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June 3, 2004
After the most successful regular season in school history, the Virginia baseball team will entertain George Mason, Princeton, and Vanderbilt this weekend at the UVa Baseball Stadium in the Charlottesville Regional of the NCAA Baseball Championships. Virginia enters regional play as the #1 seed in the group of four. The Cavaliers open the tournament at 7:00 p.m. Friday night against the Princeton Tigers.
“All four teams that are in this regional tournament, I believe, have a chance of winning this,” ACC Coach of the Year Brian O’Connor said. Princeton may prove to be especially tough, as they are the only team in the regional with players who have been in the tournament before. Additionally, when the Cavaliers step to the plate on Friday, they will face one of the nation’s top pitchers. The Tigers plan to start Ryan Ohlendorf, a 6-4 right-hander who has amassed 73 strikeouts in 59 innings of work and is likely to be selected in the first couple rounds of Monday’s amateur draft.
While facing Ohlendorf may seem daunting, Virginia’s players believe they will be up to the challenge. “We’ve been seeing tough pitchers all year,” first team All-ACC selection Ryan Zimmerman said. “It seems like everywhere we went this year, everyone was going to throw their number one [starter] at us.”
Virginia is making just its fourth appearance in the NCAA Baseball Championships and its first since 1996. The Cavaliers were awarded a regional in Charlottesville for the first time thanks to an 18-6 ACC record and a 42-13 overall mark, both school records. The 2004 squad hopes to add another first – a spot in Super-Regional play. “We feel like we’re a part of history and we want to carry it out as long as we can,” third-year catcher Scott Headd said.
Should UVa advance in the tournament, they must also overcome the memory of a disappointing performance in the ACC tournament last week. The team was eliminated after two games, losing the second during a ninth inning N.C. State rally, the same kind of rally Virginia used to win many regular season games. According to O’Connor, “the ACC tournament was a reminder to them [UVa’s players] of what we need to do to make ourselves successful.”
The Cavaliers appear ready to respond to the tournament losses, thanks to a sense of determination and excitement. Having worked hard all year, the team is aware that the upcoming games have the ability to define the entire season. “We know when we get into the postseason our whole season’s on the line,” Headd commented. “Winning’s our first priority. We’re going to do everything we can to prolong the season and take it to the next level.”
Vanderbilt and George Mason open Charlottesville Regional play Friday at 3:00 p.m. Virginia then hosts Princeton in the nightcap. If you can’t attend this weekend’s action in person, follow the Cavaliers on the flagship radio station for Virginia Athletics, WINA AM-1070. Fans can also listen to UVa’s games right here on virginiasports.com: Listen Live