Virginia forces CWS rematch

OMAHA, Neb. - Rarely does the third installment of a great series match up to the original. Despite the history of trilogies being crushingly awful, Saturday’s third College World Series game between Virginia and Florida was a pièce de résistance on the diamond.

A wonderfully, played, skillfully managed game that was great for fans. It had everything; suspense, home runs, strikeouts, defensive gems and lead changes.

Whoa Nellie! What a ballgame!

Virginia had won the first matchup between the two teams Monday with a top-shelf pitching performance by Brandon Waddell and Josh Sborz. The tandem teamed to two-hit Florida for a 1-0 win.

Florida took the rematch on Friday with an offensive outburst where they avenged their previous defeat with a vengeance, doubling up UVa by a lopsided score of 10-5.

With that, the stage was set for a masterpiece of a game before the first pitch had even been thrown. The winner would advance to the College World Series Championship Series with an opportunity to win their first baseball title in school history. The loser on the other hand would be headed to the airport in the morning with their team shirts’ prices slashed to half-price at the vendor tents outside the stadium.

Each team needed to win to to keep their season alive.

Waddell, who had pitched the majority of the Florida whitewash Monday, got the starting nod again as Virginia Head Coach Brian O’Connor hoped for a repeat of his performance. It was a undertaking Waddell took with confidence even though it was on less rest than he ordinary gets between games.

“I really approached it the same as any start,” Waddell said afterwards. “I wasn't going to use shorter rest as an excuse for something else that could happen. So I mean going into it I took it as a normal start. I truly wanted the ball for the game.”

Virginia was able to strike first in the bottom of the first on a solo home run by Matt Thaiss, but the lead was short-lived.

The Gators quickly answered in the top of the second when J.J. Schwarz led off with a walk. Pete Alonso followed with a gargantuan 429-foot home run to center field. It was measured to be the longest homer ever hit in TD Ameritrade Park, surpassing his own 421-foot monster bomb that he hit Wednesday against Miami. The blast gave the Gators a 2-1 lead.

It wasn’t long until the game would be knotted again. In the fourth inning Virginia’s Pavin Smith hit a deep ball to center that caromed off the wall and allowed him to race around the bases for a triple. He was soon after driven home on a Joe McCarthy sacrifice fly to make it 2-2.

At the top of the next inning Florida retook the lead on yet another Gator home run. Harrison Bader lifted a ball over the fence in left center to give the Gators a 3-2 lead.

The bottom of the fifth produced another lead change when Daniel Pinero and Thaiss both reached bases via singles to right. Kenny Towns then made like a blackjack player on 11 and doubled down the left field line to reclaim the lead for the Cavs as both runners scored. Virginia 4, Florida 3.

But the resilient Gators kept coming. J.J. Schwarz singled to center which knocked Waddell from the game.

O’Connor rolled the dice and brought in the closer Sborz for an extended outing. The bullpen ace was well-rested, not having pitched since his part in the Cav’s shout win over Florida five days before. Although he was accustomed to only earning the final three outs, the decision to go to Sborz, even as early as the sixth inning was an easy one for O’Connor. In his six appearances in the NCAA tournament, Sborz had not allowed a single earned run. He had already factored into the first two of the Hoo’s victories, earning the win against Arkansas and the save against Florida.

Furthermore Sborz shined in Omaha the year before. In six innings pitched in 2014, he was 1-0 in two games, striking out five batters.

While Sborz couldn’t keep Schwarz from crossing the plate, he was able to extinguish the Gator rally spark and keep the Cavaliers in the game. He then once again did what so many pitchers had tried and failed to do all season long, as he strung zeroes across the Florida box score.

“When you pitch a team like that you've just got to manage,” the Cav’s closer stated after the game. “I mean, they're so good at hitting that you've just got to try to spread out their hits as best as possible. In that first inning I gave them that extra base that allowed them to score with a walk. And I think the key is really slowing it down and just trying to defend your way out of things.”

In the seventh, the game’s scoring came to a crescendo. Virginia was able to load the bases via small ball; a single, walk, sacrifice bunt and an intentional walk brought Towns back to the plate. The free pass to bring the Cavaliers’ cleanup hitter was a dangerous proposition as Towns had been a historically tough out in the postseason and was 7-for-8 with 16 RBI for the season with the bases loaded.

Towns crushed the ball deep to right field, but it only reached the warning track. It was a few feet short of a grand slam, but did allow Ernie Clement to tag and score from third and give Towns his third RBI of the night.

Towns commented on the decision to put him at the plate with the game on the line after the game.

“When you think about it it's a smart play,” Town acknowledged, “It's to set up the double play. And obviously Matt's (Thaiss, who had homered earlier in the game) been a very dangerous hitter and helps us out a lot. So I wouldn't take any offense to it or think anything of it. I was just happy to be able to get an opportunity to drive in another run.”

With Sborz dealing the feeling in the dugout was that it was then only a matter of time before the game was won. Towns was asked after the game if his team believed they were going to win once they took the lead late.

“Yeah, absolutely. Especially the way he's pitching,” the Cavs’ third baseman stated, “You’ve just got to get that one-run lead however you can. But just having a guy like that you feel confident just getting that one and taking the lead.”

Channeling his inner Mick Dundee, Sborz was able to tame the Gators the rest of the way for the win. He allowed singles in the seventh and ninth innings, but Florida couldn’t manage another comeback.

The win send Virginia back to the College World Series Championship Series for the second year in a row. A feat especially amazing considering the Cavs barely were able to qualify for the ACC tournament and were forced to travel across the country to play Regionals on the West Coast. Their finals rematch with Vanderbilt will be the first repeat championship pairing since 2006-07 when Oregon State twice defeated North Carolina.

O’Connor summed up his feelings about the win and upcoming series with Vanderbilt after the game.

”This team has, in this postseason run, just been amazing. The toughness and the resiliency of this group has been really, really impressive. The heart that they've continued to show is a lot of fun to watch and this game is kind of a small microcosm of what our postseason's been like… (I’m) just really excited that we have another opportunity to play and another opportunity to compete for a national championship.”