UVa players get enthusiastic welcome at Davenport Field
By Ryan Yemen
Published: June 19, 2009

Considering that not even 24 hours had passed since Virginia’s baseball season came to a dramatic halt, it would have been understandable if the Cavaliers had hung their heads as their fans greeted them at Davenport Field on Thursday night.

Instead, it looked like the team had already put things into perspective after 49 wins and the most successful season in school history. The players were smiling and joking around as they were introduced by coach Brian O’Connor, and mixing it up with fans afterwards.

“This team will be remembered as the greatest team in UVa baseball history,” O’Connor told the Cavalier faithful. “That’s until next season.”

Throughout UVa’s College World Series adventure, O’Connor had hoped that his players would soak in as much as they could.

“It’s hard because you’re in the heat of battle,” O’Connor said. “And that’s what you’re out there for, but they got a very good taste of what Omaha is like and what the College World Series is like. I know they’ll be hungry to get back there in a short period of time.”

Of course, just because the squad can appreciate all they accomplished this season, it doesn’t mean that they’re over Wednesday night’s 4-3, 12-inning loss to Arkansas — there’s just no sense in dwelling on it.

“[After the game] I told them that I couldn’t take the pain and disappointment away from them,” O’Connor said, “but that they should be should be very proud of what they accomplished this season because it’s never been accomplished in the 100-year history of this baseball program.”

The Cavs have a lot to look forward to, as most of the biggest pieces of the squad will return next year — including fan favorite Keith Werman, who was awestruck by the environment.

“Growing up I had always dreamed of being out there and being a part of that famous atmosphere,” Werman said. “To actually go out there with the team and experience all of it was really just unreal. It was a dream. It didn’t hit me until we came back here.”

As for the seniors who’ve played their last game in a Cavaliers uniform, like pitcher Andrew Carraway, leaving Omaha was a little different than it was for his younger teammates.

“Guys like [fellow senior Robert] Poutier and myself have been through hosting two regionals and not

advancing through that,” Carraway said. “We’ve been through the difficulty of making it through the postseason. When you start learning first hand how hard it is to win these things, you appreciate just being there so much more. It means a lot to get to Omaha in the first place. Being older, we know this is something we’re going to really cherish.”

And while it might be tough to watch LSU and Arkansas go at it today, there is one comfort the Cavaliers will enjoy — a familiar mattress.

“Our hotels were our homes,” Werman said. “Ever since we played Virginia Tech [in mid-May], it seems like we’ve been on the road. We never slept in our own beds. In that sense, we’re excited to be home.”
 

O’Connor reflects on Cavs’ emotional CWS elimination
By Jay Jenkins
Published: June 19, 2009

OMAHA, Neb. — Almost an hour after the last pitch was thrown, Virginia baseball coach Brian O’Connor crept slowly towards the team bus, pausing to sign a baseball for a young fan.

Emotionally spent from a grueling 4-3, 12-inning loss to Arkansas that ended a magical ride for Charlottesville’s boys of summer, O’Connor was shocked to see those standing nearby give him a lengthy ovation.

It did little to ease the pain.

Stranding 14 runners on base, squandering a two-run lead in the ninth and watching as Arkansas staved off elimination in the College World Series left the skipper down and out.

Yet after the game, O’Connor attempted to lift the spirits of the best team in Virginia history.

“I just told them that I couldn’t take the hurt and the pain away from them because I know that it means so much to them,” he recounted. “I know that they felt coming here that we could legitimately win the national championship, and when you put so much into something all year long, through fall baseball and through winter workouts and the entire season, and you have everything right there in front of you and it doesn’t happen, it’s painful for them.

“But I just told them that I’m proud of each and every one of them. I told them that we’ve gotten to this point because nobody has pointed fingers at their teammates; they’ve stuck together as a group all year long. I’m proud of them and we’ll address the season later on and what we’ve accomplished. At the end of the day even though the season is over, they need to stay together like they’ve stayed together all year.”

If anyone can relate to the pain of watching a season come to an emotional end at the College World Series, it is O’Connor.

As the closer at Creighton, he pitched in an extra-inning classic that ended the Blue Jays’ 1991 season.

Virginia closer Kevin Arico, who gave up a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth, is now in that boat.

“I feel for the kid. It took me some time,” O’Connor said. “Unfortunately, Kevin is going to have to live with that for the summer. I am confident he will be able to handle it.”

All the blame could not be placed on Arico. The Cavaliers had runners in scoring position in the final four innings of the marathon.

