virginia designated hitter launch the first pitch he saw over the left-field wall at UC-Irvine's Anteater Ballpark.
ESPN's radar showed that the pitch reached the plate at 98 mph. An eyeball estimate was that its exit was even faster.
Gosselin's first-inning homer was easily the hardest-hit of Strasburg's 120 pitches, but the Cavaliers were able to scratch out a second run in the second inning with the assistance of some deficient Aztecs' defense.
Strasburg struck out 15 across seven innings, but SDSU would not score until the eighth. The offensive attack that has caused Tony Gwynn so much anxiety mustered just six hits in support of college baseball's preeminent pitcher, and left Tyler Lavigne to pitch an elimination game this afternoon against defending national champion Fresno State.
Though Strasburg seemed the obvious choice, Gwynn had been slow to name a starter for the Aztecs' first NCAA Tournament game since 1991. His indecision/gamesmanship was likely attributable to the question of how quickly Lavigne could come back to make a second start in the double-elimination tournament.
Yet Gwynn's deliberations/diversion created little doubt at Virginia. O'Connor assumed his team would see Strasburg in the tournament opener, and prepared his players accordingly. Conceding Strasburg's command of the strike zone, the Cavaliers' game plan focused on swinging aggressively early in the count and fouling off pitches in deep counts in order to force Strasburg to throw more pitches.
“Every day that we threw batting practice on the field, we got the pitcher's ball screen a lot closer than we normally do,” O'Connor said. “We were just trying to prepare them for that kind of velocity, to give them confidence that you can hit somebody with that kind of velocity.
“There's something to making them adjust and do something different instead of the same old routine. They think it's a little bit crazy, but after they get used to it, they're not in awe.”
There was nothing novel about this approach – O'Connor used the same device to prepare his troops for North Carolina fireballer Alex White – and there would have been nothing noteworthy about its execution without the shutout pitching of Virginia starter Robert Morey. Though Morey is not Strasburg's equal, he was more than equal to this task and to Gwynn's freshman-dominated lineup.
No. 3 hitter Brandon Meredith struck out in each of his four plate appearances against Morey and reliever Tyler Wilson. Fifth-place hitter Cory Vaughn fanned three times. Chris Wilson's eighth-inning sacrifice fly was the closest the Aztecs came to a hit with a runner in scoring position.
“I think our guys were champing at the bit,” Gwynn said, “but our inexperience showed there in the early innings because we chased the balls out of the (strike) zone, tried to be super aggressive and tried to do too much with the ball . . .
“Turn the page. Tomorrow's another day. Hopefully, we can do more on the offensive end, because that's where this game was lost.”
The loss was Strasburg's first since last year's Olympic semifinal against Cuba, and his first defeat in a college game since last year's Mountain West Conference tournament.
“I was pretty excited to be out there,” Strasburg said, “but it's pretty tough to pitch against a team that you've never really heard of. You don't really have a good scouting report on them.”
Here, Virginia had an advantage. Though the Cavaliers had not previously seen Stephen Strasburg, they had succeeded in simulating him.
 

SDSU BASEBALL: Virginia hands Strasburg first loss of season
Aztecs fall to Cavs in NCAA tournament opener
By JOHN MAFFEI - jmaffei@nctimes.com | Friday, May 29, 2009 10:53 PM PDT ∞

IRVINE ---- On the first pitch he saw from Stephen Strasburg, Virginia designated hitter Phil Gosselin almost duplicated a scene from "The Natural," just missing the giant clock atop the scoreboard in left field at UC Irvine's Anteater Park with a towering home run.

That was the start of an spectacularly, unspectacular Friday for Strasburg, who struck out 15, didn't walk a batter, but allowed a career-tying high eight hits as the San Diego State baseball team dropped a 5-1 decision to the Cavaliers in the first round of the NCAA's Irvine Regional.

The Aztecs (40-22), who were making their first postseason appearance in 18 years, will play an elimination game at 4 p.m. Saturday against Fresno State, which lost 4-2 to UC Irvine.

Strasburg (13-1) threw 120 pitches over seven innings, allowing two runs.

Virginia (44-12-1) put the game away with three runs in the eighth against the SDSU bullpen.

"I went up there looking for a fastball," said Gosselin, the second Virginia batter of the game. "We knew Strasburg would be around the plate.

"I hit one of the few mistakes he made. He left a fastball over the plate, and I got the barrel of the bat on it.

"He's as good as it gets in college baseball. We heard he had an electric fastball, and he did."

Strasburg, who has 195 strikeouts and 19 walks in 109 innings this season, saw his ERA balloon to 1.40.

His fastball, which has been clocked at 103 mph this season, topped out at 98 Friday, but was consistently 97.

"This is our first time in the tournament, and everyone had the jitters," Strasburg said. "I felt great. The adrenaline was really going.

"But it's tough facing a team you don't know much about.

