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.”