Virginia Athletics
Edgington and Hot-Hitting Hoos Thump Duke, Punch Ticket to Omaha
Reaching the pinnacle of the college baseball world in Omaha, Nebraska for the College World Series requires a unique combination of elite-level talent, coaching, and execution and a considerable amount of mental fortitude. By winning 48 games and going 3-0 at the Charlottesville Regional last weekend, the Cavaliers had already checked those first three boxes. But when they lost the first game of the Super Regional to Duke in disheartening fashion and had their backs firmly against the wall as they faced elimination, the opportunity came for the Hoos to show that they had the mental toughness required to keep their season alive.
After falling to the Blue Devils 5-4 in game 1 on Friday, Virginia outscored Duke 26-6 over the remainder of the weekend, earning a pair of blowout wins - 14-4 in game 2 on Saturday and then 12-2 in game 3 on Sunday - to secure the program's sixth appearance in the College World Series.
"To lose game 1 on Friday afternoon the way we lost it - having a lead late in the game and not being able to hold it - it says more about the character and the determination and competitive spirit of this team," said Virginia head coach Brian O'Connor after the game.
After Edgington worked around a one-out double to retire the side in the first inning, Virginia had a golden opportunity to jump on the board first as Griff O'Ferrall hit a leadoff double down the left field line and Ethan O'Donnell joined him on base with a walk. Duke starter Ryan Higgins faced the heart of the UVA batting order and managed to get out of the jam without a run scoring as he got Jake Gelof, Kyle Teel, and Ethan Anderson each to pop out to end the inning.
Fortunately for the Cavaliers, that missed opportunity in the first inning didn't come back to bite them. After Edgington struck out the side in the top of the second, UVA erupted for five runs in the bottom half of the inning. Casey Saucke hit a leadoff double into the gap in left center field and Anthony Stephan drew a full-count walk, chasing Higgins from the game as the Blue Devils brought in right-handed reliever Charlie Beilenson. Henry Godbout bunted to move the runners into scoring position at second and third and then Harrison Didawick, who was making just his second-career postseason start in left field, delivered an RBI single to get the Cavaliers on the board. O'Ferrall followed that up with an RBI single up the middle and then O'Donnell did the same, singling to left center to score Didawick to make it 3-0. Gelof drew a full-count walk to load the bases again and then Kyle Teel poked a single through the right side to score two more runs.
That big inning gave Virginia a 5-0 lead and ended up providing plenty of a lead for Brian Edgington, who had great command of his pitches and in particular his splitter, and successfully kept the Duke batters off balance.
"Brian Edgington was spectacular," O'Connor said of the graduate transfer from Elon. "I feel fortunate that we decided to offer him an opportunity and he took us up on it. He's a winner. He wants the ball at the biggest times and he's continued to deliver for us all year long."
Edgington picked up his fourth-straight strikeout to start the third, but then gave up a double to Alex Mooney and walked Andrew Fischer on four pitches. Kyle Teel helped his pitcher out, throwing down to first on a pick-off and catching Fischer off the base for the final out of the inning.
Beilenson settled in after the rough second inning and retired eight-consecutive batters to keep the Cavaliers off the board into the fifth inning. Edgington was even better, stringing together another streak of four-straight strikeouts to keep his shutout going through the fifth.
UVA had a chance to add to its lead in the bottom of the fifth, but Duke head coach Chris Pollard won a mini-game of chess with Brian O'Connor to prevent that from happening. Ethan Anderson and Casey Saucke drew one-out walks and Pollard made the move to replace Beilenson with Owen Proksch, who hit Stephan with his first pitch to load the bases. Proksch bounced back to strike out Godbout for the second out of the inning. O'Connor had Colin Tuft, a righty batter, pinch hit for the lefty Harrison Didawick against the left-handed pitcher Proksch, but Pollard countered by bringing in righty reliever Jimmy Romano, who got Tuft to fly out to end the inning with no runs scored.