"They were swinging at fastballs early in the count, so we went more with the sinker, slider and change."

It was the slider that led to Virginia's second run as Steven Proscia led off the second inning with a looping single to center and advanced on a pair of wild pitches.

After a pair of strikeouts, Jarrett Parker beat out an infield roller to score Proscia.

"Buried a couple of sliders," Strasburg said of the wild pitches Aztecs coach Tony Gwynn said should have been smothered by catcher Erik Castro.

Castro took full blame for the pitches, saying "they were balls I should have blocked." Still, the Aztecs had plenty of chances to win the game.

But they were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, struckout 13 times against four Cavaliers pitchers. And the three-four-five hitters in the batting order ---- Brandon Meredith, Castro and Cory Vaughn ---- were 0-for-10 with eight strikeouts as Virginia starter Robert Morey handcuffed the Aztecs over six shutout innings.

San Diego State finally broke through in the eighth when Vaughn drew a one-out walk and went to third on a double by Mitch Blackburn.

Chris Wilson's sacrifice fly scored Vaughn.

Easton Gust, who had reached base three times ---- on a walk, single and hit by a pitch ---- lined the first pitch from reliever Matt Packer at Parker, who was playing in the left-center gap.

"All I was trying to do was tie the game," Gust said. "I wanted to go after the first good strike I saw. I hit it hard. I just wish the center fielder was playing in right-center like he had the whole game.

The Aztecs left 10 runners on base, including two in the second, fourth and sixth innings.

"We were right there, but we couldn't break through," Gwynn said. "We were pressing early, then we settled in and made a game of it late.

"Morey was outstanding for them. He mixed it up, went up the ladder on us.

"We scratched to get to 2-1, but we have to pitch better than we did in the eighth to give ourselves a chance in the ninth."

San Diego State will start right-hander Tyler Lavigne (7-2, 3.32 ERA) Saturday and the Aztecs must win four in a row to advance to the NCAA Super Regional.


 

Ace can't do it solo
SDSU's hitting weak in Strasburg loss
By Kirk Kenney
2:00 a.m. May 30, 2009

THE STRASBURG WATCH
Keeping track of SDSU All-America pitcher Stephen Strasburg this season:
Yesterday: NCAA Regional vs. Virginia at UC Irvine
His line: 7 innings, 8 hits, 2 runs, 0 walks, 15 strikeouts.
Result: Aztecs lose 5-1
For the season: 13-1 record, 1.32 ERA, 109 innings, 65 hits, 17 runs, 16 earned runs, 19 walks, 195 strikeouts.
Next start: TBA
Career statistics: 53 games, 243.1 innings, 144 hits, 53 runs, 43 earned runs, 50 walks, 375 strikeouts, 22-7 record, 1.59 ERA, 7 saves

IRVINE – Stephen Strasburg gives San Diego State an aura of invincibility that has obscured one pertinent fact this season – the Aztecs frequently scratch and scrape to score runs when he's on the mound.
Even the greatest pitchers can't win when their teams don't score.
SDSU's offense was absent most of the afternoon in yesterday's 5-1 loss to No. 7-ranked Virginia in the opening game of the NCAA Regional hosted by UC Irvine.
“Our guys were champing at the bit, but I thought our inexperience showed a little bit in the early innings,” SDSU coach Tony Gwynn said. “We chased balls out of the strike zone, tried to be super aggressive and tried to do too much with the ball.
“Really, this is a time to take a deep breath, relax and go out and play. I'm sure they learned from today's experience and, hopefully, we'll do better tomorrow.
The Aztecs (40-22) will meet Fresno State today at 4 p.m. in an elimination game.
Strasburg (13-1), his fastball sitting at 97 mph much of the game, struck out 15 and did not walk a batter in seven innings. But he needed two innings to get dialed in. The Aztecs trailed 2-0 by that point and couldn't muster any offense against Virginia starter Robert Morey.
“All of our offense came with two outs, and when he needed to make a pitch he made a pitch,” said Gwynn.
Morey (3-0) allowed five hits, struck out nine and stranded nine runners on base over six shutout innings.
“This matchup was all built up as Strasburg against Virginia's lineup,” Cavaliers coach Brian O'Connor said. “For me, the story of the game was Robert Morey.”
With one out in the first inning, Virginia's Phil Gosselin swung at the first pitch he saw from Strasburg and launched it over the left-field wall and against the Anteater Ballpark scoreboard.
“He supplied most of the power, I just had to put my barrel on it,” said Gosselin.
The Cavaliers (44-12-1) added another run in the second inning when Steven Proscia scored with two outs on an infield single to second base. Proscia led off the inning with a single and had moved to third base on two wild pitches by Strasburg.
“Everybody had the jitters,” Strasburg said. “It was our first time being in a regional. I was pretty excited to be out there.”
Strasburg allowed just three base runners – all on singles – after the second inning and only one of them advanced as far as second base.
“It's pretty tough to pitch against a team that you've never really heard of and don't have a real good scouting report on,” Strasburg said. “You have to face them the first time through the lineup and they put pretty good bat on the ball. After that, we were able to get a good game plan and kept them (off balance) the rest of the game.”
The Aztecs finally scored in the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly by Chris Wilson to make it 2-1. That put some life in a crowd of more than 2,000 dominated by SDSU's red and black colors.
Virginia's contingent was limited to about 50 fans seated near the Cavaliers dugout along the third-base line. They were able to breath easy in the bottom of the eighth when Virginia scored three runs – two on a homer by Proscia – off the SDSU bullpen.
It was the first loss for Strasburg since a 1-0 defeat to Utah in the 2008 Mountain West Conference Tournament.
“Turn the page,” Gwynn said. “Tomorrow's another day. Hopefully, we can do more on the offensive game. Because, to me, that's where this game was lost.”
 

