Cavaliers are succeeding despite their youth

VIRGINIA AT MISSISSIPPI
NCAA baseball super regional
Today:2 p.m., Oxford, Miss.
TV:ESPN2

By Jeff White
Published: June 5, 2009

The Virginia Cavaliers opened the baseball season with 19 consecutive wins, and they haven't lost many games since then. Which begs a question:

Aren't they a little young to be doing this?

Apparently not. In moving past the NCAA tournament's first weekend for the first time, the Wahoos have done so with a lineup dominated by firstand second-year players.

When U.Va. (46-12-1) takes the field today against Mississippi (43-18) for the opener of its best-of-three super regional in Oxford, Miss., sixth-year coach Brian O'Connor's starters will include four freshmen John Hicks, Danny Hultzen, Steven Proscia and Keith Werman and sophomores Phil Gosselin, Dan Grovatt and Jarrett Parker. Another sophomore, pitcher Robert Morey, could start tomorrow.

"At the beginning of the season, a lot of people called us a really young team, but we didn't really look at it like that," said Hultzen, who'll start on the mound for Virginia today. "We just looked at it like whatever grade you're in, however old you are, you're just out there to play baseball."

"We don't even think about it," said Hicks, a graduate of Goochland High. "We know our ages don't really matter."

Hultzen, Gosselin, Grovatt and Parker were named to the all-ACC first team last month. Hultzen, who plays first base when he's not pitching, also became the first Cavalier to be named ACC freshman of the year.

Ole Miss, by contrast, relies heavily on juniors and seniors. The Rebels started only one freshman in their most recent game, a 4-1 win over Western Kentucky.

"It's really amazing to think about how many freshmen we have that are major contributors," O'Connor said, "and how poised and confident they've been at the most important times."

It's more amazing when you consider this class once included Pete Hissey and Tyler Massey, who signed letters of intent with U.Va. in November 2007. After being drafted last June, each decided to turn pro.

"They were both impact players," O'Connor said.

Even without them, the class' collective contribution has been immense. Hultzen and Proscia were named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America team this week, and Hicks is as versatile as any player at U.Va., rotating seamlessly among four spots: first base, catcher, left field and designated hitter. Werman, whose brother, Kyle, played at U.Va., took over at second base late in the regular season and is batting .375.

Hultzen, 9-1 as a pitcher, with a 2.01 earned-run average, is batting .335. Proscia, Virginia's third baseman, is hitting .325, with nine home runs and 56 RBI. Hicks is at .313, with seven homers.

Other freshmen who have sparkled this season include first baseman Jared King and pitcher Will Roberts (Maggie Walker Governor's School).

O'Connor said he sensed during the recruiting process that this was an exceptional group. What he saw from his newcomers during fall ball strengthened that conviction.

"What you just didn't know yet was how they were going to respond to adversity during the year," O'Connor said. "And when you started to see that throughout the season, you had a feeling that you could have a special club."

The team's veterans include junior Franco Valdes, who starts at catcher. (Another junior, Tyler Cannon, was named all-ACC at shortstop.) Valdes said he's been more impressed than surprised by the youngsters' impact this season.

"They showed what they could do in the fall, and they won their spots, and came out here and we had a great season," he said. "With more to come."

Hultzen said: "It's a great experience. None of us are taking it for granted. We realize what we're doing right now is pretty special, and we're trying to keep it going."
 

Virginia-Mississippi baseball preview
Published: June 5, 2009

VIRGINIA
AT MISSISSIPPI
What: Super regional in the NCAA baseball tournament. The winner of this best-of-three series in Oxford, Miss., advances to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
When: Today, 2 p.m.; tomorrow, noon; and, if necessary, Sunday, 3 p.m.
On the air: Games 1 and 2 will be on ESPN2. Game 3, if necessary, will be on ESPN. In Richmond, WRNL (910) will carry all the games from Oxford.
Records: Virginia, which won the ACC tournament, is 46-12-1. Ole Miss, an at-large choice from the Southeastern Conference, is 43-18. The Rebels tied for the SEC regular-season title.
Rankings: In the latest Baseball America poll, U.Va. is No. 5, and Ole Miss is No. 11.
Coaches: Brian O'Connor's record is 262-101-1 in six seasons at Virginia. This is Mike Bianco's ninth season at Ole Miss (364-201-1).
NCAA appearances: The Cavaliers have played in the NCAA tournament nine times -- six under O'Connor. This is the first time U.Va. has advanced past the tourney's opening weekend. This is Ole Miss' 15th appearance in the NCAA tourney. The Rebels have advanced to the College World Series four times (1956, '64, '69, '72) and have reached a super regional for the fourth time in five seasons.
On the mound: Sophomore left-hander Drew Pomeranz pitched a complete game and struck out a school-record 16 batters Monday night to lead Ole Miss past Western Kentucky and into the super regional. He's not expected to pitch until tomorrow at the earliest. The Rebels' likely starter today is RHP Phillip Irwin (8-3, 3.84). Another option for Ole Miss this weekend might be RHP Scott Bittle (5-2, 2.17), but he hasn't pitched in more than a month because of a shoulder injury. U.Va. will start LHP Danny Hultzen ( 9-1, 2.01), the ACC freshman of the year, today, then come back tomorrow with sophomore RHP Robert Morey (3-0, 2.91) or senior RHP Andrew Carraway (7-1, 4.30).
-- Jeff White
 

