UVa stays alive in Omaha
By Jay Jenkins
Published: June 15, 2009

OMAHA, Neb. — Facing yet another team’s ace in the postseason, the odds were stacked against Virginia.

Daniel Renken, an All-American pitcher at Cal State Fullerton, had not lost since April Fool’s Day.

This time, however, the joke was on Fullerton.

The fifth-ranked Cavaliers’ offense provided timely hits, propelling Virginia to a 7-5 victory over the Titans and allowing UVa to survive an elimination game and extend its stay at the College World Series.

“I am very, very proud of our club,” said Virginia coach Brian O’Connor. “This team has shown me time and time again to be a very resilient group. Every time all year we have bounced back from defeat.

“I don’t know that there is anything better that you can have said about yourself.”

Par for the course, Virginia (49-14-1) was forced to rally for the win over Fullerton.

Trailing 2-0 in the second inning following a two-run homer by Fullerton catcher Dustin Garneau, the Cavaliers rebounded to even the score with RBI singles from John Hicks and Keith Werman.

With the bases still loaded with Cavaliers, first baseman Danny Hultzen gave Virginia a lead it would not relinquish with a two-run single into left-center field.

It was rather fitting as Hultzen was victimized in Virginia’s opening game in the CWS, recording his shortest start on the mound this season as LSU steamrolled to a 9-5 win.

“After not pitching my best on Saturday, it felt good to help the team out with the bat,” Hultzen said.

In all, Virginia finished the frame with four hits.

“[Hultzen’s] hit was a big hit,” O’Connor said. “To put up four runs on an All-American pitcher like Renken is a great inning for us.

“Believe me, I wanted more. But that was huge.”

Fullerton answered in the third inning as Christian Colon pelted an offering from Virginia starter Robert Morey into the bleacher seats in left field for a solo homer.

The inning appeared even worse for Morey moments later before the first out of the game after the Titans managed to get runners on the corners.

Despite having Andrew Carraway prepped in the bullpen, O’Connor elected to stay with Morey.

It paid off.

Morey managed to get pop outs from Jared Clark and Khris Davis before escaping the jam when Virginia catcher Franco Valdes helped catch Josh Fellhauer on an expected double steal that went awry when the lead runner failed to leave the bag on the throw to second.

“We got 13 hits and five runs, that’s not very good offense for us,” said Fullerton coach Dave Serrano. “We got good at-bats when it didn’t matter and bad at-bats when it did matter.”

Luckily for Virginia, the offense continued to contribute against Fullerton (47-16), the team that eliminated the Cavaliers from the postseason in 2008.

In fact, the Cavaliers scored a lone run in the fifth after Tyler Cannon walked and later scored from second on a double by left fielder Phil Gosselin.

Virginia also scored a pair in the sixth, chasing Renken (11-3) from the contest after he allowed six hits and six earned runs. The key run-producing hits in the frame came on a double by Werman and a single by Cannon off reliever Nick Ramirez.

“You are not going to win many College World Series games scoring four runs,” O’Connor said. “The fact that we were able to build on that in the ninth inning became pretty important.

“Fullerton has a great club and they continued to battle.”

That was certainly the case.

With Virginia closer Kevin Arico in, the Titans used three hits and one Cavalier error to trim the lead to a pair of runs.

“My heart was beating a little harder but I still had the confidence that we were going to finish it off,” said Hultzen. “It was kind of a rough inning but we still have the confidence in our defense and in Arico that he is going to pitch it out.”

After a visit from O’Connor, Arico did just forcing Davis into a routine grounder to Cannon at shortstop that turned into a fielder’s choice.

“It was not as easy as I would have liked, but Kevin did the job,” O’Connor said.

Carraway, who pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, entered in the fifth inning and earned the win on the mound. The senior scattered four hits and two walks, improving to 9-1.

Matt Packer, who retired the lone batter he faced in the seventh on one pitch, and Tyler Wilson also worked for the Cavaliers.

“It took a lot. We had to mix the pitching together,” O’Connor said. “I came into this game saying, ‘whatever it takes to get to Wednesday we will worry about on Wednesday.’

“It is a similar approach that we took to Game 2 at Ole Miss. We pitched everybody we had in Game 2 and we figured out the next game and that’s what we are going to do on Wednesday. It took a lot of really good individual performances.”

Virginia awaits the loser of Monday’s late game between LSU and Arkansas. That elimination game will be held Wednesday at 7 p.m.

O’Connor said he would determine a starting pitcher today after analyzing the pitch counts from the first two games.

Fullerton (47-16), which left nine runners on base, was the first team eliminated from the CWS.
 

