2015 Super Regional Preview
Virginia
5, Maryland 3
When
Kevin Doherty approached Virigina head coach Brian O’Connor last
fall about hitting, there’s no way he could have envisioned being
the hero that put the Cavs one win away from a return trip to Omaha.
After
a two-out intentional walk to Preseason All-American Joe McCarthy,
Doherty ambushed a first-pitch fastball from Maryland relief ace
Kevin Mooney, doubling home three, and capping a five-run eighth
inning in UVa’s 5-3 comeback win.
"I
knew there was a high percentage chance he would throw me a fastball
because of prior at-bats,” said Doherty, who was 0-for-3 with a
pair of strikeouts before his game winning double. “I took the
mentality to be very aggressive and pretty much (thought) don't let a
fastball for a strike get past me. I was aggressive and it all kind
of worked out from there.”
Maryland
center fielder LaMonte Wade raced to the wall in left-center to try
and make a leaping catch at the wall, but couldn’t hold on to
Doherty’s blast.
"I
went back and was listening to (left fielder) Tim (Lewis) communicate
on the ball and I just dropped it,” Wade said. “I hit the wall
and missed the ball at the same time."
A
little-used reliever his first two years at UVa, Doherty approached
Head Coach Brian O’Connor about hitting this year. O’Connor said
he was open to it, and by the middle of the season, a Cavaliers team
beset by injuries was relying on him not just out of the 'pen, but at
the dish.
“I
just expected to play a minor role and help out wherever I could
because I knew there were gonna be holes, especially in the outfield
with guys leaving,” Doherty said. “I never really envisioned it
to be what it is now.”
Doherty
started 31 games for the Cavaliers and is tied for fifth on the team
in RBI.
Until
the eighth, the story was pitching. As advertised Terps' righty Mike
Shawaryn and Hoos' starter Connor Jones lived up to the billing.
Shawaryn
touched 94 in the early going, as his running fastball settled into
the low-90s, but while his velo dipped, his secondary pitches
improved, showing a solid changeup and tight breaking ball, using
them best.
By
the seventh, his fastball dipped into the upper-80s, and in the
eighth, back-to-back singles with one out chased him from the game.
In came Mooney, who immediately gave up an RBI single to senior third
baseman Kenny Towns, which marked his 20th postseason RBI, a Virginia
record. Four batters later Doherty delivered his game winning hit.
UVa’s
Jones showed his potential as well. He didn’t allow a hit until the
fourth but struggled to command his low-80s slider. With his command
wavering in the second, he turned to a slow breaking ball for a pair
of strikes and seemed to get back into his delivery.
Still,
Jones repeatedly touched 94 in the outing, including late into the
game, with a fastball showing good plane down in the zone and the
making of a solid 87-88 mph changeup. Both helped him induce 14
groundball outs in his seven innings.
Maryland
got on the board in the fifth as Jones walked the bases loaded thanks
to some long battles by the bottom of the Maryland order.
It
looked like a ball off the gloves of Virginia’s center fielder
would be the difference. Wade smoked a line drive into the
left-center field gap off the glove of a sliding Adam Haseley.
Haseley got a great jump on the ball, but it kept slicing away and
eluded his grasp.
Maryland
tacked on it’s third run in the seventh. Jr. Jose Cuas, who in the
last three weeks has begun hitting the ball the other way, doubled
down the right field line and later scored on a suicide squeeze from
the Terps' No. 9 hitter Kevin Biondic.
Cuas
is a rare raw college athlete, and while he shows good power to the
pull side, that pull-oriented approach at the plate has limited him.
However, he’s a premium defender at third with a plus, plus arm and
great defensive instincts.
Josh
Sborz came on in the eighth for Virginia, and promptly gave up a
leadoff single to Terps' shortstop Kevin Smith. Brandon Lowe followed
and was hit by a pitch that bounced into this foot. Home plate umpire
Chris Coskey ruled that Lowe didn’t attempt to get out of the way
of the pitch, citing a new rule change this season, but irritating
Maryland head coach John Szefc.