“That’s a lot of runners to have on,” O’Connor said. “It is such a great feeling in those extra innings that we are going to get the big hit. We got the big hits to get the runners on and in scoring position but we couldn’t come up with the big hit to win the game.

“Some uncharacteristic things happen in the College World Series.”
 

Virginia left to lament lost chances at College World Series
By Curt McKeever
Correspondent
June 19, 2009

OMAHA, Neb. - This was like a hypnotic experience gone wrong.

Three times after relinquishing a game-tying home run to Arkansas with two outs in the top of the ninth inning, Virginia could have pulled out of its bad College World Series dream Wednesday night almost with the snap of a finger.

One well-placed swing of the bat, or even a ball thrown out of the strike zone in one instance, would have been all it took for Brian O'Connor's bunch to walk away from Rosenblatt Stadium relieved, glad-that-one's-over-with winners.

And so, when the 4-hour, 46-minute marathon finally ended with the Razorbacks prevailing 4-3 in 12 innings, it almost seemed fitting that the tying run was stranded 90 feet from home plate.

And you think you've had some tough "what-might-have-been" moments.

"I told them I couldn't take the hurt and pain away from them, because I know that it means so much to them," O'Connor said after the Cavaliers' season ended because they failed to hang onto a lead entering the ninth for only the second time in 47 games. "I know that they felt coming here that we could legitimately win the national championship.

"When you put so much into something all year long, through fall baseball and through winter workouts and the entire season, and you have everything right there in front of you and it doesn't happen, it's painful. But I told them that I'm proud of each and every one of them. They stuck together as a group all year long."

When they got home to Charlottesville 17 hours later, they had the consolation of seeing several hundred people gathered to welcome them home.

"This is awesome," reliever Kevin Arico said.

But they know it's not as awesome as still being in Omaha with a chance to face LSU.

"We swung the bats, had a lot of opportunities and didn't capitalize on them sometimes. But that's to credit Arkansas' pitching," O'Connor said after U.Va. stranded 14 on base. "They pitched in the clutch and made some clutch plays."

In the eighth inning, when sophomore right fielder Dan Grovatt launched a two-out solo home run to make it 3-1, U.Va. got a single from Steven Proscia and a double to the left-field wall by Jarrett Parker. But Proscia got caught up between third and home and was tagged out in an inning-ending rundown.

Virginia would have the same kind of luck after Arkansas got a two-strike single by Zack Cox and a tape-measure, two-run homer from Brett Eibner off Arico that extended the game past the top of the ninth.

In the bottom half, the Cavs loaded the bases with one out against Dallas Keuchel, the Razorbacks' No. 1 starter, who was making his first relief appearance in 18 outings this season. Danny Hultzen came one pitch away from drawing a game-winning walk, but after taking a 3-0 delivery for a strike, he hit a scorcher at backup shortstop Tim Carver.

Carver, who had entered the game an inning earlier because Ben Tschepikow was forced out with a broken finger, bobbled the ball but flipped to second to start a bang-bang double play.

Outside of the game's ending, Virginia's frustration might have peaked in the 10th.

That's when Shane Halley, having reached on a two-base error leading off the inning, didn't advance on Grovatt's checked-swing roller that forced third baseman Zack Cox to charge. Proscia followed with a single up the middle, but Halley froze momentarily as the ball went between his legs and was unable to try to score. That proved costly when Keuchel came back to strike out Parker and John Hicks.

Virginia also had a runner at second with one out in the 11th, and loaded the bases with two outs, before Grovatt grounded out to second.

"He got us in a big situation," Grovatt said of the left-handed junior Keuchel, Houston's seventh-round pick in last week's draft. "He was a good pitcher. He changed speeds well and he made big pitches when he needed to."

After Arkansas finally broke the tie on Andrew Darr's RBI double, the Cavs mounted one more threat.

This time, Proscia led off with a double down the left-field line before he stole third base on a pitch that Parker struck out on. Keuchel then came back to fan Hicks before getting Franco Valdes to chase a two-strike pitch in the dirt for the final out.

"We had an opportunity every inning from the bottom of the ninth all the way to the end. We just didn't come up with the hit, and Arkansas did. I mean, I left four on base," Grovatt said.
 

Cavaliers were one strike away
From the unexpected ACC tournament championship to the victory over Stephen Strasburg to the comeback at Ole Miss, Virginia's Cavaliers have been the drama kings of college baseball's postseason.