Carraway’s move to bullpen pays dividends
By Jay Jenkins
Published: June 16, 2009

OMAHA, Neb. — Mired in a slump as a starting pitcher, Andrew Carraway could have looked at his new fate as a demotion.

A mainstay in Virginia’s rotation, coach Brian O’Connor and pitching coach Karl Kuhn elected to move the senior to the bullpen for the ACC tournament.

Carraway accepted the role with open arms, hurling 4.1 innings of scoreless baseball in a series of games that jumpstarted the program.

Carraway was back in the bullpen Saturday as the Virginia opened the College World Series. Yet despite warming up, the right-hander was not summoned by O’Connor against the lefty-heavy lineup of LSU.

The wait was well worth it for the Georgia native.

With the Cavaliers clinging to a 4-3 lead in the top-half of the fifth inning, Carraway was inserted.

“The game was on the ropes a little bit,” O’Connor said. “He calmed us down and that’s what your senior veteran players do.”

Carraway knew he was not going to be asked to pitch the remainder of the game and pitched accordingly.

“You will see a guy that starts sometimes, he might have two really good pitches and he throws like he is closing the game,” Carraway said. “He will burn himself up through three or four innings. I was able to do that today because of the situation.

“It is a completely different mindset. To be able to pitch relief has helped me be able to clear my mind and step on the mound. Your hair is on fire, giving it everything you’ve got.”

Carraway (10-1) recorded eight outs, including one on a pick-off throw, before giving way to left-handed reliever Matt Packer with two outs in the seventh.

“You could not have asked for more from the young man,” O’Connor said. “Andrew pitched with poise and with a purpose.”

Picking a pitcher

Minutes after upending Fullerton, O’Connor was asked about his starting pitcher in Wednesday’s elimination game.

The skipper chuckled.

“I haven’t even thought about it,” he said, pointing out that the opponent would not factor into the decision. “It will be the freshest guy kind of thing.

“I have to look at our relievers and how much they threw over the previous two days.”

One option is senior Robert Poutier, who started the third game in the super regional at Ole Miss.

“It could be Poutier,” O’Connor said, “or one of these relievers that have worked already.”

Changing things up

With outfielder Jarrett Parker mired in a season-worst slump, O’Connor created six potential batting orders Sunday evening.

Eventually the skipper elected to sleep on it, pushing the decision back a day.

How did he finally determine it?

O’Connor joked that he flipped a coin.

The decision was made to move junior Tyler Cannon into the leadoff spot — Parker’s normal slot — and hit Hultzen in the second spot.

Parker, who did not put a ball in play in the CWS until his 10th plate appearance, was dropped to sixth in the batting order. On April 11, Parker was hitting .417, but has since seen his average drop 62 points.

It has been noticeable since the start of the postseason as the sophomore has gone 14 for 48 with 19 strikeouts, including at least one in each of the past 11 games.

“We had to mix it up a little bit,” O’Connor said. “It is no secret that Jarrett Parker is struggling a little bit, but he will come out of it. I have a lot of confidence in that.

“I felt it was the right thing to do and it worked.”

Cannon finished with a single and a pair of walks.

“He is a veteran, can handle that move and if it is a lefty it may be somebody else,” O’Connor said. “I just thought he is one of the most veteran guys that we have. He can handle being put in that leadoff spot in the College World Series.”

Hanging at the hotel

With a day off scheduled between games, Virginia’s players have been experiencing the life of a minor-league baseball player.

Milling around the lobby of the Holiday Inn and enjoying meals at Union Pizzeria, the Cavaliers have learned to handle the down time.

“It is really weird,” said rookie Danny Hultzen, the ACC freshman of the year. “We haven’t had this much free time in a while. We are used are to playing every day, but this extra day of rest is awesome.”

Because of that rest and a shorter than expected outing against LSU on Saturday, Hultzen said he was ready to return to the mound Wednesday if needed.

“I feel great,” he said. “I will take the ball as soon as they call my number.”
 

The thrill of victory
Guest Blogger
Jun 16, 2009

By Tyler Wilson

OMAHA, Neb. – So Game 1 may not have had the storybook ending we all hoped for, but no great achievement comes without a struggle. LSU may very well have been the best offensive team the ‘Hoos have played all year long, but there is no doubt that we will overcome. A few breaks didn’t go our way, from a ball down the line that was definitely fair to the LSU outfielders making some sensational catches. A dropped diving catch turns into a three-run triple and a brand new ball game at that. We went home a little disappointed but anxious to get back out there and start a new winning streak.

Sunday was a day off for us with respect to Rosenblatt, but our vacation continued to be filled with activities. A good morning practice at Creighton with focus on bunt defense and situational plays had us ready to face the same Titans that knocked us out of the tournament last year.