Four things to know about the Ole Miss-Virginia Super Regional/Dave Brandt
Posted 6/4/2009 10:39 AM CDT on clarionledger.com

 OXFORD - We've spent much time over the past three days discussing the matchup between Ole Miss and Virginia in the Super Regional matchup that begins at 1 p.m. today at Oxford-University Stadium. So many of the main talking points have been discussed. But here's a few more things to chew on as the Rebels try to make their first College World Series since 1972:

1. Virginia may not be what it seems: The Cavaliers had an amazing pitching performance over the weekend at the Irvine Regional, which certainly speaks to how good this team's pitching can be. But after looking at their ACC stats (a 28-game sample), we learn some interesting things. Virginia had a 4.63 ERA in conference play, which is still very respectable, but way above its overall 3.19 ERA. Then, we find that the Cavaliers had a .330 batting average and scored better than seven runs per game in conference. What does that mean? Well, to me, it means that UVAs offense might be a little underappreciated while the pitching staff might be just slightly overrated. (Of course, I have the right to change my mind after today's game).

2. Could the Rebels' speed be neutralized?: Run against the Cavaliers at your own risk. Opponents stole just 31 of 53 bases against Virginia this season (58 percent) and that number was even worse for ACC opponents with a 10 for 25 mark (40 percent). The Rebels aren't completely built around the running game, but certainly like to swipe a bag or two. That will be difficult this weekend.

3. Nathan Baker: A secret weapon?: The good thing about a best-of-three series for the Rebels is they don't have to worry about resting the left-handed Baker in anticipation of a start down the line. Unless something unforeseen happens, the Rebels are going to start Phillip Irwin, Drew Pomeranz and Brett Bukvich (in some order). That means Baker can be comfortable in the bullpen, where he's been at his best this season. He was used exclusively as a reliever in SEC play and finished with a 1-0 record and a 2.82 ERA in nine appearances.

4. Leaning on the right-handed sticks: Since Virginia will throw lefty Danny Hultzen on Friday, the Rebels' right-handed sticks of RF Jeremy Travis, 2B Tim Ferguson and C Brett Basham will get their hacks in Game 1. Ferguson leads the team with a .361 batting average while Travis has arguably the most pop on the team, with seven homers in only 117 at-bats.

That's all I've got for tonight. But we'll be back with a game blog tomorrow a little before the game starts at 1 p.m. and we'll be talking baseball all afternoon. So come join us...

Virginia coach Brian O'Connor on pitching, Ole Miss and playing at O-U Stadium
Posted 6/4/2009 9:25 AM CDT on clarionledger.com
OXFORD - In this morning's paper, we had a story about the quality Virginia pitching staff, which ranks No. 3 in the country with a 3.19 ERA. I wanted to get some fresh quotes from Cavaliers coach Brian O'Connor, but couldn't get him last night until my story had already been turned in and edited. But he did call - so here's some of the stuff he had to say about the upcoming Super Regional:

* On his consistently stellar pitching staff: "Our plan when we got here six years ago was to put together a program that competes at the national level on a yearly basis. You look at any successful program and they consistently do two things well - pitching and defense. So those are the two things that we've always strived to improve. A lot of the credit goes to my pitching coach (Karl Kuhn) who's just outstanding. The rest of the credit goes to the kids we've recruited. We've hit on a few big recruits over the past few years and that's allowed us to have a really deep staff and that means a lot in college baseball."

* On what he thinks about Ole Miss: "I'm really impressed with their balance. There's nothing they don't do well. They've got a good ERA and a lot of strikeouts on the mound, which tells me they've got some power arms on the mound. Then on offense, they're not one-dimensional. They've got some guys who'll flash a little pop, but then they've stolen 90 bases and most of their guys hit above .300. Any team that wins the regular season title in the SEC is doing a lot of things right. I think we're going to be really evenly matched. At this point in the season, it simply comes down to who's playing better and executes."

* On playing at Oxford-University Stadium just days after getting through the ultra-tough Irvine Regional: "It's certainly going to be one of the better environments in the country. The stadium is great. There's no easy road to Omaha, and we certainly won't have one this weekend."

Here's another interesting stat about the Cavaliers: We know by now that they have a 46-12-1 record, which is the second-best winning percentage in the country. But dig deeper and you'll find that Virginia has only lost three games by more than two runs all season. The teams that did it: Duke, Boston College and Stony Brook (???). So with those numbers, it appears to be a pretty good bet that fans will be staying in their seats for nine innings this weekend at O-U Stadium.

 

Carraway picks up Cavaliers
The pitcher's recent performances are a big reason why Virginia is in the Super Regionals.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- The turnaround in Andrew Carraway's baseball season can be traced to a hotel room in Durham, N.C.

The housecleaning staff is still wondering what happened to the towels.

But, back to that in a minute.

