OMAHA,
Neb. – In the biggest game of the season, under the most desperate
and dire of circumstances, Virginia Head Coach Brian O’Connor went
to a pair of unlikely sources in the critical game two of the College
World Series with the season on the line.
With
a rotation thin due to injury and the expense of playing an extra
game Saturday, O’Connor named freshman Adam Haseley as his starting
pitcher. The announcement was a bit of a surprise as Haseley had made
only four starts all season and pitched in only 10 games all spring.
The last time he’d started was over a month ago in the ACC
tournament. On that occasion he threw 4 2/3 innings which was his
season high.
While
Haseley’s insertion into the starting role was unexpected, it was
by no means unwarranted.
Coming
out of high school Haseley was a much heralded two-way prospect. He
flashed a low-90s fastball and 80 mph breaking pitch, but scouts
projected him to be more of an impact player in the outfield than on
the mound. His speed with his hands and feet turned heads and drew
comparisons to a young Johnny Damon. He led his USA 18U National Team
to a gold medal as he compiled a .485
average with six extra-base hits and he was
named Perfect Game's 88th best prospect from the high school class of 2014.
During
this regular season Haseley showed some of the same flashes of
brilliance on the mound which made him a feather in O’Connor’s
recruiting cap coming out of high school. He earned the win in a pair
of games and a save in another. In 23 2/3 innings he allowed 24 hits
for a .264 average and struck out 16 batters while walking eight.
Solid stats, but not the kind of numbers you expect to from the guy
with the national championship on the line.
Haseley
didn’t dominate, but he got the job done. He threw five plus
innings and scattered four hits with three walks. His defense stepped
up as well and helped him keep the Commodores off the basepaths, and
more importantly, off the scoreboard. When he came out after facing a
batter in the sixth he received a well-deserved standing ovation.
Haseley didn’t just keep his team in the game, but his valiant
effort also kept his bullpen rested as well and saved their tired
arms for a potential game three.
O’Connor
spoke about what he had expected out of Haseley when he penciled him
as the surprise starting pitcher.
“I'm
not sure,” O'Connor admitted. “You know, I just know this. The
last time he started a ballgame was against NC State in the
conference tournament four weeks ago; the last time he pitched for
us. You just don't know how it's going to go. But I know this: He's
got a lot of pride. He's got a lot of pride in his teammates.
“This
guy has been, in high school, he's been on the world stage, playing
for U.S.A. Baseball and performed at a very, very high level. And so
I knew that he wouldn't be in awe of the situation. I knew he would
go out there and throw strikes and give us a chance. I had no idea
how deep he'd pitch. And I'm glad he gave us five strong innings.”
Vanderbilt’s
Head Coach Tim Corbin had praise for Haseley after the game as well.
“We
had scouting reports on him. He had 10 appearances, four starts. We
didn't know a whole lot about him,” Corbin stated. “Very
commendable. Freshman. Usually a reliever. Comes into a situation,
stops a good offensive team. We really didn't do much against him. He
did a nice job of slowing us down. Again, you just have to give a kid
like that credit, especially being on the mound for the first time.
Now, I know he's played, but being on the mound for the first time,
pitching like he did, he did a nice job.”
The
move of Haseley to the mound had another serendipitous
consequence. O’Connor had to make a second unanticipated adjustment
to the lineup as with Haseley pitching it left a void in his regular
outfield position; aside from the four games he started as a pitcher,
Haseley was a regular in the Cavaliers lineup
and was the team’s everyday centerfielder and leadoff hitter.
As
a result, Thomas Woodruff, a walk-on senior who made only a dozen
spot starts during the season found himself getting an surprising
start as well. Headed into the game Woodruff only had a total of 51
at-bats on the season and an unimposing .235 batting average. His
biggest claim to fame previously had been scoring the wining runs in
both of UVA’s two walk-off wins to begin Virginia’s College World
Series run last year.
Woodruff’s
addition to the lineup would end up paying off big in the sixth
inning.
With
two outs Pavin Smith singled which brought Kevin Doherty to the
plate. Doherty hit a dribbler up the middle that appeared to be
playable for the third out, but it skipped off second base to keep
the inning alive. The Cavaliers’ good fortune continued with the
next at-bat as Joe McCarthy hit a sharp grounder to first which
stymied Zandel Wiel. McCarthy was able to reach first and load the
bases for Ernie Clement. Clement delivered a seeing-eye single to
left which brought Woodruff to the batter’s box.
Woodruff,
who was batting ninth and who had already overachieved by going
2-for-2 to start the game, roped a two-strike pitch to center field
to score two more runs. The additional runs were much needed as
Virginia was pitching to a Vanderbilt team that had only been shutout
once all season.
O’Connor
was asked after the game about his process in adding Woodruff to the
starting lineup.
“Once
I had made the decision to start Adam Haseley on the mound, it was
clear that that was the right thing to do,” O’Connor explained.
“And this guy has been as unselfish and as much of a team player as
you could possibly be for four years. And I really believe that at
the most important time you get rewarded for that, and certainly it
showed true today and it worked.”
Woodruff
also commented on what it was like to drive in the the winning runs
in the College World Series as opposed to scoring them.
“It
was definitely new. I honestly – I didn't feel as nervous as I
expected to,” Woodruff happily stated. “I was kind of relaxed,
just trying to enjoy it. This or, I guess, now tomorrow could have
been my last college game, just try to go out there and enjoy it.
Definitely a new experience and very exciting.”
Woodruff
added later, “It's definitely a little surreal. But I think the
approach that I try to take in practice and treat it like a game and
treat it like every repetition matters. You get out there and
everything is just like practice, and it kind of slows down and you
don't expect it, but you know and you're confident in your abilities
and you can trust your preparation much better.”
From
then on the game was in the hands of Josh Sborz. The second round Los
Angeles Dodger draft pick continued to carve his place in College
World Series lore with yet another lauded outing. Sborz did allow
Vanderbilt to make it interesting in the ninth when the first two
runners reached base to bring the tying run to the plate, but he was
able to muster every bit of moxie he had left to close out the game.
He fanned two of the last three batters and with his four shutout
innings, Sborz ran his streak of consecutive innings without allowing
an earned run to 27.
Virginia’s
win forced a final winner-take-all game Wednesday night for the
title.
Despite
the lack of runs, Vanderbilt’s Wiel was confident that he and his
teammates would be ready for the decisive game.
“You
have to just wipe the slate clean. You can't carry the game with you.
Obviously we struggled tonight offensively. But we just have to have
a clear mind going into tomorrow and do what we do every day, and
that's trust our preparation and trust our BP, and we'll be ready to
go tomorrow.”