After a solid practice, we showered up for a barbeque dinner with our “service club.” The Omaha Concord Club has volunteered its services for a team in the College World Series every year since its origin and this year it was the Cavs. At a beautiful campground scene, we played horseshoes and tried to drive golf balls across the Missouri River. It was a tremendous environment; mingling with elders who have grown to love and respect the game for many years, while also playing with the young Wahoos of a local little league. After another great meal (a common theme throughout each of these blogs) we headed home for rest and preparation to keep the dream alive.

This morning we all woke up with more focus and desire than I have ever seen in the eyes of my brothers. Although we play loose and confident, today was different. We really wanted this one; for more than one reason. When all was said and done, we came out on top and lived to play another day. Another big performance from “big Werm” and “the Valday” helped show us the way.

We left Rosenblatt satisfied, but yet maintained that tireless hunger for more. A group of us went back to observe the winner’s game of our bracket between LSU and Arkansas and to find out just who we have to face on Wednesday. We are all so ready to go that Wednesday can’t come soon enough. Another day of rest between us and the game against Arkansas to get us to baseball’s version of the Final Four. Go ‘Hoos!

Editor’s note: Tyler Wilson, a Midlothian High School graduate, is a sophomore pitcher for the University of Virginia baseball team. He’s been filing periodic reports from the College World Series for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
 

Cavs even up record at College World Series
The Cavaliers (49-14-1) will face Arkansas Wednesday, which lost to top-ranked LSU 9-1 on Monday evening.
By Steven Pivovar
Special to The Roanoke Times

OMAHA, Neb. -- Virginia's first College World Series victory Monday left Cal State Fullerton searching for a new motto.

All season long, Fullerton had talked about wanting to be known as the team that was first to practice and last to play.

"I guess it should have been first to practice, first to exit," Fullerton coach Dave Serrano."

The Cavaliers sent the second-seeded Titans packing with their 7-5 victory before 17,589 at Rosenblatt Stadium. The program's first win extends Virginia's CWS stay to at least Wednesday, when the Cavaliers will face Arkansas, which lost to top-ranked LSU 9-1 on Monday evening.

UVa (49-14-1) survived the elimination game by making the most of a nine-hit attack and combining that with effective pitching, especially in the middle innings from winner Andrew Carraway, Matt Packer and Tyler Wilson.

"This is a very big win for our program," Carraway said. "No one wants to come here and go two and out."

Carraway was given the task of protecting a 4-3 lead when he relieved starter Robert Morey to start the fifth inning. By the time he left with two outs in the seventh, Virginia had managed to stretch its lead to 7-3.

"That was big because you're not going to win many College World Series games by scoring four runs," UVa coach Brian O'Connor said. "It was important to build on [the lead], especially when we got to the ninth inning. Fullerton has a great club and we knew they would continue to battle."

The Titans, mixing two hits and two UVa errors, trimmed the Cavs' lead to 7-5 in the ninth and had the winning run at the plate before Kevin Arico got Khris Davis to hit into a game-ending forceout.

O'Connor juggled his lineup Monday, -- most notably moving Tyler Cannon to the leadoff spot and dropping Jarrett Parker to sixth.

"I don't know if it had a whole lot of affect because I'm not that smart," said O'Connor, downplaying the shifts. "Last night, I wrote out about six different lineup options, and the one I ended up going with wasn't one of the six.

"I just felt like we had to mix it up a little bit. It's no secret that Jarrett Parker is struggling a little bit. I still have a lot of confidence in him but I just figured I had to move him down a little."

The one constant was leaving Franco Valdes in the No. 8 spot and Keith Werman in the No. 9 hole. The two had combined for seven of Virginia's 14 hits in the opening loss to LSU.

Monday, Valdes produced a double that jump-started Virginia's two-run sixth inning. Werman, the 140-pound second baseman, tacked on another two hits to the four he collected in the first game. He tied the game 2-2 with a single in the second and drove in Valdes with a single in the sixth.

Given his Omaha production, does Werman expect to be hitting clean-up if O'Connor again juggles the lineup for Wednesday's game?

"Don't answer that," O'Connor said, jokingly. "That's our secret."

Werman, who didn't become a starter until late in the season, said he's just happy to be helping out.

"I'm going to do whatever I can wherever he puts me in the lineup," said Werman, hitting .435 in Virginia's eight NCAA tournament games.

Virginia scored six of its runs off Fullerton All-American Daniel Renken, who left in the sixth inning having given up six hits and walking three. Renken had pitched into the eighth inning of 10 of his last 11 starts, including both of his NCAA tournament appearances.

His ineffectiveness, combined with a sub-par start by Noe Ramirez in the opener, left Serrano perplexed.