So we knew if and when the Cavs exited the College World Series, it would not be 6-4-3 routine. But no one could have scripted last night's 4-3 loss to Arkansas in 12 innings.

One strike. One umpire's snap judgment. That's how close Virginia was to advancing to a rematch against LSU, which defeated the Cavaliers in the teams' Series opener.

But with two out in the top of the ninth, Arkansas' Zack Cox singled up the middle on a 1-2 pitch from closer Kevin Arico, and Brett Eibner followed with a two-run homer to tie the game at 3.

Virginia loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the ninth, and Razorbacks reliever Dallas Kuechel went to a 3-0 count on Danny Hultzen. Watching on television, the next pitch appeared high AND outside. Game over. Cavs win on a walk-off walk.

No. Plate umpire Jeff Henrichs called it a strike.

ESPN analyst and former Dodgers pitching great Orel Hershiser also thought the pitch off the plate. And if a pitcher thinks it's a ball, it's a ball.

Doesn't matter, of course. On the 3-1 count, Hultzen grounded sharply into a 6-4-3 double play.

Virginia left winning runs on base in innings 9, 10 and 11, and the tying run on in the 12th. The Razorbacks scored the decisive run on Andrew Darr's double in the 12th.

“This game took everything from Arkansas, it took everything from Virginia, unfortunately we came out on the short end of the stick," Virginia coach Brian O'Connor told reporters after the game. "I couldn’t be more proud of the kids in our uniforms.

"No one picked us to get this far, we showed a lot of character and pride. This team will always be remembered as the first team to play in the College World Series from the University of Virginia.”

No question this was a landmark season for a program that was moribund before O'Connor's arrival six years ago. The ACC title was the Cavaliers' first in 13 years, and their victory in the NCAA tournament's Irvine Regional marked another program first.

In Irvine, Virginia dealt San Diego State's Strasburg, the No. 1 pick of the Major League Draft, his first defeat of the season. At the Super Regionals in Oxford, Miss., the Cavaliers rebounded from an opening loss to beat Mississippi two straight.

“I told (the players) that I couldn’t take the hurt and the pain away because it means so much to them," O'Connor said. "We felt we had a legitimate chance to win the national title. I am proud of each one of our guys.

"We got to this point because no one has pointed fingers, they are teammates. And even though the season is over they are still teammates."

The pain and hurt will linger more because of how Virginia lost. Baserunning blunders early hurt, compounded by late hiccups with runners in scoring position.

"We had an opportunity every inning all the way to the end," Virginia right fielder Dan Grovatt said. "We just didn’t come up with the big hit, and Arkansas did. I left four guys on base myself. It was one of those games where (Darr) won the battle on 3-2 and got a big hit. We couldn’t come up with one.”

Among Virginia's 25-man Series roster, only pitchers Andrew Carraway and Robert Poutier (Grafton High) were seniors. So if ever a program could ponder a return trip to Omaha, it's the Cavaliers.

“We’re a young team, and not many people thought we’d be in this situation," freshman third baseman Steven Proscia said. "We were looking to prove something, and I think we did that. We’ve got a lot of young guys that will be looking to get back next year.”

Posted by David Teel
 

Blown chances at College World Series haunt Cavs
Virginia was one pitch away from advancing at Omaha.
By Steven Pivovar
Special to The Roanoke Times

OMAHA, Neb. -- Virginia's first trip to the College World Series provided the Cavaliers with a lifetime of memories.

First, they'll have to wrestle with thoughts of what might have been.

Virginia's stay in Omaha ended Wednesday night with a 4-3, 12-inning loss to Arkansas. The Cavaliers were one strike away from closing out the Razorbacks in nine innings. They had the winning run 90 feet from home in the ninth, 10th and 11th innings, and the tying run at third base in the 12th.

"We had opportunities from the bottom of the ninth right there until the end,'' Virginia right fielder Dan Grovatt said. "We just didn't come up with the big hit.''

Nor did Virginia come up with the big pitch that could have prevented the Razorbacks from tying the score in the ninth or winning it in the 12th. Closer Kevin Arico had a one-ball, two-strike count on Arkansas' Zack Cox but then gave up a sharp single to center. Three pitches later, Brett Eibner launched a changeup from Arico halfway up the bleachers in left field.

Andrew Carraway, who got the final out of the ninth to strand two runners, retired the eight hitters he faced before giving up Jarrod McKinney's single. McKinney stole second and then scored when Andrew Darr ripped the final pitch of a 10-pitch at bat down the third-base line for a double.

