As you might know by now, Virginia turned back into a good version of itself after dropping three straight games at the ACC tournament and went 3-0 in the Lake Elsinore, Calif., Regional over the weekend. The Cavaliers beat USC, 6-1, San Diego State, 3-1, and USC again, 14-10, in a marathon 11-inning game.
Connor Jones was electric on the mound in the first outing against the Trojans, going 7 2/3 innings while giving up five hits and one run. He struck out four. Josh Sborz cruised to his 13th save of the season.
USC starter Kyle Davis was just as good as Jones, if not better, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Virginia finally broke through in the seventh when Matt Thaiss got on via error and then Kenny Towns got the first hit of the game. Thaiss eventually came in after Robbie Coman hit a sharp liner to the pitcher that bounced off Davis' glove. Towns scored on a wild pitch and UVa piled on from there. The Wahoos collected seven hits over the final three innings.
The game against the Aztecs was similar. Brandon Waddell was spectacular on the mound, going 7 1/3 innings and giving up just four hits (all singles) and an unearned run while striking out five. However, SDSU scored first on an error in the fifth inning when Coman, the catcher, threw too high to Waddell, who was covering first. Joe McCarthy tied it up with a homer to right field in the bottom of the fifth and then Ernie Clement recorded the go-ahead RBI in the eighth by hitting home McCarthy. Adam Hasely also had a triple and was plated when Daniel Pinero hit a grounder to third that the third baseman fumbled. Sborz stranded runners in the eighth and ninth and got the save.
The third game and second against USC was completely different. USC had beaten SDSU earlier in the day to earn the chance to beat UVa, which it would have to do twice to take the regional title. UVa only needed to win once. The Cavaliers' starting pitching was anything but dominant this time. Alec Bettinger was unable to record a single out in the bottom of the first. Virginia had scored four in the first inning but USC did one better and made it 5-4. Kevin Doherty came in and stemmed the tide some, working 3 1/3 innings, but he allowed four runs in the fourth and was pulled for Tommy Doyle, who worked 2 2/3 innings without giving up a run. David Rosenberger entered in the seventh and was superb, going four innings while giving up zero hits. Sborz did his shut down thing in the 11th, but did give up a meaningless run.
UVa was down 9-5 at one point but kept grinding, picking up a run in the sixth. In the eighth, the Cavs scored three runs to tie it. The floodgates opened in the 11th with UVa scoring five runs. Doherty hit an RBI double that broke the tie in the 11th. Thaiss, Towns, and Pavin Smith finished with three RBIs each and McCarthy had one. USC helped the UVa cause by committing four errors, with at least two leading to extra bases in the 11th. Virginia was sloppy, too, with three miscues.
Virginia hosts Maryland in the super regional Friday through Sunday. Despite being a No. 3 seed, the Cavs are hosting because Maryland is a No. 3 seed itself and upended overall tourney No. 1 seed UCLA in its regional by beating the Bruins, 2-1, in the regional final Monday.
I'll have more on the Terrapins and the matchup tomorrow.
Virginia also beat Maryland in the super regional round last year, taking the final two games from the Terps after they won the first game.
Connor Jones was electric on the mound in the first outing against the Trojans, going 7 2/3 innings while giving up five hits and one run. He struck out four. Josh Sborz cruised to his 13th save of the season.
USC starter Kyle Davis was just as good as Jones, if not better, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Virginia finally broke through in the seventh when Matt Thaiss got on via error and then Kenny Towns got the first hit of the game. Thaiss eventually came in after Robbie Coman hit a sharp liner to the pitcher that bounced off Davis' glove. Towns scored on a wild pitch and UVa piled on from there. The Wahoos collected seven hits over the final three innings.
The game against the Aztecs was similar. Brandon Waddell was spectacular on the mound, going 7 1/3 innings and giving up just four hits (all singles) and an unearned run while striking out five. However, SDSU scored first on an error in the fifth inning when Coman, the catcher, threw too high to Waddell, who was covering first. Joe McCarthy tied it up with a homer to right field in the bottom of the fifth and then Ernie Clement recorded the go-ahead RBI in the eighth by hitting home McCarthy. Adam Hasely also had a triple and was plated when Daniel Pinero hit a grounder to third that the third baseman fumbled. Sborz stranded runners in the eighth and ninth and got the save.
The third game and second against USC was completely different. USC had beaten SDSU earlier in the day to earn the chance to beat UVa, which it would have to do twice to take the regional title. UVa only needed to win once. The Cavaliers' starting pitching was anything but dominant this time. Alec Bettinger was unable to record a single out in the bottom of the first. Virginia had scored four in the first inning but USC did one better and made it 5-4. Kevin Doherty came in and stemmed the tide some, working 3 1/3 innings, but he allowed four runs in the fourth and was pulled for Tommy Doyle, who worked 2 2/3 innings without giving up a run. David Rosenberger entered in the seventh and was superb, going four innings while giving up zero hits. Sborz did his shut down thing in the 11th, but did give up a meaningless run.
UVa was down 9-5 at one point but kept grinding, picking up a run in the sixth. In the eighth, the Cavs scored three runs to tie it. The floodgates opened in the 11th with UVa scoring five runs. Doherty hit an RBI double that broke the tie in the 11th. Thaiss, Towns, and Pavin Smith finished with three RBIs each and McCarthy had one. USC helped the UVa cause by committing four errors, with at least two leading to extra bases in the 11th. Virginia was sloppy, too, with three miscues.
Virginia hosts Maryland in the super regional Friday through Sunday. Despite being a No. 3 seed, the Cavs are hosting because Maryland is a No. 3 seed itself and upended overall tourney No. 1 seed UCLA in its regional by beating the Bruins, 2-1, in the regional final Monday.
I'll have more on the Terrapins and the matchup tomorrow.
Virginia also beat Maryland in the super regional round last year, taking the final two games from the Terps after they won the first game.
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