"I'm not taking anything away from Arkansas or Virginia, but we didn't play very well," said Serrano, whose team finished 47-16. "We got out of character. If we had played better, we wouldn't be sitting where we are sitting."

That will be on a plane today, heading back home to California. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers will be preparing for another win-or-go-home game Wednesday.

"I'm very proud of this club," O'Connor said. "I spoke after the LSU loss about how this team shows resiliency and how it has bounced back from some tough losses and just keeps fighting. We showed that today."
 

Werman, Hultzen Lead Cavaliers past Titans
By Phil Stanton
CollegeBaseballInsider.com Co-Founder

OMAHA, Neb. – The big hits didn’t come on Saturday for Virginia, but they did on Monday.

No. 9 hitter Keith Werman had two of the four two-out run-scoring hits for the Cavaliers as Virginia eliminated Cal State Fullerton 7-5 in the College World Series in front of 17,589 fans at Rosenblatt Stadium.

The Cavaliers (49-14-1) will face the loser of the Arkansas-LSU game on Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. CT. The Titans finish the season with a 47-16 mark.

Fullerton got on the board first as Dustin Garneau belted his fifth homer, a two-run shot in the second.

Virginia answered with four in the bottom of the frame, more earned runs than starter Daniel Renken had surrendered in any start this season. John Hicks had a run-scoring single with one out, while Werman added a two-out RBI single and Danny Hultzen (right) knocked in a pair with a base hit as the Cavs took a 4-2 lead.

Christian Colon went deep to lead off the third, his eighth, to pull Fullerton to within one.

UVa added insurances runs in the middle innings as Phil Gosselin had an RBI single in the fifth, and one inning later, Werman had an RBI double and Cannon added a run-scoring single with two outs as the Cavs pushed the lead to 7-3.

Five pitchers combined to give Virginia its first College World Series victory. Andrew Carraway (9-1) pitched 2.2 scoreless innings in relief with four hits, two walks and one strikeout.

Renken (11-3) allowed six hits and six earned runs in 5.2 innings with three walks and five strikeouts.

Werman finished with two hits, two runs and two RBI. Jared Clark and Gary Brown both had three hits and one RBI for the Titans.
 

U.Va. rallies to bring down Titans in College World Series
The Associated Press
© June 16, 2009
By Eric Olson

OMAHA, Neb.

Virginia trumped another ace.

The Cavaliers beat All-American Daniel Renken and Cal State Fullerton 7-5 on Monday, extending their first appearance in the College World Series and eliminating the Titans.

Two weeks ago, Virginia defeated San Diego State star and No. 1 overall draft pick Stephen Strasburg in the regionals.

Virginia scored four times against Renken in the second inning, and he was finished in the sixth after allowing a season-high six runs.

"To put up four runs on an All-America pitcher like Renken is a great inning for us and, believe me, I wanted more," Cavaliers coach Brian O'Connor said.

The Cavs did get more, which was a good thing for them because Fullerton had the winning run at the plate in the ninth inning before Virginia secured its first win in Omaha.

Virginia (49-14-1) next plays Arkansas on Wednesday night. Fullerton (47-16) has lost five straight in the CWS.

Renken (11-3), who had gone at least eight innings in 10 of his previous 11 starts, was taken out after Franco Valdes' two-out double in the sixth. Nick Ramirez came on and gave up a pair of RBI singles that made it a four-run game.

Dustin Garneau's two-run homer off Virginia starter Robert Morey, a graduate of Cape Henry Collegiate in Virginia Beach, put Fullerton up 2-0 in the second inning. Virginia took the lead for good in the bottom half by scoring four times.

Keith Werman, the Cavaliers' No. 9 hitter, singled home the tying run and Danny Hultzen hit a two-run single past diving right fielder Gary Brown.

Werman continued his key hitting in the College World Series, going 2 for 4 and driving in two runs. The 140-pound freshman is 6 for 9 with two doubles and three RBIs in two CWS games.

"Keith Werman is winning over the hearts of people here in Omaha," O'Connor said. "He's a special gutty player who comes up big again today."

Hultzen said he and his teammates drew confidence from beating Strasburg.

"A guy like Stephen Strasburg is a different case because he could be the best college pitcher ever," Hultzen said. "But we prepare for each starting pitcher the same way."

Fullerton, 21-9 in NCAA tournament elimination games since 1999, tried to come back against closer Kevin Arico in the ninth.

Joey Siddons had an infield single and Christian Colon reached on an error before Brown's RBI single.

Arico struck out Josh Fellhauer, but then Virginia shortstop Tyler Cannon's backhand flip to Werman pulled the 5-foot-7 second baseman off the bag as he tried to get the forceout, allowing another run to score. Cannon redeemed himself moments later when Khris Davis grounded to him. This time Cannon made a perfect flip to Werman for the final out.