Strasburg should get used to struggle
By Steve Henson, Yahoo! Sports

IRVINE, Calif. – Stephen Strasburg, meet struggle. Might as well accept its presence now, as grating and demanding as it inevitably will become.

Struggle is bound to ride shotgun with Strasburg during his fast-track journey through the upper reaches of the minor leagues and into the big leagues. Barring a cataclysmic turn of events, he will be the first pick in the June 9 draft, going to the abysmal Washington Nationals. The hitters he faces will be professionals, beginning the day he reports to whatever minor league outpost the Nats send him after he signs for the most money ever handed an amateur.

Eventually he’ll face Albert Pujols(notes) and David Wright(notes) and Ryan Howard(notes). Struggle will clear its throat and make its voice known.

Comparatively, Strasburg heard only whispers Friday against Virginia in what is almost certain to be the flame-throwing right-hander’s last college game. Virginia beat San Diego State 5-1 in an NCAA regional opener at UC Irvine, handing Strasburg his first loss since last summer’s Olympics.

He allowed two runs in seven innings, striking out 15 and walking none while throwing 118 pitches, a line that would make most any pitcher proud. But it wasn’t good enough, especially early, when the second batter Strasburg faced, Phil Gosselin, smoked a knee-high 97-mph fastball against the scoreboard beyond the left-field wall for a 400-foot home run.

The Cavaliers added a run in the second on two hits and two wild pitches. When Gosselin batted again, Strasburg threw his only 99-mph pitch of the game, then fumbled a dribbler in front of the mound for an error. The going got easier as the game progressed, but the damage was done and Strasburg’s pitch count mounted until seven innings became his finish line.

“Everybody had the jitters,” Strasburg said. “It was tough playing a team we’d never heard of. There was no scouting report to rely on the first time through the batting order.

“We thought they were tipping our pitches when [catcher] Erik Castro set up so we changed it up a little after the first two innings. We went more to sinkers, sliders and the changeup earlier in the count.”

Until Friday, Strasburg’s ascent to the pinnacle of prospects had been remarkably trouble free. He entered the regionals with a 13-0 record, a 1.24 ERA and 180 strikeouts in 102 innings. His fastball has touched 103 mph and normally sits at 98 mph. Some scouts feel his slider is a better pitch than the fastball. And his stuff is complemented by ungodly command.

Knowing all that, Virginia’s hitters took an aggressive approach. They’d prepared by taking batting practice standing 40 feet from a pitching machine cranked to maximum velocity.

“We looked for the fastball and knew he’d be around the plate,” Gosselin said. “His velocity supplied the power. I just wanted to get the barrel on the ball.”

Meanwhile, San Diego State couldn’t get anything going against Virginia right-hander Robert Morey, a late-blooming sophomore who had read about Strasburg’s exploits in Washington newspapers and online. Although the Aztecs had at least one runner every inning, Morey didn’t allow a run through six, and three relievers finished up.

“Robert Morey was the story of the game,” Virginia Coach Brian O’Connor said.

Which only proves that Strasburg struggled. Tony Gwynn(notes), the Hall of Famer who is in his seventh season as San Diego State coach, agonized over whether to pitch Strasburg on Friday or Saturday. Had the Aztecs’ No. 2 starter, Tyler Lavigne, pitched Friday, he could have been brought back for Monday’s final if they got that far in the double-elimination format. Not Strasburg, not when he’d had at least five days rest between every start this season. Not when he stands to become an instant multi-millionaire before summer ends as long as his arm is healthy.

Asked if there was any scenario in which Strasburg would pitch Monday, even in relief, Gwynn answered, “What do you think?” Maybe realizing it didn’t matter what the questioner thought, only whether he would call on Strasburg on two days rest, Gwynn added, “Rather than look ahead until Monday, let’s look ahead to tomorrow.”

College coaches are notorious for ratcheting up the pitch counts of even top big league prospects as the regionals progress to super-regionals and into the World Series. But don’t expect it from Gwynn. He wouldn’t jeopardize Strasburg’s future even though this is San Diego State’s first regional appearance since 1991.