Carraway, a senior right-hander from Marietta, Ga., anchored the Cavaliers' starting staff for most of the season and was the winning pitcher Sunday as Virginia beat No. 1-ranked Cal-Irvine 5-1 and advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals for the first time.

UVa (46-12-1) will visit Mississippi (43-18) today at 2 p.m. in a game that will be televised by ESPN2. The first team to win two games in the series will advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.

Carraway (7-1, 4.30 ERA) is part of a three-man starting rotation that includes sophomore Robert Morey and freshman Danny Hultzen, but it wasn't too long ago that Carraway was relegated to the bullpen following a May 15 debacle at Virginia Tech.

The Hokies victimized Carraway for eight hits and four earned runs, forcing coach Brian O'Connor to pull Carraway after 2 13 innings, his shortest outing in 27 career starts.

A late UVa rally fell short in a 9-8 setback that stands as the Cavaliers' last loss.

"I had a couple of rough starts to finish up with [against] Duke and Virginia Tech," Carraway said. "Those were kind of confusing to me because, early in the season, I had a couple of starts where I didn't feel I had my best stuff, and they still turned out OK.

"Then, we played Duke and Virginia Tech, teams with good offenses but not traditionally at the top of the ACC, and they kind of put it to me. It was pretty humbling for me because that's not the way you want to end your senior year."

There were many who wondered what kind of season Virginia would have after losing seven players to the 2008 Major League Baseball draft, including four juniors who had entered the program at the same time as Carraway.

Carraway, an outstanding student who had received an invitation to reside on UVa's Lawn as a senior, was the object of some MLB interest as a junior but intentionally set a high asking price because of his desire to remain in school.

The Cavaliers surpassed all expectations this year and knew they were going to the NCAA tournament, but nobody was predicting an ACC championship, particularly when first-round opponent Clemson jumped to a 4-0 lead after three innings. After the Tigers had stretched their lead to 5-2 in the fourth, O'Connor called for Carraway, who had relieved only twice in his previous 27 appearances.

All Carraway did was hold the Tigers to one hit and strike out seven batters in 4 13 shutout innings as the Cavaliers rallied for a 6-5 victory.

"That's what I did my entire second year," said Carraway of his middle-innings stint, "so, I'd been there before. The way I'd been going, my only approach was to come out of the bullpen and pitch, as they say, with your hair on fire."

Carraway started working with six-year UVa pitching coach Karl Kuhn as soon as the Virginia Tech game was over. Much of the work was done with Carraway simulating the throwing motion while grasping a towel.

"We had gone to Durham a little early," Carraway said, "and we were in the hallway [of the hotel] around 10 p.m. There were obviously some things I needed to work out. A lot of it had to do with my glove positioning. It had gotten a little weak."

Carraway started the ACC championship game and quickly gave up a two-run homer, which he attributes partly to short rest, but he had a week to get ready for Cal-Irvine and came up with a masterpiece.

He pitched four-hit ball over seven innings, which is one-third inning more than O'Connor had in mind when he came to the mound with two outs in the seventh.

"I had every intention of pulling him," O'Connor said. "He said, 'Coach, I can get this guy.' We had a left-handed pitcher ready to face their left-handed hitter, and [Carraway] told me, 'Coach, I got it. I can do it.' If ever there's a guy you could trust on your ballclub, it would be Andrew Carraway."

O'Connor has signed a few phenoms in his time at Virginia, but Carraway didn't meet that description. He said he selected Virginia over Furman after the Cavaliers agreed to pay for his books as a freshman.

"He's not supposed to tell you that," said a sheepish O'Connor, who has steadily upgraded Carraway's financial package.

Carraway, one of two seniors on the Cavaliers' 25-man traveling roster, enters the Oxford (Miss.) Regional with a 17-4 record. His 81.0 winning percentage ranks fourth all-time at UVa for pitchers with 10 or more victories.

"The kid's been completely unselfish," O'Connor said. "

For him to go out and have the kind of outing he did and on the stage he did was really impressive. Our team needed it, but I knew he needed it, too. I think there's still some great days ahead for him in this uniform."
 

Five questions facing Virginia's super regional
— Norm Wood
June 5, 2009

1. How difficult will it be for U.Va. to win on the road?
U.Va. has played its last 10 games away from home, going 8-2, including a current eight-game winning streak. Ole Miss makes a habit of tweaking the fire marshal in Oxford by packing Swayze Field, which lists capacity at 5,000, but somehow has attendance figures of 7,684 fans or more listed among its top 12 all-time crowds. The Rebels are 27-9 at home.

2. What are the strengths of these teams?
There's a chance we could see a rarity in tournament college baseball — games that last less than three hours. U.Va., led by ACC freshman of the year Danny Hultzen (9-1, 2.01 earned-run average; also batting .335), enters the super-regional third in the nation in ERA (3.19; one of eight teams with an ERA under 4.00). Ole Miss is 15th in ERA (4.12).

3. How about the weaknesses?
It's a good thing U.Va. is adept at stealing bases (tied for 24th in the nation and leads the ACC with 104) and getting hits with runners in scoring position. Like the Rebels, the Cavaliers don't get it done with the big fly. U.Va. is seventh in the ACC with 55 home runs (still more than double than the 25 it had last season), while Ole Miss is last in the SEC with 54 home runs.