Virginia used five pitchers, with Andrew Carraway (9-1) getting the win after taking over for Morey in the fifth. Carraway allowed four hits in 2 2/3 scoreless innings.
 

Giant slayers
By Curt McKeever
Correspondent
June 16, 2009
OMAHA, NEB.

Keith Werman grinned as soon as he heard the question. Then again, Virginia's freshman second baseman is all of 5-foot-7, 140 pounds.

First Stephen Strasburg and now Daniel Renken — what's with you guys rising up to slay two of the biggest giants in the game?

"What it comes down to is just being aggressive. You get your one pitch, and if you get it early in the count, you take your hack," Werman said after the Cavaliers rocked the All-American Renken on the way to beating Cal State Fullerton 7-5 for their first College World Series win Monday.

Of course, this whole NCAA tournament started in Irvine, Calif., with them handing San Diego State's fireball-throwing Strasburg, the first pick in last week's Major League Baseball draft, his only loss of the season.

Monday, faced with the prospect of having its season end, U.Va. took control with an unlikely four-run second inning against the Titans' right-handed sophomore ace to erase a 2-0 deficit.

How unlikely, you ask? Well, all Renken had done in 10 of his previous starts was last at least eight innings (he went 6 2/3 in the other). He'd also won each of his last seven outings. But here's the really impressive thing — in 16 appearances this season, he'd allowed four runs just twice, and never more than three earned.

That latter statistic came to an end courtesy of this second-inning flurry: A one-out double by Steven Proscia, a walk to Jarrett Parker, an RBI single by John Hicks, Werman's two-out RBI single that fell just in front of diving right fielder Gary Brown, Tyler Cannon coaxing another free pass and Danny Hultzen ripping a two-run single to left.

"To put up four runs against an All-American like Renken is a great inning for us. And believe me, I wanted more," Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said after his club's biggest one-inning outburst of the tournament. "You're not going to win many College World Series games just scoring four runs, unless you just get an absolute dominating performance on the mound. The fact that we were able to build on that, in the ninth inning, proved to be pretty important."

Indeed, by the time Renken was pulled with two outs in the sixth, he'd given up another run (on Phil Gosselin's one-out, fifth-inning double two batters after Cannon walked) and would be charged with another when Werman greeted Nick Ramirez to the game by doubling in Franco Valdes, who also doubled to end Renken's afternoon in Rosenblatt Stadium.

It was the first time in 33 college outings that Renken had given up six earned runs.

"It was falling behind counts and letting hitters get comfortable in the box. Inexcusable," Renken said after finishing the season with an 11-3 record and 2.69 ERA. "Virginia's a good hitting team, but no way should that happen."

Unlike Saturday, when they got 14 hits against LSU but stranded 14 runners in a 9-5 loss, the Cavaliers nearly maxed out their opportunities against Fullerton. While scoring all of their runs in the first six innings, they left just three runners on.

For the game, they were 7-for-14 with a runner on base, as opposed to 2-for-16 Saturday.

"I think a lot of it is getting past that first game," said Werman, who is 6-for-9 with three RBI in the CWS.

"The other day, there's going to be some nerves coming around for everybody. Being able to relax and play our style, the execution was there today. Obviously, elimination's in the back of our mind, but we come out there (knowing) if we play our game, we're going to win."

Considering it was a must-win situation, O'Connor offered that the performance probably was Virginia's best of the season.

Yes, even with the Titans scoring twice in the ninth against Kevin Arico. He was burned by third baseman Proscia's throwing error and some bad timing on an exchange between the shortstop Cannon and Werman that let Jared Clark drive in a run and bring Khris Davis to the plate as the go-ahead run with two out.

Almost fittingly, Davis hit another bouncer to the left of Cannon, who flipped to Werman for the final out.

"On this stage, you could have expected it not to go well, when all the pressure's on you to win," O'Connor said. "But they've handled it this way all year long. They've never panicked.

"It's really interesting, because with their youth you would think that they would, but they really haven't. I don't know for sure, why it is. If I could figure it out, I'd bottle it for future years."

Not that he's concerned about that right now. His Cavs play Wednesday against Arkansas, which lost 9-1 Monday night to LSU.

"When it was 2-0, (fans) were probably thinking, 'Here it goes, Virginia's first time ever and they go two-and-out,'" Werman said. "For us, it's never over."

 

Pitchers huge in Cavs' victory
By Curt McKeever | Correspondent
June 16, 2009

OMAHA - — Overshadowed by the Cavaliers' largest run production in nine games, but not at all lost on the mind of coach Brian O'Connor, were the pitching efforts by starter Robert Morey and Andrew Carraway.

