Cavaliers unafraid of Aztecs’ ace

The way Brian O’Connor sees it, Friday’s NCAA tournament clash against San Diego State ace Stephen Strasburg isn’t as lopsided as some observers perceive.

While Strasburg — 13-0 and with a 1.24 ERA and 180 strikeouts in only 102 innings — is rated as the top collegiate pitcher in the country and anticipated top draft choice of the Washington Nationals, Virginia’s lineup isn’t exactly chopped liver.

The Cavaliers have been one of the nation’s top offensive teams all season, and while Strasburg’s pitches are regularly clocked over 100 mph, the Virginians aren’t about to back down.

Talent from top to bottom

“Our lineup is a tough one,” O’Connor said Tuesday before hopping a plane to the left coast for Friday evening’s prime-time, nationally-televised game. “There are no easy outs in this lineup and there are some guys who can knock it out of the park, while a number of guys can steal bases.

“It’s a matter of scratching, clawing, battling whoever we face — Strasburg, or whoever — to get runners on base and make things happen.”

The Wahoos were faced with such a scenario in last week’s ACC tournament when they faced North Carolina’s Alex White, arguably one of the best pitchers in the country. Taking on the Tar Heels’ ace in what essentially amounted to a home game for UNC (in nearby Durham) was what O’Connor described as this UVa team’s defining moment.

Everything was on the line, a chance to keep playing for a spot in the championship, and what Virginia felt like would be a higher seed in the NCAAs.

“How the team responded to that in that kind of environment was big,” O’Connor said.

Heels wave White flag

Virginia scored 10 runs in that inning and knocked White out of the game.

“I don’t think it was the 10 runs as much as it was knocking White out of the contest, then continuing to attack,” the UVa skipper said.

The Cavaliers’ MVP of the tournament, sophomore right-fielder Dan Grovatt agreed that was a big moment for the UVa team.

“We put up eight runs on him specifically, and that was awesome,” Grovatt said. “That was a tribute to our team. We were prepared. That’s exactly what we’re hoping to do on Friday night.”

Grovatt believes his club is peaking at just the right time and that they’re taking a chip on their shoulder to Irvine for the regional — the same chip they’ve clung to all season long.

“I feel like the entire year has been about us trying to prove ourselves,” the outfielder said. “We were young and everybody counted us out. We weren’t in the top 25 to start the year. We’ve always had something to prove and we’ve kept that edge all year. We’re one of the best teams in the nation and we want to prove that.”

While some fans may be fearing UVa’s matchup against the arm of Strasburg, the Cavaliers are actually excited about the possibilities.

O’Connor has plenty of motivational tools to keep his team focused in California. The team was obviously unfairly treated by the NCAA selection committee in a variety of ways, and O’Connor isn’t about to let his squad forget.

He sees this as an opportunity for his team to show the country just how good Virginia’s program really is.

“This is one of the best group of young men I’ve been around in terms of facing the challenges in front of them,” said the coach. “It’s the closest-knit group that I’ve coached. I’ve said all along that I felt like at some point that’s going to be of great benefit to us and that showed last week in winning the ACC championship.”

Winning that title, UVa’s first since 1996, was significant. O’Connor’s previous teams had played in a couple of title bouts, but had never pulled it out — something he considered a big hurdle for his program to finally clear.

Now, it’s an even bigger one, and one that brings the heat.

The Virginia coach isn’t as concerned with the Aztecs as he is his own group.

“The bottom line is we aren’t going to change who we are,” O’Connor said.

UVa will pitch the same way, keep the same offensive approach and play Virginia baseball.

“We’ve won a lot of games in the past but we haven’t been able to make a statement at the end of the year about who we are,” O’Connor said. “This time, that’s our focus.”