Two years ago, former Creighton Bluejay player Brian O’Connor brought the Virginia Cavaliers to the College World Series for the first time in the school’s history. In 2010 it looked like O’Connor and the Cavs would return, after winning the first game of the Charlottesville Super Regional. But Virginia lost twice to Oklahoma, and the Sooners went to Omaha while the Cavaliers stayed home.
This season, UVA took care of its Super Regional, albeit thanks to some late-game heroics against UC-Irvine. We caught up with Steve Yanda, who covers the Cavaliers for the Washington Post, to discuss how Virginia advanced to Omaha and what it will take for UVA to leave with the 2011 College World Series championship.
Jim Daves/VirginiaSports.com
White & Blue Review: Bases loaded, two outs, down in a must-win game. The scenario seems cliched. Can you explain the excitement among UVA players and fans when Chris Taylor came through with the game-winning hit to send Virginia to the CWS?
Steve Yanda: In order to understand the excitement felt by fans and players at Davenport Field that day, you need some context. This is a team that hosted a super regional in 2010 and won the first game, only to drop the final two to Oklahoma. It was a humiliating experience for the entire program, particularly because the final score of the third game was 11-0. This year, when UVA won the first game and then lost the second, there was this sense that history might repeat itself. So when Chris Taylor got that hit, it set off a pretty wild on-field celebration. Kenny Swab, the team’s centerfielder, needed three stitches over his left eye after being cleated in the face during the dog pile.
WBR: The Cavaliers went 25-1 from March 1 through April 9, cementing their status as one of the nation’s top teams. Can you explain the make-up of this team for the casual CWS fan? How did they become the top ranked team in the country?
SY: Their pitching staff is deep and incredibly talented. And I don’t just mean the starters. Branden Kline is one of the top closers in the nation. Cody Winiarski, who was moved to the mid-week starter role, came out of the bullpen during the super regional series and was outstanding. And it helps when your staff ace (Danny Hultzen) is the second overall pick in the MLB draft. Will Roberts seemingly came out of nowhere and had an all-American season that included throwing a perfect game. The team’s staff owns the nation’s lowest ERA (2.26).
WBR: Danny Hultzen, the first three-time All-American at UVA, went #2 to the Seattle Mariners in the recent MLB Draft. Just how good is Hultzen? What’s his stuff like? What kind of pitcher is he?
SY: Danny is a power pitcher, but he’s got a deep repertoire. He added a cutter-slider to his arsenal this season, and he uses that as his second go-to pitch. His change-up is his top go-to pitch, because his fastball sets it up so well.
WBR: The Cavaliers lead the nation in ERA and strikeouts per nine innings. What’s the make-up of the pitching staff? Brian O’Connor recently told your paper Karl Kuhn is the best pitching coach in America. What makes him so good?
SY: I addressed the pitching staff earlier, so I’ll stick with Kuhn on this one. The players like him because he’s extremely detail-oriented. He addresses each pitcher’s needs, in terms of development, individually. And he encourages them to be aggressive. He prepares fanatically, which trickles down to his pitchers.
WBR: The pitching leads the way for UVA, but the offense ranks among the nation’s leaders in categories such as runs (5th), hits (8th), and scoring (16th). Who leads the way for the Cavaliers on offense?
SY: Chris Taylor has been extremely hot at the plate of late. He’s their leadoff batter, and he had a phenomenal super regional series (even before driving in those game-winning runs). John Hicks and Steven Proscia have been their most productive hitters over the course of the season, though Proscia had a rough super regional series at the plate. And don’t sleep on Hultzen, who is used as their DH.
WBR: Brian O’Connor comes back to Omaha once again. This year his trip coincides with the 20th anniversary of him helping take Creighton to its one and only CWS appearance. What kind of a coach is O’Connor? UVA has made the NCAA Tournament in each of his 8 seasons at the school. How has he elevated this program to one of the nation’s best?
SY: Shameless plug here: Be sure to check out washingtonpost.com/sports on Sunday for a story dealing with how O’Connor and his assistants elevated this program to its current level. O’Connor is very adept at relating to each of his players. And his assistants like working for him because he allows for what Kuhn described as “collaborative autonomy.”
WBR: This is only Virginia’s second appearance at the College World Series. The Cavaliers came up short in 2009. What must go right for O’Conner to lead this year’s UVA squad to a national championship?
SY: That’s a tough question to answer. Every team that has made it this far is capable of winning the whole thing. And history is not in UVA’s favor. Since the tournament field was expanded in 1999, only one No. 1 overall seed has won the national title (Miami in 1999). Six of the last seven national champions were not among the tournament’s top eight seeds, which would seem to bode well for Texas AM and Cal (UVA’s opponent on Sunday).
That said, UVA has an incredibly talented lineup and top flight pitching. They have all the necessary components to succeed in Omaha. Time will tell if they can put it all together.