4. Who are U.Va.'s offensive catalysts?
Center fielder Jarrett Parker (.378 batting average, 16 home runs and 64 RBI this season) went 6-of-14 with four RBI in the regional, including 2-of-5 with two RBI against San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg, next week's likely No. 1 draft pick. Steven Proscia (.325 with nine home runs and 56 RBI) and Dan Grovatt (.378) also are dangerous hitters.

5. Who is the big weapon for Ole Miss?
Drew Pomeranz (8-4, 3.46 ERA) pitched a two-hitter with a school-record 16 strikeouts in Ole Miss' regional-clinching 4-1 win against Western Kentucky. He also threw seven innings of five-hit ball in an 8-1 win against Monmouth in the regional opener.
 

Cavs, Rebels start arms race
June 5, 2009 12:35 am
BY CHRIS TALBOTT
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
JACKSON, Miss.

--Mississippi's starting pitchers put on quite the show as they moved through last weekend's regional with a 1.56 earned-run average.

A gaudy number, for sure, but the Rebels have nothing on Virginia's starting rotation as the teams prepare to meet in a super regional today in Oxford.

The Cavaliers, after all, tore apart the competition to advance, turning in a 0.44 ERA. And there wasn't much of a drop off when coach Brian O'Connor handed the ball to the bullpen. The team gave up just two runs in three games, a 0.67 ERA, while defeating the nation's hottest pitching prospect before sweeping the top-ranked team.

"I don't know that I'll ever see that again," O'Connor said. "It was just one of those special weekends."

Both the Rebels (43-18) and Cavaliers (42-16-1) are looking to start a run on special weekends, and nothing would be more special than advancing to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. Ole Miss, the Southeastern Conference regular season co-champion, has been to a super regional four of the last five seasons, but hasn't broken through under coach Mike Bianco. The Rebels' last trip to the CWS was in 1972.

Virginia has never been to a super regional, let alone Omaha. After near reduction to club status in 2001, though, the Atlantic Coast Conference champion Cavaliers have been building toward a long postseason run.

They started the season 19-0 and are on an eight-game winning streak that includes a four-game sweep through the ACC tournament.

While pitching grabbed the spotlight in Irvine, Calif., the Cavaliers are a well-rounded team that comes into Oxford feeling confident and loose. Sure, there will be 10,000 fans there cheering against them. But the way Virginia players see it, that puts the onus on Ole Miss.

The Rebels have a 4.14 ERA, a .315 team batting average and a fielding percentage of .971. The Cavaliers sport the nation's third-best staff ERA at 3.19, bat at a clip of .331 and have a .972 fielding percentage.

The Cavaliers will likely start Danny Hultzen (9-1, 2.01 ERA), Robert Morey (3-0, 2.91) and Carraway (7-1, 4.30) in the series.

Bianco's not ready to set a rotation, though. He has announced that Phil Irwin (8-3, 3.84) will start today's game.

 

Young Cavaliers try to extend season
By Jay Jenkins
Published: June 5, 2009

OXFORD, Miss. — When the 2009 season started, Virginia coach Brian O’Connor did not know what to expect.

With a host of freshmen and sophomores filling the Cavaliers’ roster, the sixth-year manager opened unranked and without great expectations.

Forty-six wins later, the last three in the Irvine Regional, Virginia has raised the bar in meteoric fashion.

Today, Virginia will look to add another chapter to the best season in program history — a Super Regional victory.

With a best two-out-of three format being employed, the Cavaliers (46-12-1) open play at Mississippi (43-18) at 2 p.m. in one of 16 Super Regionals to be played this weekend. UVa and Ole Miss will also meet Saturday at 12 p.m. and on Sunday at 3 p.m. if the programs split the first two games.

“We’re very excited to be here,” O’Connor said at a press conference Thursday. “We’re in the position that you work for all year long, to have a chance to win a series to go to Omaha.”

That quest picked up steam as Virginia won its final eight games, which included perfect records at the ACC tournament and in the regional hosted by top-ranked UC Irvine.

The steady play of late, which has been anchored by strong pitching, has come with little self-imposed pressure.

That will not change at Swayze Field, the players said, despite anticipated crowds of 10,000 fans per game.

“We have taken that approach pretty much every step of the way,” said Virginia sophomore Dan Grovatt, the MVP of the ACC tournament. “We are going to be away, we are going to be on the road, so the pressure will be on the home team to really put on a show for their crowd.

“We are just going to go in there and just play our game and everything will take care of itself.”

O’Connor agreed.

“When you play at home, all the pressure is on you because you are supposed to advance,” he said. “There was a tremendous amount of pressure on Irvine this weekend because they were No. 1 in the country, they were hosting their first regional and everybody just assumes because you host you are supposed to move on.”

There is an obvious advantage, however, to hosting a Super Regional.

“Are the odds a lot greater that when you do host a Super Regional that you move on? Sure, six out of eight teams every year in Omaha host Super Regionals,” O’Connor said. “But for this team, I think its good that we are going on the road.