No. 7-ranked Virginia took exception to being sent 3,000 miles to a regional that includes the No. 1 team in the nation (UC Irvine), the defending World Series champion (Fresno State) and the team with the best pitcher. After winning the ACC tournament, the Cavaliers thought they deserved better treatment from the NCAA selection committee.

Not until an hour before game time did they learn they would face Strasburg.

“We were pretty excited,” Gosselin said. “He had the best college season of all time. We saw it as an opportunity.”

Soon enough the Virginia players will be able to make the 115-mile drive from Charlottesville to Washington, buy tickets and root for Strasburg pitching for the Nationals. Or will they?

“I’m a Phillies fan,” Gosselin said. “I hope they knock him around.”

He smiled, perhaps reflecting on his home run, then added, “It’s always cool to see guys on the highest stage that you’ve been successful against.”

By the time Strasburg reaches the big leagues, he probably won’t remember Gosselin, Morey or any other Virginia players. He’ll remember leading San Diego State to the regionals. And he’ll remember his introduction to struggle.

 

UCI avoids Aztecs ace Strasburg
San Diego State's Strasburg second-best on this night.
Randy Youngman
Columnist
The Orange County Register

IRVINE – The top-ranked UC Irvine baseball team got its first break in postseason play even before taking the field Friday night to meet defending national champion Fresno State in its first NCAA Tournament home game in school history.

The fortuitous moment came when San Diego State coach Tony Gwynn announced Friday morning that undefeated pitcher Stephen Strasburg would start the regional opener against Virginia — instead of saving Strasburg for a potential winners bracket showdown today against UCI.

"A big break," UCI coach Mike Gillespie said a few minutes before Strasburg, the slam-dunk No. 1 pick in the June 9 major league draft, took his 13-0 record to the mound at Anteater Ballpark. "I'd much rather watch him up here (in the stands) than from the (opposing) dugout."

Gwynn obviously had considered holding back Strasburg, because a day earlier he had refused to designate a starting pitcher. And though Virginia coach Brian O'Connor didn't admit it, it's safe to assume he altered his pitching rotation for the weekend because of Strasburg, a power pitcher some baseball cognoscenti are calling the best professional pitching prospect since Roger Clemens.

So when O'Connor sent out sophomore right-hander Robert Morey (2-0, 3.25 ERA in six starts) to oppose Strasburg, bypassing UVa staff leader Danny Hultzen (8-1, 2.27 ERA in 12 starts), there were a few observers in the press box who concluded that Morey would be the designated sacrificial lamb.

And what happened? The unexpected, of course. This is the NCAA Tournament, so we'll call it "May Madness."

Morey pitched six shutout innings, struck out nine and out-dueled Strasburg in a 5-1 Virginia victory that dropped the Aztecs into the losers bracket of the double-elimination tournament.

Strasburg (13-1) blew away 15 batters in seven innings to pad his nation-leading strikeout total, but he also gave up single runs in the first and second innings that ultimately doomed him to his first loss since the Mountain West Conference Tournament on May 22, 2008.

After striking out the first batter of the game, Strasburg gave up a monstrous homer to Virginia DH Phil Gosselin, who drove a 97 mph first-pitch fastball over the wall in left-center and would have hit the scoreboard were it not for the mesh netting protecting its face.

It was only the fourth home run given up by Strasburg in a record-breaking collegiate career in which he has struck out 360 and walked just 70 in 2432/3 innings. Think about those numbers.

Strasburg labored in the first two innings, yielding five hits, throwing two wild pitches and making a fielding error as he struggled with his command and needed 49 pitches to get the first six outs. The second run scored on a two-out infield single in the second.

"Everybody had the jitters. It was our first time in a regional," Strasburg said afterward, referring to San Diego State's first NCAA postseason appearance in 18 years.

Strasburg settled down after that, allowing three harmless singles while fanning 10 over the next five innings. And his final pitching line — 7 IP, 8H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 15 K, 120 pitches — was somewhat misleading because Virginia had two infield hits and three bloop singles.

But observers were still wondering if he were completely healthy, because he had a back cramp in his previous start and because he is renowned for his triple-digit readings on the radar gun. He once was clocked at 103 mph and earlier this season he struck out 17 in a no-hitter against Air Force and 18 in dominating performance against Nevada. A year ago, he struck out 23 — yes, 23! – in a shutout against Utah.

All of which is why the pro scouts have been stalking him for months, why the Washington Nationals are expected to soon make him the No. 1 pick and why Newport Beach uber-agent Scott Boras probably will make him the richest draft pick in baseball history. (There has been speculation he could command $50 million over six years.)

On this night, though, he was the losing pitcher, in what might have been the last start of his college career. He was consistently clocked at 97 mph and reportedly topped out at 98, which is impressive for anybody else, but raised eyebrows here.