Darr fouled off four pitches before working the count to 3-2. One of the foul balls landed just out of the reach of Virginia first baseman John Hicks.

What if . . .

"I thought we pitched well, swung the bats and had a lot of opportunities,'' Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said. "We didn't capitalize on all of them. You have to credit Arkansas. They made some big pitches and clutch plays.''

A couple of base-running mistakes and a fielding error that led to Arkansas' first run also contributed to cutting short Virginia's first visit and ending its season at 49-15-1.

In a lengthy postgame meeting in the outfield grass, O'Connor thanked his players for getting him back to Omaha. He grew up across the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and played college baseball at Creighton.

As a player, he experienced a similar CWS heartbreak as he was the losing pitcher in the Bluejays' 3-2, 12-inning loss to Wichita State in 1991, a game that many observers consider the best ever played in Rosenblatt Stadium.

"I told the guys after the game I couldn't take the hurt and the pain away from them,'' O'Connor said. "I know this means so much to them and that we legitimately felt coming here that we could win the national championship.

"When you put so much into something and you have everything right there in front of you, it's painful when it doesn't happen. I told them I was proud of each and every one of them.''

Providing O'Connor and his players a dash of consolation is the knowledge that most will return to get another shot next season. Pitchers Carraway, Robert Poutier and Brad Grove and catcher Will Campbell are the only seniors on the roster. Carraway was the only one of the four to see action in Omaha.

"We were a young team looking to prove something, and I think we did that,'' said Steven Proscia, a freshman infielder. "We have a lot of young guys coming back next year, and hopefully we can make a trip back next year.''

Given what Virginia accomplished in its sixth season under O'Connor and what it returns next season, the Cavaliers should be among a handful of teams that will start 2010 as one of the national championship favorites.

"Getting here gave our program a great taste of what it means to get to Omaha,'' O'Connor said. "We now understand what this event is all about. I think our program is in a great position. It's exciting to think that about 95 percent of our club is back next year and that we have one heck of a recruiting class coming in.

"The competition in our program will be the best it's ever been. There will be expectations on this team that this program has never had before. These players need to accept that and understand the responsibility that comes with that. Hopefully, we'll have an even better club next year.''
 

Miller’s Parker still considering schools
By Whitey Reid
Published: June 19, 2009

As spring neared last basketball season, Mychal Parker had all but made up his mind about where he wanted to play in college. The 6-foot-6 standout at the Miller School had found a place and a coach that he really felt comfortable with.

Parker raved about Virginia’s campus and academic support system and spoke glowingly of coach Dave Leitao’s tough-love style.

But suddenly, Parker’s world was turned upside down when UVa parted ways with Leitao.

“I was really surprised,” said Parker, who led Miller to its first-ever state title in 2008-09. “I didn’t know he was going to go that fast. I thought he was going to stay a little longer.

“I was ready to [commit to UVa], but when he got fired, it just made me wait.”

Therein lies the rub for Virginia.

The Cavaliers got a new coach who could be able to help turn the program around in Tony Bennett, but they also may have lost out on one of the best talents to come out of Charlottesville in a while.

Parker, a North Carolina native who led Miller to its first-ever state title this past season, is rated as the 34th best prospect in the country by Rivals.com.

Virginia isn’t completely out of the hunt for the athletic swingman, but it definitely has some ground to make up.

Parker, who is on hand at the NBA Top 100 Camp this week at John Paul Jones Arena, now has a lengthy list of schools that he is considering (in addition to UVa). At this point, he has no specific leaders, but when asked to name the schools he’s looking at, he mentioned Miami, Maryland, Florida and Virginia Tech before he even got to Virginia.

Parker says he hopes to whittle his list, which also includes Kentucky, by the middle of next month. Ideally, he would like to sign during the early period in the fall.

Parker says he has been in close contact with Virginia’s new coaching staff.

“They’re all really cool people,” he said. “[Bennett] is a real Christian, laid-back guy. I like that.

“It seems he’s not going to sugarcoat things. He’s really going to tell you the truth. If you want to get better, he seems like a guy who can help you.”

Parker said that one of his main criteria for selecting a school will be its coach. Bennett, the national coach of the year in 2007, will have his work cut against the likes of Billy Donovan, Gary Williams and John Calipari.

“I always come back to coaching,” Parker said. “In college, if you have a great coach who knows what he’s doing…”

Parker has been into Virginia’s basketball offices to watch film with Bennett and has come away impressed.