“I think they have had that attitude all year long that they have something to prove, and I think they are comfortable away from [Davenport Field]. I don’t think there is anything that they are going to back down from, and this weekend is no different.”

Freshman Danny Hultzen will start today on the mound for the Cavaliers. The southpaw is 9-1 on the season with a 2.01 earned run averahe.

“Danny pitched great at Irvine against a really great baseball team,” O’Connor said. “He will give us a great chance to win that opening game and to get momentum for the weekend.”

Hultzen, who has 90 strikeouts in 80.2 innings, said he was excited for the chance to throw in the opener.

“It will be awesome,” the freshman All-American said. “Pitching at Irvine and in the ACC tournament against UNC were great experiences.

“I actually just realized that no other Virginia team has ever done what we have done. That is pretty special.”

Ole Miss will counter with its No. 2 starter, senior Phillip Irwin, thus holding top starter Drew Pomeranz at least one additional day after he pitched 17 innings in the Oxford Regional.

The Rebels, who are 17-13 this year in day games, have been in this situation before. In fact, Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco has led his team to a Super Regional in four of the past five years, but the program has not advanced to the College World Series since 1972.

“The goal has been the same every year. The goal is to get to the College World Series and win a national championship,” Bianco said. “There’s pressure with it. There is pressure when you play in a program like ours and in front of large crowds.

“It’s inevitable, but I didn’t feel this year is any different than any other year.”

Extra bases

Ole Miss All-American Scott Bittle (5-2, 2.17 ERA) was not added to the Rebels’ 25-man roster. Bittle, who was injured May 2, visited Dr. James Andrews and was diagnosed with a strained anterior capsule in his shoulder. … Virginia is 30-1 against non-conference foes this season.
 

Virginia Makes Super Regional Debut Friday at Ole Miss
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 06/04/2009

OXFORD, Miss. – The Virginia baseball team takes a trip into uncharted territory this weekend, competing in the program’s first-ever super regional as the Cavaliers travel to Ole Miss to play in the NCAA Oxford Super Regional. The best-of-three series begins at 2 p.m. Friday on ESPN2. Game two is slated for noon Saturday on ESPN2, while the third game (if necessary) is at 3 p.m. Sunday.

The winner of the series earns a trip to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., beginning next Saturday. UVa is looking for its first-ever CWS berth, while Ole Miss has not reached the CWS since 1972.

All three games also will be available on ESPN360.com. The Saturday and Sunday games will be a split national broadcast. Viewers in Virginia, the D.C. area and Mississippi will receive exclusive coverage of the Ole Miss-Virginia game, while viewers in the rest of the country will get whiparound coverage of Ole Miss-UVa as well as another game. For full information on coverage maps, click on the link at the top of the page.

Both teams had practice sessions Thursday at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field on the Ole Miss campus.

Virginia (46-12-1) has won eight straight games heading into the super regional. After winning the final game of their series May 16 at Virginia Tech, the Cavaliers ran off four straight wins (including three over NCAA tournament host teams) to win the ACC Baseball Championship before sweeping three contests at the NCAA Irvine Regional last weekend.

Virginia gave up only two runs in the NCAA Irvine Regional – the fewest number of runs allowed in an NCAA regional since the tournament went to a 64-team format in 1999. The previous low was three, set by Arizona State in 2003.

The Cavaliers will start LHP Danny Hultzen (Fr., Bethesda, Md.) in the opener Friday. He will be opposed by RHP Phillip Irwin of Ole Miss. Saturday, the Cavaliers will start RHP Robert Morey (So., Virginia Beach, Va.), while the Rebels have yet to announce a starter.

Ole Miss is 43-18 this season after winning the NCAA Oxford Regional last week. The Rebels defeated Monmouth and Western Kentucky in the regional, then lost to the Hilltoppers before rebounding to top WKU in the second regional championship. The Rebels earned the SEC West Division title this year after going 20-10 in the SEC. Ole Miss is particularly strong in front of its home fans and has gone 27-9 at home this year. Tim Ferguson leads Ole Miss with a .361 batting average. Jordan Henry is the motor of the Rebels’ offense, with a .347 batting average and a team-high 35 stolen bases.

Virginia is making its first-ever trip to Ole Miss. The teams have met just two times previously, and ironically both came in the 1972 NCAA District III Playoffs. UVa won the first game, 9-3, before the Rebels took the second, 9-0.

 

Hard work pays off for Cavs
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: June 5, 2009

While Virginia has been in a quiet fundraising campaign to improve its baseball facilities, the Cavaliers’ team is making plenty of noise in the NCAA tournament.

Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman removed the quiet tag off the fundraising effort on Thursday when the former UVa star pledged $250,000 to the baseball program. With Zimmerman’s gift, that fundraising effort topped the $3 million mark, which will make Davenport field a better facility for the future.

Meanwhile, Coach Brian O’Connor and his team are braced for today’s Super Regional at Ole Miss. Win two games and pack the bags for Omaha, site of the College World Series.

The Cavaliers have already caught the eye of Mississippi coach Mike Bianco, who was more than impressed after studying Virginia’s facts and figures.