"I felt great," Strasburg said. "I had the adrenaline going. I felt perfect."

The result, however, was imperfect — except in the eyes of UCI's Mike Gillespie.
 

Taking the high road
Jeff White
May 29, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE – Perhaps he’s taken a different approach in private, but U.Va. baseball coach Brian O’Connor has declined, in his public comments, to fuel the controversy about his team’s lousy draw in the NCAA baseball tournament.

“I really think that this an unbelievable opportunity for our club,” O’Connor said early this week when asked the Irvine, Calif., regional, where second-seeded Virginia opens against No. 3 seed San Diego State tonight.

If the Cavaliers weren’t going to host a regional, O’Connor said, “quite frankly, I want to go play the best people. We did last week” – at the ACC tournament, which U.Va. won in Durham, N.C. – “and I know this team is up for the challenge.”

O’Connor also put a positive spin on Virginia’s having to face junior right hander Stephen Strasburg, the phenom who’ll start tonight for the Aztecs.

“Our players are competitors, and if you’re a competitor, you want to see the best,” O’Connor said. “And he’s the best. So we’ve got a shot at doing something special on national television against the best in America.”

This is O’Connor’s sixth season at U.Va., and he’s guided his team to the NCAA tourney every year. The Cavaliers have yet, however, to advance to the tournament’s second weekend.

In three of O’Connor’s first five seasons, Virginia hosted an opening-weekend regional. For all the advantages that come with playing at home, O’Connor said, there’s “no doubt that hosting a regional, there is a lot of pressure. You have all your fans, you have all the expectations that you should win it, because you’re playing at home. And I think the best thing for this team right now is to take our show on the road and be challenged.“

Top-seeded UC Irvine has been ranked No. 1 nationally by Baseball America for the past six weeks. No. 4 seed Fresno State is the defending NCAA champion.

“I tell you what, that’s a heck of a lot of fun,“ O’Connor said. “It’s going to be a challenge, but we’ll be better because of it, and this team’s responded to those challenges all year long.”
 

Cavaliers perfect at championships
By The Daily Progress Staff
Published: May 30, 2009

In Cherry Hill, N.J., the first day of the NCAA women’s rowing championships couldn’t have gone any better for Virginia.

On the Cooper River on Friday, UVa won all three of its heats. The Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four all advanced to their respective semifinal races that will take place this morning.

“It was a good start to the championship, that’s for sure,” said Virginia coach Kevin Sauer. “When you have all three boats that win their heats and go straight to the semifinals, you really can’t ask for anything more.”

UVa’s Varsity Eight, currently ranked No. 4 by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA), led at the 500-, 1,000- and 1,500-meter marks of its race before finishing strong with a first-place time of 6:29.51.

The crew of coxswain Sidney Thorsten, Jennifer Cromwell, Helen Tompkins, Desiree Burns, Amanda Chase, Lauren Hutchins, Augusta Stratos, Nora Phillips and Victoria Burke edged second-place Princeton (6:31.49) and third-place Clemson (6:32.57).

The Second Varsity Eight, meanwhile, also won its heat by a significant margin. The crew of coxswain Cristine Candland, Lauren Shook, Claudia Blandford, Marie Long, Bridget Fowler, Martha Kuzzy, Cara Linnenkohl, Christine Roper and Susie Chalker won the race with a time of 6:43.99. Washington (6:48.30) was second, followed by third-place Ohio State (6:52.27).

The Varsity Four (coxswain Sarah Pichardo, Ruth Retzinger, Summers Nelson, Caroline Sweeny, Shalane Carlson) trailed its race at the 500-meter mark but fought back at the halfway point to take the lead. Finishing strong, the crew won with a time of 7:31.29, edging second-place California (7:33.94) and third-place Harvard (7:34.98).

In today’s semifinal races, the first-, second- and third-place finishers advance to the grand final in each event to determine places first through sixth at the championships.

“I’m just hopeful that we can keep it going,” Sauer said. “Like I told them, we’ll have to be a little bit better, work a little bit harder and a little more together. Each stage of this thing is tougher. I think they’re ready to do that hopefully.”
 

No. 4 UVa Wins Its Three Heats On Day One of NCAAs
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 05/29/2009

CHERRY HILL, N.J. – Virginia won all three of its heats on the first day of the 2009 NCAA Championships on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J., on Friday. The Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four all advanced to their respective semifinal races Saturday. Those semifinals can be accessed with the link above for live streaming video.

Virginia's Varsity Eight will compete in the 9 a.m. semifinal on Saturday, against Washington, Clemson, Stanford, Brown and Michigan. The other semifinal (9:15 a.m.) features Ohio State, Michigan State, Yale, California, Princeton and USC.

“I’m pleased with our start,” Virginia head coach Kevin Sauer said. “But that is what it is – a start. We’ve got to keep it going.”

UVa’s Varsity Eight, currently ranked No. 4 by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA), led at the 500, 1,000 and 1,500 meter marks of its race before finishing strong with a first-place time of 6:29.51.

