Best ahead for UVa baseball

Baseball purists got a kick out of the University of Virginia’s team this season, from the opening games in early spring at Davenport Field to the team’s inspiring run to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.

The ball fans would tell you they loved how this group of Cavaliers could play “small ball” and win games with a 2-1 score in a sport so defined by the ting of space-age bats sending one home run after another into bleachers and parking lots.
No, Virginia’s baseball players and coaches did things the “right” way. They pitched effectively and with precision. They stole bases. They emphasized solid defense.
The team’s catcher played a key leadership role, something any baseball junkie would smile about. A second baseman, barely big enough to fill up his uniform at 5-foot-7, 140 pounds, delivered one big hit after another. A fifth-year senior pitcher, his college degree in hand, overcame serious back trouble simply for the love of playing the game and being on this team.
Great stories, these, and many more that emerged this season.
So from a baseball perspective, there was plenty to keep fans happy and hungry for more. The Cavaliers deserve admiration and praise for finishing with the best record in program history and reaching heights never before achieved on the diamond by any UVa baseball squad.

In the waning minutes of Wednesday evening, fighting but never quitting, the team finally ran out of gas against the University of Arkansas. Fittingly, the Cavaliers kept playing as long as they could before seeing their best of seasons end in the 4-3, 12-inning loss.
Let’s get beyond, however, the mechanics of the game. Let’s get past the numbers and the averages, past the sporting achievements and the athletic angles.
Let’s talk about class and character, because these are the traits that distinguish this team and this program. Following the lead of its fine coach, Brian

O’Connor, the university baseball team represented UVa and all of us well. Any time a community’s representatives reach a bigger stage, a wider audience, they become ambassadors for the community at large. They are us, in a sense, particularly to those who come in contact with them and make judgments about the quality of the group and the quality of who the group represents.
On the biggest of stages for college baseball, O’Connor’s Cavaliers presented themselves with dignity, a fighting spirit, exceeding class and a positive attitude – even in defeat.

Fittingly, the coach and his players and assistant coaches returned home Thursday to a celebration at Davenport. This team has carved a place for itself in the history of Virginia baseball and university athletics.
Nice job, fellas. And in case you’re wondering, the best is almost certainly still ahead for a team that could see its lineup return almost entirely intact for next season. An inviting prospect for baseball purists and those who simply like good stories with the promise of a great sequel.