Morey, a right-handed sophomore, wasn't overly sharp while allowing a two-run homer in the first inning and another in the third. But, in a 4-3 game, he escaped further damage in the third after the Titans had runners at first and third with no outs.

Carraway, a right-handed senior, came on after the fourth to throw 2 2/3 scoreless innings, picking off Christian Colon in the fifth before Josh Fellhauer delivered a two-out double that likely would have scored Colon from first. Carraway, who got the win to improve his record to 9-1, also induced double-play grounders in the sixth and seventh.

"Andrew Carraway did a nice job, because the game was on the ropes a little bit," O'Connor said. "They had a little bit of momentum working and he calmed us down, and that's what your senior veteran players do."

Carraway gave up four hits and a pair of walks. But the Titans went 0-for-3 against him with runners on base.

Afterward, the Marietta, Ga., product didn't try to act like what he and his teammates accomplished was no big deal.

"This is a very big win for our program," Carraway said. "Nobody wants to come out here and go two-and-out, and so to get that win is a big step for us ... but we have such competitive guys on our team that it doesn't stop there."

Lineup gets shuffled
O'Connor, who has watched a late-season lineup switch involving freshman second baseman Keith Werman give his club an added spark, was up to it again Wednesday.

This time, he moved normal leadoff hitter Jarrett Parker, hitless in his last three games and just 4-for-his-last-51 at-bats, to the No. 6 spot. Normal six-hole hitter Tyler Cannon moved to the top of the order. And with O'Connor juggling things so that the Cavs could alternate left-handed and right-handed hitters all the way through the lineup, the only players in the top six who remained where they were Saturday against LSU were Nos. 4 and 5 hitters Dan Grovatt and Steven Proscia.

"Last night, I think I wrote out about six different lineup options and the one I ended up going with wasn't even one of the six," O'Connor said. "It's no secret that Jarrett is struggling a little bit — I figured I needed to move him down and just tried to mix in a righty-lefty combo as much as I could. It worked."

U.Va. sinks Big West
Nobody mentioned the fact that Fullerton ended Virginia's 2008 season at the Fullerton regional, but you know the Cavs had to be especially juiced after making the Titans the second national seed in the NCAA tournament from the Big West Conference they eliminated. U.Va. earlier beat UC Irvine twice on the Anteaters' home field to win.

"I know where we're at and I know how big of a deal this thing is," O'Connor said. "We're happy we have a chance to play again."

Fullerton became just the second No. 2 national seed to go 0-2 at the College World Series. The Titans were the 10th No. 2 seed to reach Omaha since the since the NCAA tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1999. The other No. 2 seed who went two-and-cue was LSU in 2003.

Cavaliers Eliminate Cal State Fullerton at CWS, 7-5
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 06/15/2009

OMAHA, Neb. – Virginia recorded its first-ever win in the College World Series with a 7-5 victory over No. 2 national seed Cal State Fullerton Monday afternoon in front of 17,589 at Rosenblatt Stadium. The Cavaliers advance to face the loser of the Arkansas-LSU game, while Cal State Fullerton is eliminated.

Virginia (49-14-1) avenged a 2008 loss to Cal State Fullerton in which the Titans ended the Cavaliers’ season in the NCAA Fullerton Regional. UVa built on its record season with its school-record 49th win of the year. Three of those wins have come in the NCAA tournament over national seeds (two vs. No. 6 UC Irvine).

Andrew Carraway (Sr., Marietta, Ga.) earned the win for Virginia with 2.2 scoreless innings of relief. Carraway (9-1) notched his 20th career victory – tied for sixth most in Virginia history. Matt Packer (Jr., Germantown, Tenn.), Tyler Wilson (So., Midlothian, Va.) and Kevin Arico (So., Flemington, N.J.) combined to pitch the last 2.1 innings to finish off the win.

Virginia starting pitcher Robert Morey (So., Virginia Beach, Va.) worked four innings, giving up three earned runs, four hits and two walks with one strikeout. Cal State Fullerton All-America starting pitcher Daniel Renken (11-3) suffered the loss after giving up a career-high six earned runs, six hits and three walks while fanning five.

At the plate, UVa second baseman Keith Werman (Fr., Vienna, Va.) continued his fantastic CWS with a 2-for-4 day, including two runs scored and two RBI. Werman is now 6-for-9 with three RBI in the CWS. Seven more Cavaliers recorded a hit, with Danny Hultzen (Fr., Bethesda, Md.) posting a two-run single in the second inning to give UVa a lead it would not relinquish.

While the Cavaliers led for the majority of the day, it was Fullerton (47-16) which jumped ahead early. The Titans took the lead in the second inning on a two-run home run into the left-field bleachers by Dustin Garneau.