Duke's identity all season long has been to use several pitchers in short outings to get through each game. Pollard's decision to use three pitchers in the fifth inning alone worked to keep UVA off the board, but that strategy did not continue to pan out for the Blue Devils for the rest of the game. Duke ended up using nine different pitchers in game 3, but the Cavaliers scored seven runs in their next three turns at the plate to put the game away.
The one blemish on Edgington's otherwise-superb performance came in the top of the sixth, as Jay Beshears lifted a deep fly ball that carried in the wind just barely over the wall in left field for a two-run home run, giving the Blue Devils their first and only runs of the game.
Just as they did when Duke got back within a run in the middle of game 2, the Cavaliers responded immediately to the game pressure with a four-run inning. Gelof delivered an RBI single and Teel brought in another run with a fielder's choice groundout. Ethan Anderson, who blasted a three-run home run out of the ball park while batting lefty on Saturday, then crushed a ball into the left field bleachers while batting righty for a two-run home run to make it 9-2.
"Our ability to respond, be resilient, and not sit around and feel sorry for ourselves is a great quality to have," O'Connor said. "Resiliency is an incredible quality for any of us to have in life."
Edgington pitched around a pair of singles to retire the side in the top of the seventh and then UVA tacked on two more runs in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI double from Ethan O'Donnell and an RBI single from Kyle Teel, who had four RBI in the game.
With the help of a 5-4-3 double play, Edgington faced the minimum in the top of the eighth to get the Cavaliers within three outs of returning to Omaha. Just for good measure, Anthony Stephan blasted a home run into the balcony above the right field bullpen to give UVA a 10-run lead at 12-2.
Even with Edgington's pitch count at 101 pitches, there was no doubt in Brian O'Connor's mind that he would be giving Edgington a chance to finish the complete game.
"We knew we were going to send him back out. He was very, very efficient. He was in control of the game," O'Connor said of Edgington. "I think he had one walk in nine innings. And they just had a hard time figuring out his splitter mixed in with his fastball that was up to 92, 93 miles an hour. Sometimes the best thing is just to leave the guy out there. I think sometimes as coaches we can outthink it - let's match up here, matchup there - but when you're pitching like he was pitching, the best thing is send him back there."
Edgington picked up his 11th strikeout in the bottom of the ninth and then got Luke Storm to hit a pop-up to left field, where Colin Tuft made the catch for the final out, triggering a massive celebration throughout the packed stadium at Disharoon Park and on the field as the Cavaliers rushed the mound and leapt onto Edgington in the traditional celebratory dogpile.
Brian Edgington finished with nine hits and two earned runs and a season-high 11 strikeouts. He became the first Cavalier to throw a complete game in the NCAA Tournament since Brandon Waddell accomplished the feat against Vanderbilt in the finals of the 2014 College World Series.
As for the offense, Virginia scored 12 runs on 16 hits, following up Saturday's 14-run offensive explosion in which the Cavaliers scored their most runs in a Super Regional game in program history. Griff O'Ferrall went 4 for 5 with two runs scored, Kyle Teel recorded four RBI, and Ethan O'Donnell went 3 for 4 with two RBI and three runs scored. Virginia's 30 total runs scored over the course of the three-game series are the most the Cavaliers have ever scored in a Super Regional.
"The offensive output was very, very impressive and very determined," O'Connor said. "We're looking forward to regrouping this week and getting ready to go out there and put ourselves in position to have a chance to win a national championship."
The victory was the 50th of the season for Virginia (50-13), marking the fifth time the Cavaliers have reached 50 wins in a season and the first time since 2014. Virginia advances to the College World Series for the sixth time in program history with all six appearances coming in the last 15 years.
UVA's side of the bracket in the College World Series will feature No. 2 seed Florida, TCU, and Oral Roberts. Virginia will face No. 2 seed Florida in its first game at the College World Series. The complete schedule for the College World Series will be finalized at a later date.
To stay up to date on all Virginia Cavaliers sports news, follow CavaliersNow on social media:
Facebook: @CavaliersNow
Twitter: @CavaliersNowFN
See more Virginia baseball news and content: Virginia Baseball on Sports Illustrated
See more Virginia sports news and content: Virginia Cavaliers on Sports Illustrated