“Coach Bennett was a former NBA player and knows what he’s talking about,” Parker said. “He’s shown me a couple of films. I heard a lot of rumors that he played slow ball, but he showed me a couple of films and I didn’t see any slow ball.

“I saw a lot of screen and rolls and hit the open man and just run and go. I liked that.”

After the completion of the Top 100 Camp, Parker will head home to North Carolina. With his hectic basketball schedule, that’s a place he hasn’t been in quite some time.

Parker said he will definitely be back at Miller next year. There had been talk that in the wake of coach Fred Wawner’s departure, he might transfer. However, Parker shot that down.

“I had a good relationship with [Wawner],” Parker said, “and I hope to have a good one with the new coach.”
 

One-time Tech recruit gets release from USC
DeMatha DB could be a ‘Hoo by Sunday
By Doug Doughty

Not long after the Roanoke Times’ final deadline passed Thursday, a story about one-time Virginia Tech basketball recruit Lamont “Mo Mo” Jones came across the wire.

It seems that Jones wants out of the letter-of-intent that he signed this spring with Southern Cal.

I’m not sure what Jones’ reasons were, but I’m sure they had something to do with the resignation of Southern Cal coach Tim Floyd.

So, what about the Hokies and Jones now?

“We don’t have a scholarship,” Tech coach Seth Greenberg said Friday.

That didn’t stop Greenberg from continuing to pursue players for the Class of 2009 when he seemingly was at the Division I scholarship limit, but it’s getting late and Greenberg doesn’t anticipate any defections.

Besides, Jones could be a handful.

Jones, a point guard from Oak Hill Academy, committed to Tech in the fall but didn’t sign because his mother could not be on hand for the ceremony.

Then, when it came time to sign in the spring, Jones’ mother said she wanted to see the school first. However, Jones already had taken his official visit during the fall and Tech couldn’t pay for his mother’s visit anyway.

At that point, Tech backed off, Jones took an official visit to Southern Cal and signed with the Trojans. Six weeks later, coach Tim Floyd resigned this week amid allegations that he paid $1,000 to an advisor for former USC star O.J. Mayo.

I’m hearing either Marquette or Memphis as a possible destination for Mo Mo.

JONES ISN’T A TRANSFER, technically, but his situation reminds me of developments with former Southern Cal wide receiver Vidal Hazelton.

Hazelton, who played at Hargrave Military Academy and was the object of some early advances by Virginia, reportedly will transfer to Cincinnati.

However, Hazelton was unsuccessful in obtaining instant eligibility for the Bearcats. He had petitioned under the grounds that he needed to be closer to his ailing grandfather, who lives in Georgia.

Hazelton will have one year of eligibility for the Bearcats, in 2010.

SWITCHING BACK to basketball, it appears that TCU or Southern Methodist will be the next stop for Hank Thorns, a 5-foot-8 point guard who announced following the 2008-2009 season that he would be leaving Virginia Tech.

I SEE WHERE 6-foot-8 University of Miami forward Dwayne Collins has decided to take his name out of consideration for the NBA Draft but that’s hardly going to upset the balance of power in the ACC.

Collins averaged 10.6 points and 7.3 rebounds for the Hurricanes last season but was ineffective down the stretch, when Miami let a possible NCAA bid slip from its grasp.

Until he finished the season with 17 points and eight rebounds in an NIT loss to Florida, Collins had not scored more than 10 points in 10 straight games dating back to January.

UNLESS SOMEBODY beats him to the punch, DeMatha High School defensive back Kyrrel Latimer will be the next football player to commit to Virginia.

“Kyrrel is going down there Sunday [and] meeting with Al Groh,” DeMatha coach Bill McGregor said. “If it goes well, he wants to commit to them, I think. They’re meeting Sunday at 11.

“My gut is he’s committing [to Virginia]. That’s the plan right now. Other schools have wanted to offer and I’ve told them to back off the offer [and that] there’s no sense doing it. He wants to go to Virginia.”

Latimer plays safety for DeMatha and the Cavaliers originally wanted to know if he also could play cornerback. McGregor compares Latimer favorably to another DeMatha product, Rodney McLeod, and reports that Latimer’s mother is the track coach at Bowie State.

As many as five DeMatha players could be at Virginia this weekend. Aside from Latimer, the Cavaliers might be in the best shape with 6-5, 300-pound offensive lineman Shane Johnson.

“I don’t think he’ll commit yet,” McGregor said, “but I know Virginia is high on his list.”