The crew of coxswain Sidney Thorsten, Jennifer Cromwell, Helen Tompkins, Desiree Burns, Amanda Chase, Lauren Hutchins, Augusta Stratos, Nora Phillips and Victoria Burke edged second-place Princeton (6:31.49) and third-place Clemson (6:32.57). Those three teams advanced to the semifinals, along with California, Brown, Michigan State, Stanford, Yale and Washington from earlier heats. In the afternoon repechage, USC, Ohio State and Michigan qualified for the semifinals.

The Second Varsity Eight, meanwhile, also won its heat by a significant margin. The crew of coxswain Cristine Candland, Lauren Shook, Claudia Blandford, Marie Long, Bridget Fowler, Martha Kuzzy, Cara Linnenkohl, Christine Roper and Susie Chalker won the race with a time of 6:43.99. Washington (6:48.30) was second, followed by third-place Ohio State (6:52.27).

Virginia's Second Varsity Eight competes in the 9:30 a.m. semifinal, along with USC, Yale, Brown, Michigan and Ohio State.

The Varsity Four (coxswain Sarah Pichardo, Ruth Retzinger, Summers Nelson, Caroline Sweeny, Shalane Carlson) trailed its race at the 500-meter mark but fought back at the halfway point to take the lead. Finishing strong, the crew won with a time of 7:31.29, edging second-place California (7:33.94) and third-place Harvard (7:34.98).

UVa's Varsity Four will compete in the 10 a.m. semifinal, along with Brown, Harvard, Yale, Clemson and Washington.

In Saturday’s semifinal races, the first-, second- and third-place finishers advance to the grand final in each event to determine places first through sixth at the championships.

Heat Results
EVENT: VARSITY EIGHT
Heat 1: 1. Stanford (6:27.60), 2. Yale (6:32.30); 3. Washington (6:34.60); 4. Harvard (6:34.80); 5. Ohio State (6:42.80)
Heat 2: 1. California (6:29.40); 2. Brown (6:32.80); 3. Michigan State (6:40.40); 4. Oregon State (6:46.60); 5. Wisconsin (6:51.70)
Heat 3: 1. Virginia (6:29.51); 2. Princeton (6:31.49); 3. Clemson (6:32.57); 4. USC (6:40.49); 5. Michigan (6:48.83); 6. Dartmouth (7:04.79)
• (Virginia lineup: Coxswain Sidney Thorsten, Jennifer Cromwell, Helen Tompkins, Desiree Burns, Amanda Chase, Lauren Hutchins, Augusta Stratos, Nora Phillips, Victoria Burke)

EVENT: SECOND VARSITY EIGHT
Heat 1: 1. Virginia (6:43.99); 2. Washington (6:48.30); 3. Ohio State (6:52.27); 4. Oregon State (6:54.55); 5. Harvard (6:58.62)
• (Virginia lineup: Coxswain Cristine Candland, Lauren Shook, Claudia Blandford, Marie Long, Bridget Fowler, Martha Kuzzy, Cara Linnenkohl, Christine Roper, Susie Chalker)
Heat 2: 1. California (6:42.92); 2. Yale (6:44.30); 3. Stanford (6:48.42); 4. USC (6:57.93); 5. Princeton (7:01.74)
Heat 3: 1. Brown (6:42.96); 2. Michigan State (6:44.21); 3. Michigan (6:44.61); 4. Wisconsin (6:47.02); 5. Clemson (7:04.17); 6. Dartmouth (7:14.17)

EVENT: VARSITY FOUR
Heat 1: 1. Virginia (7:31.29); 2. California (7:33.94); 3. Harvard (7:34.98); 4. Michigan State (7:36.10); 5. Princeton (7:55.80)
• (Virginia lineup: Coxswain Sarah Pichardo, Ruth Retzinger, Summers Nelson, Caroline Sweeny, Shalane Carlson)
Heat 2: 1. Ohio State (7:29.05); 2. Clemson (7:30.49); 3. Wisconsin (7:32.57); 4. USC (7:39.21); 5. Oregon State (7:41.72)
Heat 3: 1. Yale (7:29.83); 2. Michigan (7:32.43); 3. Washington (7:32.72); 4. Stanford (7:42.36); 5. Brown (7:48.75); 6. Dartmouth (8:07.24)


 

Cavalier Golfers Finish 27th at NCAA Championships
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 05/29/2009

Toledo, Ohio – The Virginia men’s golf team completed its final round of play Friday morning at the NCAA Championships and finished the 54-hole event tied for 27th place. The 47th-ranked Cavaliers shot 17-over 301 in the final round and were 52-over 904 for the week at Toledo’s Inverness Club. UVa’s finish tied it with 26th-ranked Wake Forest in a tournament that turned into a marathon for the Cavaliers.