“Their statistics look similar to ours ... just better,” the Rebels’ skipper told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. “They’re a team that looks like they do everything well.”

Multi-talented Cavs

UVa has a .331 team batting average, better than Mississippi’s .315. The Rebels own a 4.14 team ERA, 15th best in the country, but pales in comparison to the Cavaliers’ 3.19, third-best in the nation. Virginia has a .972 fielding average, nudging out Ole Miss’ .971.

No way Bianco and the Rebels’ pitchers can overlook Virginia’s solid lineup of hitters. From top to bottom in the batting order, the Wahoos are hard to beat.

Just ask San Diego State’s Stephen Strasburg, the top-rated pitcher in the country who lost 5-1 to the Cavaliers a week ago. Virginia didn’t fear his triple-digit fastball one bit, thanks to a stroke of brilliance by Cavs’ hitting coach Kevin McMullan.

He’ll try anything

As soon as UVa learned it would face Strasburg, Coach Mac had a surprise waiting on the hitters when they showed up at Davenport for practice.

He moved the pitching machine to about 30 feet from the plate and let ’er rip.

“I saw that and said, ‘Oh, OK, bring out the 32-inch bat,’” chuckled UVa catcher Franco Valdes, one of the heroes of the NCAA Regional at Cal-Irvine.

“Coach Mac took them out of their comfort zone and gave them a plan going into the regional as to how we were going to attack [Strasburg],” UVa coach Brian O’Connor said Tuesday. “It wasn’t going to be about taking pitches ... it was going to be go out there and be ultra-aggressive.”

That’s exactly what happened from the first batter in the lineup, Jarrett Parker, who fouled off 3-2 fastballs from Strasburg, pitches coming in between 96 to 98 mph. Strasburg had to throw a 3-2 changeup to strike him out.

“Even though [Strasburg] struck [Parker] out, I think it sent a message to our team and to [Strasburg] that we were there to compete and we could battle,” O’Connor said. “After that, Phil Gosselin hits one out of the ballpark.”

O’Connor laughed that he wasn’t sure that Mac would be able to throw batting practice the rest of the way because he might have thrown his arm out getting them ready for the San Diego State ace.

“The only day we got to use the pitching machine that close in BP was that Monday,” McMullan said.

Next day, the Wahoos were airborne and headed to Irvine. For the next couple of days of practice, Mac pitched as hard as he could from about the same range as the machine.

“It was all about being able to log velocity in your mind’s eye,” McMullan said. “Just to see what it feels like, so you can say, ‘I can handle this.’”

During the week, he threw tracking drills to UVa’s hitters, throwing the entire repertoire of all the pitchers the Cavaliers might see in the Irvine regional.

Valdes said all that helped.

“It definitely helped us mentally and physically to get our hands through the zone faster and get things simple,” the catcher said. “It allowed us to be more comfortable in the box.”

As Johnny Bench used to say, a good hitter can time a bullet if he knows it’s coming.

McMullan likes this lineup, but he’s not ready to declare the best he’s been around at Virginia. The 2007 club was pretty solid and had lots of experience, perhaps a little more hitting savvy. However, his current bunch has been amazing at delivering in the clutch.

That’s pretty good, considering most of them are freshmen and sophomores.

“The way college baseball is now, by the time the guys put their uniforms on in the spring, they’re had six months of experience, so they’re really second years,” McMullan said of the freshmen. “We did fast-forward their development a little bit.”

Virginia’s coaching staff recognized that the freshman class boasted a lot of quality athletes — multi-sport guys, former football players with a tough mentality and they used that to their advantage.

“Good athletes who could do multiple things,” McMullan said. “I think that’s one reason some of those guys came on a little bit quicker that we thought they might. They only had one sport to focus on and their football mentality helped.”

Virginia will need all that to get past Ole Miss, one of the South’s strongest programs over the past several years, today.

Regardless, UVa’s baseball program has gained incredible exposure over the past few weeks, which will help build O’Connor’s dream and improve the stadium.

Which brings us back to Zimmerman’s gift.

The money will be used to make Davenport an even better place to play. Among the things the project will include: construction of a team meeting room; weight room; indoor batting cages; training room; a Hall of Fame area; umpire’s locker room; and visiting locker room (current umps and visitors must dress at U-Hall).

Zimmerman said he was thankful for the development he made while a Cavalier, which has helped him fulfill his dream of becoming a major leaguer. He wants to make the UVa experience better for Wahoos that follow in his footsteps.

At some point, if enough money is raised by the VAF, additional seating will be added.

If Virginia emerges from Oxford, somebody might want to have those seats in by next season.
 

UVa gets visit from St. Anthony’s star
By Whitey Reid
Published: June 5, 2009

In the few months that new Virginia basketball coach Tony Bennett and his staff have been on the job, a lot of time has been spent on following up with players who had been recruited during the Dave Leitao regime.

In some cases, players are no longer interested in Virginia. In other cases, the staff is no longer interested in recruits.

Then there are the cases that remain up in the air.

Derrick Williams, a power forward from prestigious St. Anthony’s High (Jersey City, N.J.), is one such case.

