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.