Baseball der Virginia Cavaliers

Virginia-Cavaliere
2021 Virginia Cavaliers Baseball-Team
Founded	1889; 132 years ago (1889)
university	University of Virginia
Head coach	Brian O’Connor (18. Staffel)
conference	ACC Coastal Department
location	Charlottesville, Virginia
Home stadium	Davenport Field (Capacity: 4,825)
Nickname	Cavalier
Colours	Orange and blue
NCAA-Turniermeister
2015
Runner-up in the College World Series
2014
College World Series Series appearances
2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2021
NCAA-Regionalmeister
2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021
Appearances at the NCAA tournament
1972, 1985, 1996, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2021
Conference tournament winner
1996, 2009, 2011
Konferenzsieger
1972, 2010, 2011

The Virginia Cavaliers baseball team represents the University of Virginia in NCAA Division I college baseball. The team, founded in 1889, takes part in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference and plays its home games at Davenport Field. The team’s head coach is Brian O’Connor. The team has played in the College World Series five times, most recently in 2021, and won the national championship in 2015.

contents

• 1 story
  • 1.1 Tiering Proposal and Davenport Field
  • 1.2 Brian O’Connor-Ära
  • 1.3 NCAA-Meister 2015
• 2 notable former players
  • 2.1 Active Major League Baseball (MLB) players
  • 2.2 Notable former MLB players
  • 2.3 MLB Draft Picks for the First Round
• 3 honors
  • 3.1 First Team First All-Americans
  • 3.2 National coach of the year
  • 3.3 College World Series All-Turnier-Team
  • 3.4 The Most Outstanding Player of the College World Series
  • 3.5 ACC Player of the Year
  • 3.6 ACC Thrower of the Year
  • 3.7 ACC Trainer of the Year
• 4 head coaches
• 5 Virginia in the NCAA tournament
• 6 See also
• 7 references

story

Virginia played its first baseball game, a 13-4 win over Richmond College in 1889. The Cavaliers had limited success in their first 100 years of play, making their NCAA tournament debut in 1972 under Jim West, and returning in 1985 and 1996 under Dennis back Womack who doesn’t manage to get beyond the regional game. They won their first ACC tournament championship in 1996 behind pitching from All-America right-hander Seth Greisinger. A highlight was the performance of left-handed pitcher Eppa Rixey, who won 266 games for the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds from 1912 to 1933 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a Veterans Committee selection in 1963.

In 1966, left-handed pitcher Edward Turnbull became the first MLB draft pick of the program and went to the Baltimore Orioles in the 17th round. Outfielder Brian Buchanan was the first Virginia player to be selected in the first round and moved to the New York Yankees in the 1994 draft.

Tiering Proposal and Davenport Field

In 2001 the program was threatened by recommendations from a university task force that would have split school sport into four levels, with each level receiving different funding. The baseball program was ranked the lowest tier and, if the recommendation had been implemented, would have lost the opportunity to offer athletic scholarships, but the University’s Visitors Committee rejected the proposal.

Over the next year, the Virginia sports division took steps to make the program more competitive, notably renovating the team’s stadium, renamed Davenport Field after longtime sports administrator and former baseball coach Ted Davenport, who died in 2001, Millions Anonymous Donations believed to be made by bestselling author John Grisham, a Charlottesville resident whose son Ty played for the team. Before the renovation, the field had no lighting and the infield was made of artificial turf that was handed down from an old soccer field. Bermuda grass was installed during the renovation work.

Brian O’Connor-Ära

Womack resigned in 2004 and Notre Dame associate head coach Brian O’Connor took over the reins and made an immediate impact when the program hosted its first NCAA regional event in its first season. Since the 2017 season, the Cavaliers have made the NCAA tournament every year of O’Connor’s tenure, and won the ACC tournament championships in 2009 and 2011.

Virginia hosted the NCAA Regionals again in 2006 and 2007, but didn’t advance until 2009. That year the Cavaliers won the Irvine Regional, defeating the ace of San Diego State, Stephen Strasburg, and Ole Miss defeated in the Oxford Super Regional to advance to the first college World Series of the program, where they finished fifth and bowed in a 12-inning loss to Arkansas.

The Cavaliers again won the Charlottesville Regional in 2010, but lost in the Charlottesville Super Regional to Oklahoma. In 2011, they entered the NCAA tournament as the top overall seeder, swept the Charlottesville Regional and bounced from a ninth inning deficit to beat UC Irvine with a two-time single from Chris Taylor in the Charlottesville Super Regional. They finished third in the College World Series and lost in 13 innings to eventual champion South Carolina.

In 2013, Virginia swept the Charlottesville Regional before losing to the state of Mississippi in the Charlottesville Super Regional. In 2014, the Cavaliers reached previously unprecedented heights, losing 3-2 to Vanderbilt in a crucial Game 3 of the College World Series Finals. They had swept the Charlottesville Regional and defeated Maryland in the Charlottesville Super Regional.

NCAA-Meister 2015

In 2015, an injury-ridden Virginia team broke its regular season and needed a streak win in the last regular season streak in North Carolina to create an application for the ACC tournament. They made it to No. 3 in the NCAA tournament and swept the Lake Elsinore Regional, defeating Southern California (twice) and the state of San Diego. They hosted Maryland in the Charlottesville Super Regional and secured a trip to the College World Series on Ernie Clement’s two-time single in the closing stages of the ninth of the second game.