Williams, who has offers from Seton Hall and Fordham but has yet to receive one from Virginia’s new staff, will be in Charlottesville on an unofficial visit this weekend.

“He’s built like a defensive end,” said Eric Harrield, Williams’ AAU coach and freshman coach at St. Anthony’s. “He’s one of the most powerful kids I’ve ever seen. He’s really solid and strong on the defensive end, but also agile and can shoot out to 18 feet.

“He’s a kid who if you play behind him, you might as well say, ‘That’s two points’ or just send him to the foul line. … He’s progressed very nicely.”

If Bennett and staff deem Williams a good fit for the system, they might have an in since Harrield is a Virginia alum. Harrield (class of 1994) was going to be in town for his reunion this weekend and he thought it would be a good opportunity to give Williams and Eli Carter, a point guard on his team, a look at the school.

At just 6-foot-7, Williams is considered a bit undersized for an ACC power forward. However, he might make up for it with his strength and, having played under the legendary Bob Hurley at St. Anthony’s, his basketball I.Q.

“The thing is when you get a kid from coach Hurley, you know you’re going to be getting a kid who knows how to play the game the right way and who will always give you that work ethic,” Harrield said. “Coming in [to high school], Derrick already had a great work ethic, but combine that with the basketball knowledge he’s receiving. … The sky’s the limit for a kid like Derrick.”

Williams has also drawn interest from Miami, Virginia Tech, Providence, St. John’s and Marquette.
 

Cavaliers' programsweating the big stuff
STEVE DeSHAZO: Cavs' high-profile struggles obscure lots of success
Date published: 6/5/2009
By Steve DeShazo 6/5/09

GREGG Brandon is an innovator. So when he dropped by Al Groh's office earlier this week, he offered his boss an out-of-the-box idea to improve the University of Virginia's struggling football program.

"I said, 'We need to get that baseball coach and find out what he told his kids.'" Brandon said Tuesday. "Whatever he did to make those kids understand that they didn't have to whine, they just had to perform--we've got to start doing that."

That coach, of course, is Brian O'Connor, whose Cavaliers traveled 3,000 miles last weekend and swept a bracket that included the nation's then-No. 1 team (Cal-Irvine), the defending national champion (Fresno State) and the most dominant college pitcher in recent memory (San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg).

And Brandon's right. If Virginia's highest-profile programs could emulate the success of some of its lesser-publicized ones, the Cavaliers would be in business.

As athletic director Craig Littlepage told a local gathering of the Virginia Athletic Foundation: "We'd like to extend the spring semester [success] throughout the entire academic year."

Yes, there has been plenty for Cavalier Nation to cheer this spring.

Besides the baseball team's first trip to the NCAA Super Regionals, the men's lacrosse team was ranked No. 1 in the nation for most of the season before losing to Cornell in the semifinals. Women's lacrosse also made the NCAA field.

U.Va.'s Dominic Inglot and Michael Shabaz won the NCAA men's doubles tennis title. And women's rowing and the 6-year-old women's golf team each finished the season ranked fourth in the nation.

Virginia has first-rate facilities and admired coaches. The Cavaliers are 10th in the most recent Sears Cup standings, which measures achievement in all sports, and could finish in the top 10 for the first time in a decade. Virginia won Atlantic Coast Conference titles in five sports, and only three of 25 teams had losing records.

Unfortunately for the school's fund-raisers, two of the three were the flagship sports, football and men's basketball. (The other was wrestling.) Their well-publicized struggles tend to obscure victories elsewhere and lower the perception of Virginia's otherwise robust program.

"Like it or not, we all recognize that football and men's basketball dominate overall interest in a program," said Dirk Katstra, the Virginia Athletic Foundation's executive director. "They set the tempo, so to speak, at the beginning of a school year and for a lot of donors, they say a lot about how you feel about a program."

He's right. Virginia Tech is 52nd in the Sears Cup standings. But what most fans of either school think of first is the Hokies' 9-1 record against Virginia in football since 1999 and Seth Greenberg's 4-2 mark against Dave Leitao's team over the past three seasons.

"We've got some work to do," said Jason Williford, who played on Virginia's 1995 Elite Eight team and recently returned as an assistant to new basketball coach Tony Bennett.

"We need to become relevant again--not just nationally and in the ACC, but even in the state. If you look at what VCU, George Mason and Virginia Tech have been able to do recently, we need to be pretty successful in the state."

That means securing the services of in-state players of the caliber of Courtland's Josh Hairston (who committed to Duke) and Richmond native Ed Davis (who played on North Carolina's national title team). The inability to do so was a big factor in Leitao losing his job.

And the consensus is that this is a make or break year for Groh, who grudgingly fired his son, Mike, as offensive coordinator and hired Brandon to install a wide-open attack that will debut this fall.

Last year's lackluster 5-7 football season came after Virginia began demanding bigger contributions from longtime donors to maintain their preferred seating at Scott Stadium.

"We've got to step up and get back in the hunt for a bowl game," Brandon said.

That's the baseline--especially when the ACC has nine bowl tie-ins.