Virginia responded with four runs in its half of the second while batting around. With one out, Steven Proscia (Fr., Suffern, N.Y.) lined a double into the left-field corner. After Jarrett Parker (So., Stafford, Va.) walked, John Hicks (Fr., Sandy Hook, Va.) singled to left to plate Proscia. One out later, Werman singled to center to bring home Parker and tie the game. Tyler Cannon (Jr., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) then walked to load the bases, and Hultzen slapped a single to left-center to plate Hicks and Werman to give UVa a 4-2 lead.

The Titans got a leadoff home run from Christian Colon in the third inning to cut the lead to 4-3. Fullerton then put runners at first and third with none out, but Morey battled back to get Jared Clark to foul out and Khris Davis to pop out before Josh Fellhauer was caught stealing to end the inning.

UVa took advantage of a leadoff walk to tack on a run in the fifth inning. Cannon drew the leadoff walk, moved to second on a Hultzen sacrifice and scored when Phil Gosselin (So., West Chester, Pa.) cranked a double to left-center.

The Cavaliers used a two-out rally to add a pair of runs in the sixth inning while knocking Renken from the game. Franco Valdes (Jr., Miami, Fla.) doubled on an 0-2 pitch, and Renken was replaced with left-hander Nick Ramirez. Werman again came up big with an RBI double to center field, and Cannon ripped the next pitch to right-center to plate Werman and give UVa a 7-3 advantage.

The Titans made things interesting in the ninth inning against Arico, getting RBI singles from Gary Brown and Clark. They had the go-ahead run at the plate with two out before Davis grounded to Cannon for a fielder’s choice to finish things.

 

Virginia-Cal State Fullerton Postgame Notes
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 06/15/2009

Men’s College World Series Notes – Game 5 – June 15, 2009
Virginia 7, Cal State Fullerton 5
Attendance: 17,589 (SeriesTotal-114,450; Avg.-21,284)

Virginia (1-1) plays loser of Arkansas/LSU Wednesday at 6 p.m.; Cal State Fullerton (0-2) is eliminated

Virginia
-Virginia improves to 1-1 all-time in MCWS contests with their first-ever MCWS victory and is now 1-1 all-time against Cal State Fullerton with both contests coming in NCAA Tournament play (2008 and 2009).
-With today’s victory, Virginia extended its own school record with 49 wins, a total which is third nationally (LSU 52, Arizona State 50).
-Virginia improves to 6-2 in the 2009 NCAA Tournament and is now 3-0 in elimination contests.
-Virginia eliminated both of the Big West’s national seeds from the NCAA Tournament (No. 6 UC Irvine and No. 2 Cal State Fullerton).
-Virginia is the third straight first-time MCWS participant to win its second game in Omaha, joining both UC Irvine and Louisville in 2007. The last first-time participant to not win a MCWS game in their first appearance was Missouri State in 2003.
-Virginia Coach Brian O’Connor is the second coach to pick up his first MCWS victory in 2009, joining Arkansas’ Dave Van Horn.
-Virginia, which entered today’s contest third in the country in ERA at 3.23, is 45-4 this season when holding opponents to five runs or fewer.
-Virginia hit 7-for-14 (.500) today with runners on base after going 2-for-16 (.125) in Saturday’s loss to LSU.
-Virginia’s four runs in the second inning were the most runs in a stanza during the NCAA tournament. The Cavaliers had a three-run eighth inning against San Diego State at the Irvine regional on May 29.
-The Cavaliers’ seven runs are their most in an NCAA tournament game this year (previous high was five on four occasions). It was UVa’s highest run total since scoring 11 runs against Duke in the ACC Tournament.
-Andrew Carraway improved to 9-1 on the season with his 20th career win. His nine wins this season and 20 wins in his career both tie for sixth on UVa’s single-season and career lists. He now has made 73 appearances which ranks fourth on UVa’s career lists.
-Freshman Keith Werman went 2-for-4 today with two RBIs against Cal State Fullerton and is hitting .667 (6-for-9) with two doubles and three RBIs in Omaha. Werman is now hitting .435 (10-for-23) in the NCAA Tournament and is hitting .452 (19-for-42) in his last 15 games, as UVa is 12-3 in that stretch.
-Danny Hultzen’s stolen base in the seventh inning was the first stolen base allowed by Cal State Fullerton in the NCAA Tournament.