Due to a four-hour and 25-minute weather delay during Wednesday’s second round, Virginia’s golfers were forced to suspend their second and third rounds due to darkness at 9 p.m. each day and then pick up play the following morning by 7 a.m.

“Unfortunately we got the bad end of the draw for the second year in a row because of some weather,” said Virginia coach Bowen Sargent. “Last year at Purdue we had to be evacuated from the course because of a tornado warning. This year we had to come back twice the next day to restart rounds. That’s tough, but those are the breaks you get in golf. Hopefully we’ll be on the other side of it in the future.”

Cavalier sophomore Will Collins led the team during the final day of play with a 2-over 73. He finished the tournament in 96th place at 13-over 226.

Junior Kyle Stough, senior Conrad Von Borsig and freshman Bruce Woodall all shot 5-over 76 during the final round. Stough was UVa’s second-best finisher at 227 for 104th place. Von Borsig placed 113th at 228 and Woodall was 127th at 230. Freshman Ben Kohles, who led the team in scoring after 36 holes, carded an 82 to drop back to 136th at 232.

Four of UVa’s five competitors return from this year’s team that became the first in school history to make back-to-back appearances at the NCAA Championships. When the tournament field was announced, UVa was a No. 9 seed in one of the NCAA’s six regional championship sites.

“I think things have really turned around over the past two years,” Sargent said. “I think the program is headed in the right direction. We have a young team and coming to events like this, they gain a lot of experience that should pay off down the road.

“It is a great learning tool for these guys. To be able to compete at two championships of this nature at the end of the season, especially at a venue like this. They will learn and take forward a lot from this.”

Oklahoma State took top honors in stroke play (849), followed by Arizona State (862), USC (865), Arkansas (865), Washington (865), Michigan (868), Texas A&M (869) and Georgia (869). Those eight teams advanced to the match play portion of the tournament that takes place Friday and Saturday to determine the NCAA team champion.

Of the other ACC teams in the field, No. 8 Georgia Tech was 10th at 874 and No. 38 Duke was 14th at 878.

NC State’s Matt Hill won the individual championship at 6-under 207. The NCAA title was his eighth individual title this year for the Wolfpack. Clemson’s Kyle Stanley finished second at 4-under 209. Both of those players qualified as individuals after their teams failed to advance through regional play.

NCAA Championships
Inverness Club
Toledo, Ohio
Par-71, 7,255 yards
Final Stroke Play Results

Team Results 1. Oklahoma State (4) 288-280-281-849 2. Arizona State (14) 294-281-287-862 3. USC (2) 305-281-279-865 3. Arkansas (9) 297-283-285-865 3. Washington (6) 293-286-286-865 6. Michigan (45) 296-285-287-868 7. Texas A&M (12) 298-276-295-869 7. Georgia (1) 288-285-296-869 9. TCU (16) 299-285-289-87310. Georgia Tech (7) 301-285-288-87410. UCF (23) 300-283-291-87412. Tennessee (20) 294-289-292-87513. San Diego 293-293-291-87714. Duke (42) 297-285-296-87815. Alabama (10) 298-297-293-87916. South Carolina (13) 305-286-294-88517. Iowa 301-296-290-88718. Chattanooga (28) 292-297-299-88819. Florida (8) 310-287-292-88920. Stanford (5) 305-298-288-89121. Illinois (15) 299-291-302-89222. Oregon (35) 306-293-298-89723. Texas Tech (17) 303-292-305-90023. UCLA (19) 306-295-299-90025. Ohio State 294-310-297-90126. Texas (24) 308-300-295-90327. Wake Forest (27) 302-304-298-90427. Virginia (47) 306-297-301-90429. Northwestern 298-304-306-90830. Arizona (36) 310-302-297-909Number in parenthesis is Golfstat rankingIndividual Leaders1. Matt Hill, NC State* 69-69-69-2072. Kyle Stanley, Clemson 72-71-66-2093. Ricky Fowler, Oklahoma State 72-70-68-2103. Tom Glissmeyer, USC 74-70-66-2105. Tom Hoge, TCU 70-70-70-2100. Alexander Sitompul, Michigan 72-69-70-2117. Blayne Barber, UCF 75-69-68-2120. Morgan Hoffmann, Oklahoma State 72-69-71-2129. Brian Harman, Georgia 71-71-71-2131. Russell Henley, Georgia 71-67-75-2131. Jesper Kennegard, Arizona State 72-69-72-2135. Nick Taylor, Washington 70-70-73-213*Individual competitorVirginia 96. Will Collins 77-76-73-226104. Kyle Stough 77-74-76-227113. Conrad Von Borsig 80-72-76-228127. Bruce Woodall 77-77-76-230136. Ben Kohles 75-75-82-232
 

Four Cavaliers Earn IWLCA All-America Honors
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 05/29/2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Four Virginia women’s lacrosse team members earned All-America honors, as announced by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA), while two others were named to the All-South Region team. Junior Kaitlin Duff and senior Blair Weymouth were named second-team All-Americans, while junior Brittany Kalkstein and senior Ashley McCulloch were honored on the third-team.