VAF officials admit that in a sluggish economy, many donors aren't breaking down doors to support program that isn't winning. Through ticket sales, TV revenue and donations, football and men's basketball create much of the revenue that support the 600-odd athletic scholarships Virginia awards annually.

Said Katstra: "When your highest-profile programs aren't performing, it gives people reason to pause and say, 'Is that really what I expect to get in return for my investment?' People are actually using those kinds of words."

Sounds like a couple of teams could use a motivational speech. O'Connor will be available--but not (he hopes) until after next week's College World Series.

 

Taylor returns to UVa
Media General News Service
Published: June 5, 2009

MADISON — After Madison County’s loss to Dan River in the Group A, Division 2 state boys basketball semifinals in March, Mountaineers coach Tim Taylor had a singular focus — returning to Richmond next year and capturing the state title.

There was only one person who could get him to turn his attention elsewhere. So when University of Virginia women’s basketball coach Debbie Ryan phoned, Taylor, 43, had a tough decision to make. In the end, he chose to rejoin Ryan’s staff at U.Va. and become the Cavaliers’ associate head coach. Former Virginia and WNBA player Wendy Palmer is also returning to UVa as an assistant.

“I am very pleased and excited to have Tim Taylor and Wendy Palmer joining our family,” Ryan said in a press release. “Our players will really benefit from the unbelievable knowledge and passion they both bring to our program.”

But Taylor also had a passion for Madison, where he was a player in the 1980s.

“Frankly, I feel like I’m walking away from a state title,” Taylor said. “But it was too tough to pass up with the associate head coach title. Madison County is the only place that could make me even consider turning this down.”

Taylor was previously an assistant under Ryan from 2000-05, but left the program after his wife, Tonya, was diagnosed with cancer to return to the high school ranks, where there would be less travel.

He coached two seasons each at Orange County and Madison County, racking up an 83-23 record and taking both schools to the state tournament. Last year, the Mountaineers won their first 28 games before losing to Dan River. With four starters returning, Madison could be considered a favorite to win a state championship in 2010.

But Ryan called and offered Taylor the job after assistants Jeff House and Curtis Loyd both left the program. Tonya Taylor has been cancer-free for about four years and said she would be happy to see her husband return to UVa.

But even into last weekend, Taylor was working with his players at Madison, where the Mountaineers hosted a team camp Saturday and Sunday. He met with the team to tell them about the offer and later broke the news he would take the job.

“I was kind of shocked,” said Bull Run District player of the year Jerel Carter.

Carter, who will return to the Mountaineers as a senior next season, said many of the returning players thought Taylor might pursue a college job after they graduated.

“We didn’t think he was going to leave this year,” Carter said. “Guys took it different ways, but I think most of us understood. He was a good coach and we had a great relationship on and off the court. I wish him the best.”

Taylor said the Madison players took the news well.

“I felt good that they were looking at the big picture,” he said. “They’ve actually supported me, which made the decision even harder. When we say we bleed blue, we really mean that. Virginia is the only place I would have left Madison for.”

Taylor helped recruit U.Va. standouts Monica Wright and Lyndra Littles, among others, in his first stint with the Cavs and said he’s looking forward to the opportunity to coach Wright, a rising senior.

He’s also excited because he sees potential for his new position to lead to a head coaching opportunity down the road.

“You take that title of associate head coach because, yes, you want to be a head coach eventually,” Taylor said. “I’ve been proud of what we’ve done over the last four years. I think I’ve shown I can be a head coach.”
 

Taylor, Palmer return to U.Va. as women’s assistant coaches
VIC DORR JR. TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Published: June 5, 2009

Like basketball boomerangs, Tim Taylor and Wendy Palmer have returned to their point of launch: the University of Virginia.

Taylor and Palmer were hired yesterday to fill vacancies on the Cavaliers' women's basketball coaching staff.

Taylor will be more than an assistant. He was appointed to the position of associate head coach.

In a statement released by the school, Cavaliers head coach Debbie Ryan said her players "will really benefit from the unbelievable knowledge and passion (Taylor and Palmer) will bring to our program."

The selections represent a reconnection with Virginia's storied past. Palmer was a two-time Kodak All-American at power forward while playing at U.Va. from 1993-96.

Her résumé also includes 11 seasons in the WNBA. She spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Kentucky.

Palmer, a two-time ACC player of the year and three-time first-team all-conference selection, was the first female player in Virginia history to pile up more than 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. She still owns the program record for career rebounds (1,221).

Palmer spoke glowingly of her experience at U.Va.

"My time at Virginia molded me into the person I am today," she said. "I feel happy, grateful and thankful to have the opportunity to work at my alma mater and for Debbie Ryan."

Taylor toiled as a Cavaliers assistant coach from 2001-05. He returns to the Virginia program after four seasons as a boys coach at Orange and Madison high schools.

He led Orange to its first-ever Virginia state tournament and a school-record 25 straight wins in 2006.

He steered Madison to a school-record 28 straight victories in 2009. That harvest included the school's first berth in the state tournament in 13 years.

Ryan called Taylor, who helped steer the Cavaliers to four NCAA tournaments in five years, "one of the best tacticians in the game of basketball."