Cal State Fullerton
-Today’s loss drops Cal State Fullerton to 34-27 in 16 all-time MCWS appearances, as the Titans suffered their fifth straight MCWS loss dating back to 2006. The five-game streak is the longest MCWS drought by the Titans, who had previously lost four in a row between 1988 and 1990.
-Cal State Fullerton coach Dave Serrano is now the 11th head coach to bring two teams to the Men’s College World Series and is now 2-4 in his two trips to Omaha, as he guided UC Irvine to the 2007 MCWS.
-The 2009 MCWS marks only the fifth time in their 16 MCWS appearances that Cal State Fullerton has gone 0-2. The previous times occurred in 1975, 1982, 1990 and 2007.
-The last time a former national champion was the first team eliminated from the MCWS was LSU in 2003, which is the only time it has happened since 2000.
-The consecutive losses marks only the fifth time this season at Cal State Fullerton lost two straight games this year and the first time since back-to-back losses to Pacific on April 17 and 18.
-Cal State Fullerton starter Daniel Renken lasted just 5.2 innings against Virginia, which was his shortest outing since March 19 against Oral Roberts. He had pitched at least eight innings in seven consecutive starts, dating back to April 24, and in 10 of his last 11 outings.
-The six runs allowed by Ranken was his highest total of the year, as he had not allowed more than four runs in any of his previous 16 starts. Renken had won his last seven starts prior to Monday’s loss to Virginia.
-Christian Colon extended his hit streak to 12 games with his eighth homer of the year. Colon is hitting .400 (18-for-45) with 12 RBIs during his season-ending hit streak.
-Joe Siddons finished the year hitting .467 (14-for-30) in his seven-game hit streak.
-Cal State Fullerton was 12-1 when hitting two or more homers in a game & 35-2 when out-hitting an opponent this season before Monday’s loss
-Cal State Fullerton is now 0-9 when allowing seven or more runs in a game this season
-Cal State Fullerton, which entered the MCWS fourth in the country with a 3.36 ERA, allowed 17 earned runs (9.00 ERA) in its two games in Omaha after allowing 11 runs in their five games in NCAA Regional and Super Regional play.



 

Diane prepares for pro career
By Whitey Reid
Published: June 16, 2009

As he embarks on a professional career, Mamadi Diane has discovered a new mentor. The former Virginia swingman has been in close contact with new coach Tony Bennett and his staff.

“He’s been real nice,” said Diane, who finished his college career in March. “He’s really been trying to help me out — all the coaches. They’ve been really, really trying to help me.

“Since Day 1, they came up to me and told me that just because it’s a new coaching staff, that doesn’t mean I’m no longer here. The door’s always open for advice.”

Diane, who has spent a lot of time with assistant coach Ritchie McKay (formerly of Liberty), was on hand at Virginia’s Elite Camp on Monday. The two-day event features a number of top high school prospects from around the country, including incoming UVa freshmen Tristan Spurlock and Jontel “Bub” Evans.

Diane once took part in the very same camp. Now he is focused on taking the next step in his playing career.

Last week, Diane was invited to participate in a workout for the NBA’s Washington Wizards. The former DeMatha Catholic (Md.) standout played against Louisville’s Terrence Williams, who is expected to be a first-round pick in the draft later this month. Diane said he held his own against the heftier Williams.

Afterward, Diane received positive feedback from members of the Wizards’ front office, including general manager Ernie Grunfield.

“They all said pretty good things,” Diane said. “I think they were all pleasantly surprised because of how this last year went. They didn’t expect me to play like I did.

“They said they liked my shooting. There were a couple of tough drills, especially toward the end. They said they liked the way I fought through the drills and the fatigue. Usually it’s a four- to six-man workout, so it was a lot harder conditioning-wise.”

Diane can probably thank former UVa coach Dave Leitao and former strength and conditioning coach Shaun Brown for his prowess in that department.

The main thing that Diane said he was told was that he needs to improve his ball-handling.

While Diane isn’t expected to be selected in the two-round proceedings, he hopes to play on an NBA summer league team and then land a deal in Europe. The 6-foot-5 swingman, who is still in the process of selecting an agent, has picked the brains of several former teammates about what life is like as a European pro.

“I’ve talked to J.R. [Reynolds]. I’ve talked to Jason Cain and Adrian [Joseph],” Diane said. “They’ve just been telling me how overseas has been, and good things and bad things that they went through with their agents and stuff.

“Most of them really like it over there.”

Diane, of course, had one of the biggest rollercoaster senior years in recent memory. The captain began the campaign on the cover of the school’s media guide, fell into Leitao’s doghouse for most of the year, then bounced back in miraculous fashion with a game-winning shot on Senior Day against Maryland and a solid performance in the ACC tournament.

As surreal as the season may have seemed, Diane said he’s trying to move forward.

“It’s not like I’m living through this past year for the rest of my life,” he said. “I’m in the position that I’m in right now and I’m just working hard to improve myself.”