In addition, all four Cavaliers – and sophomore Liz Downs and senior Jenny Hauser - were named to the all-region team, as announced by the organization. Duff and Weymouth were first-team all-region members, while Downs, Hauser, Kalkstein and McCulloch were named to the second-team.

Duff’s second-team All-America honor marks a first for the junior, while it’s her second-consecutive year being named to the all-region team. A two-time all-conference honoree, Duff led the ACC in caused turnovers this season and finished the year ranked ninth nationally. She was named to the ACC All-Tournament team after scoring a team-high five goals and an assist, while scooping up seven ground balls and causing two turnovers. She currently sits fifth on Virginia’s career chart with 96 caused turnovers.

Weymouth became the program’s second-ever four-time All-American with the second-team honor, as Amy Appelt is the only other Cavalier to do so – earning the honor in 2002-05. Weymouth led Virginia in goals this season, scoring a point in every game throughout the year. She tallied 58 multiple goal games throughout her career, including a team-high 16 this season. She earned her first-ever All-ACC honor this year, in addition to her fourth all-region accolade. The 2006 consensus national rookie of the year and ACC Freshman of the Year, Weymouth finished her career among Virginia’s all-time leaders in goals (4th – 194), assists (5th – 78) and points (3rd – 271) and was voted this season’s MVP by her teammates.

Kalkstein is garnering her first-ever All-America and All-South Region honors. The junior started the season as a defender before switching back to the midfield halfway through the year. A two-time ACC Tournament team selection, Kalkstein led the ACC and finished the season ranked sixth nationally in draw controls. She set Virginia’s single season mark at 73 this year, surpassing her mark from 2007, and currently sits second on the program’s career list at 190 – just six shy of the all-time mark.

McCulloch, a two-time All-American and two-time all-region honoree, concluded a stellar career becoming just the fourth Cavalier to ever reach the 100 assists plateau. She also became the fourth Virginia player to break the 100 goals and 100 assists mark. She had a point in all but two games this season – both times against Maryland – and earned her second-consecutive All-ACC honor. She was also named the ACC and national player of the week after back-to-back eight point performances to open the season. McCulloch was a 2008 ACC All-Tournament team selection and finished her career in Virginia’s all-time record books for assists (3rd – 105) and points (8th – 206), in addition to holding three of the program’s top-10 single season marks for assists.

Downs, a first-time all-region honoree, was a member of the national all-rookie team a year ago. The defender has started every game throughout her career and is the team’s top match-up defender. She ranks second on the team in ground balls and fourth in caused turnovers, while consistently holding opponents’ top attackers below their season averages.

Hauser, a two-time All-American at Boston University, is garnering her first-ever All-South Region honor. She ranked second on the team in goals and third in points this year, scoring in all but two games - including the last nine straight of her career. She recorded multiple goals in 10 contests and was credited with three game-winning goals this season. The Inside Lacrosse Rookie of the Year in 2005, Hauser also earned ACC All-Tournament Team honors last year.


 

Cavs developing pipeline to DeMatha
By Doug Doughty
Doug Doughty's College Notebook Plus is exclusive to roanoke.com and is posted by 5 p.m. Fridays.

IT HAD OCCURRED to me that the three months that have transpired since the last football commitment to Virginia was an unusually long break and Jamie Oakes of CavsCorner.com must have had the same impression.

Oakes wrote in his Friday War Room that the three months’ break was the longest commitment “drought” of coach Al Groh’s nine-year tenure. That would require a lot of research, so I’ll take his word on it.

Oakes also gave one of his “fearless predictions” and said that he believes 5-11 wide receiver E.J. Scott of Good Counsel High School is the uncommitted player most likely to pick the Cavaliers. That doesn’t mean Scott will be next, just that he’s the most likely.

Another player I would put in the close-to-committing category is Kyrrel Latimer, a cornerback from DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md. As a freshman, Latimer played at St. Albans School in D.C., where Shawn Moore serves as a lower-school headmaster and has been a varsity assistant football coach.

Moore, in my opinion the best UVa football player over 40 years that I have observed the program, has a son who plays at DeMatha. In fact, Moore has cut back his coaching responsibilities in order to be able to watch his son, Michael, who will be a sophomore for the Stags next year.

Moore is a regular guest on Virginia’s pre-game football show and clearly would not be opposed to Latimer matriculating at his alma mater. Plus, there have been DeMatha players in each of the past two recruiting classes, defensive back Rodney McLeod in 2008 and outside linebacker Jeremiah “Jay” Mathis this season.

Mathis played in nine games after Virginia elected to remove his redshirt early in the season and had 17 tackles, 15 unassisted. After moving to safety in the spring, he quickly earned a starting job and would be near the top of a list of young UVa players with a bright future.