“(Coskey)
felt like Brandon tipped with his knee into it,” Szefc said of the
play. “First off it didn’t even hit him in the knee, it hit him
in the foot.”
Sborz
recovered to record the final six outs for the Cavaliers, and while
his 87 mph slider was consistently up in the zone, Sborz touched 97
in the ninth inning with his fastball, fanning two and surviving some
loud outs to preserve the Virginia win.
Despite
the gut-wrenching nature of the loss, Shawaryn was confident Maryland
could bounce back.
“We
played really well until that eighth inning,” Maryland's ace said.
“And sometimes things just happen that way I think we are going to
do a good job of just flushing it. It's just one of those days and
tomorrow we are going to come back ready to compete."
Unlike
last year, where much was expected of UVa heading into Regionals,
this group has a different feel.
“Once
you start thinking about being one win away from something, whether
it be Omaha or a national championship, you can cloud your thoughts a
little bit,” said a surprisingly relaxed Brian O’Connor. “I
look at this as a treat. This is fun. This group has been a true joy
to coach.”
– Mike Ferrin
Miami
3, VCU 2
The
Hurricanes scored three unearned runs in the bottom of the second
inning, highlighted by Jacob Heyward's two-run single, which proved
to be all of the runs Miami would need in their 3-2 victory over VCU
on Friday afternoon. Miami's high-powered offense mustered only four
base hits in the game, two of which came off the bat of center
fielder Ricky Eusebio. VCU had only six in a well-pitched affair.
Andrew
Suarez allowed only one run in his five innings of work, while
Michael Mediavilla and Bryan Garcia closed the door on the Rams'
offense the last three innings in a game that didn't have a single
extra-base hit. JoJo Howie was strong on the mound for VCU despite
the three unearned runs scoring, going 6 1/3 innings of four-hit
ball.
Arizona
18, Missouri State 4
Missouri
State ace Jon Harris looked sharp early in the game, throwing darts
with his 91-94 mph fastball and inducing weak contact off of the bats
of the lethal Razorbacks hitters. Harris then started to leave the
ball up in the zone in the fourth inning and Arkasas took advantage,
scoring three runs while adding six more in both the sixth and eighth
innings in an 18-4 route.
Tyler
Spoon's two-run single through the right side of the infield started
the scoring, and Carson Shaddy's run-scoring double in the top of the
eighth ended it. Spoon ended the day 2-for-4 with two runs scored and
three total driven in. Left fielder and leadoff hitter Joe Serrano
went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, a home run and four RBI, while
SEC Player of the Year Andrew Benintendi walked three times, score
three times and hit his 20th home run of the season. First
baseman Clark Eagan also contributed with a two-hit game and four
driven in.
Missouri
State third baseman Jake Burger went 4-for-4 with a double, a home
run and two runs scored in the loss.
A
projected first-round pick for Monday's MLB Draft, Harris had his
worst outing of the year, allowing eight runs (all earned) on nine
base hits and a walk and was pulled with two outs in the sixth
inning. Things didn't get any prettier as three Bears relievers gave
up 10 more runs over the next two innings.
Trey
Killian on the other hand was sharp for Arkansas, settling down after
allowing a single tally in the second, providing six solid innings.
Florida
13, Florida State 5
The
Florida Gators made quick work of Florida State on Friday, with the
Seminoles tacking on five runs in the last two innings just to make
the line score look somewhat respectable. Logan Shore tossed 5 2/3
shutout innings, allowing just four hits and two walks while fanning
five, and the offense took advantage of 11 base hits, eight walks and
four errors.
The
Gators' middle of the lineup – Buddy Reed, Josh Tobias and J.J.
Schwarz – did most of the damage as each collected a pair of base
hits with Schwarz hitting his 16th home run of the year.
Tobias had three RBI, as did catcher Mike Rivera.
D.J.
Stewart hit his 14th home run in the loss, and now he and
his FSU teammates face elminiation on Saturday going up against the
red-hot A.J. Puk.