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.”