In Omaha, Virginia defeated Arkansas and Florida (twice) to play a rematch with Vanderbilt in the final. The Commodores won the first game 5-1 before the Cavaliers leveled the series with a 3-0 win after five innings from surprise starter Adam Haseley and four from Josh Sborz. Virginia fell back early in the crucial third game, giving up two runs in the first inning, but Pavin Smith homered to equalize the Cavaliers and score singles to give Haseley the eventual winning run. Brandon Waddell threw seven strong innings, aided by an acrobatic, run-saving stop by third baseman Kenny Towns as the Cavaliers won 4-2, the program’s first national championship and the first for an ACC program since Wake Forest in 1955 to win.

Notable former players

Active Major League Baseball (MLB) players

• Artie Lewicki, RHP, Detroit Tigers
• Kyle Crockett, LHP, Cleveland-Indianer
• Sean Doolittle, LHP, Washington Nationals
• Derek Fisher, OF, Toronto Blue Jays
• Phil Gosselin, 2B, Cincinnati Reds
• Brandon Guyer, OF, Cleveland-Indianer
• John Hicks, C, Detroit Tigers
• Jarrett Parker, OF, San Francisco Giants
• Chris Taylor, SS, Los Angeles Dodgers
• Tyler Wilson, RHP, Baltimore Orioles
• Ryan Zimmerman, 1B/3B, Washington Nationals

Notable former MLB players

• Mike Cubbage, 3B, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets
• Hank Foiles, C, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Angelsles
• Ricky Horton, LHP, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers
• Javier López, LHP, San Francisco Giants
• Mark Reynolds, 1B, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals
• Eppa Rixey, LHP, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, 1963 Hall of Fame inductee
• Monte Weaver, RHP, Washington Senatoren, Boston Red Sox
• Michael Schwimer, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies

MLB draft picks for the first round

• Jimmy Blankenship, P, Pittsburg Pirates, 1980
• Brian Buchanan, OF, New York Yankees, 1994
• Seth Greisinger, RHP, Detroit Tigers, 1996
• Ryan Zimmerman, 3B, Washington Nationals, 2005
• Sean Doolittle, 1B/LHP, Oakland Athletics, 2007
• Danny Hultzen, LHP, Seattle Mariners, 2011
• Nick Howard, RHP, Cincinnati Reds, 2014
• Mike Papi, OF, Cleveland-Indianer, 2014
• Nathan Kirby, LHP, Milwaukee Brewers, 2015,
• Matt Thaiss, C, Los Angeles Angels, 2016,
• Pavin Smith, 1B, Arizona Diamondbacks, 2017,
• Adam Haseley, OF, Philadelphia Phillies, 2017
• Daniel Lynch, LHP, Kansas City Royals, 2018
• Jake McCarthy, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks, 2018

(Contains additional and competitive balance picks)

Honors

First Team All-Americans

• 1977: Jimmy Blankenship, P (BA)
• 1978: Jimmy Blankenship, P (BA)
• 1979: Jimmy Blankenship, P (BA)
• 1994: Brian Buchanan, OF (BA)
• 1996: Seth Greisinger, RHP (ABCA, BA, CB)
• 2007: Jacob Thompson, RHP (ABCA, BA, CB)
• 2009: Danny Hultzen, USEFUL (ABCA)
• 2010: Kevin Arico, RHP (NCBWA, CB)
• 2010: Danny Hultzen, LHP (ABCA, CB, NCBWA)
• 2011: Danny Hultzen, UTIL (BA, CB), LHP (ABCA)
• 2013: Mike Papi, OF (ABCA, BA)
• 2014: Nathan Kirby, LHP (ABCA, BA, CB)
• 2016: Connor Jones, RHP (ABCA)
• 2017: Adam Haseley, OF (ABCA, BA)

National coach of the year

• 2006: Brian O’Connor (CBF)
• 2009: Brian O’Connor (NCBWA, CBI)
• 2015: Brian O’Connor (CB, PG, BA)

Legend:

College World Series All-Turnier-Team

Tyler-Kanone, SS

Branden Cogswell, 2B

Brandon Downes, OF

Nate Irving, C

Artie Lewicki, P

Brandon Waddell, P

Ernie Clement, 2B

Daniel Pinero, SS

Kenny Towns, 3B

Josh Sborz, P

Brandon Waddell, P

Zack Gelof, 3B

Most Outstanding Player of the College World Series

ACC Player of the Year

ACC Thrower of the Year

• 2010: Danny Hultzen
• 2011: Danny Hultzen
• 2014: Nathan Kirby (co-winner)

ACC Trainer of the Year

• 1987: Dennis Womack
• 2004: Brian O’Connor
• 2010: Brian O’Connor
• 2011: Brian O’Connor
• 2013: Brian O’Connor
• 2014: Brian O’Connor

Head coach

When West died on May 24, 2009, the Cavaliers added a black circle with the number “24” above the team name on their uniforms for the remainder of the season. West had worn this number when he was a coach.

Virginia in the NCAA tournament

See also

References