CWS NOTEBOOK: Accomplishment sinks in for Virginia players in Omaha

OMAHA, Neb. — Sitting in his downtown hotel room, Andrew Carraway had a moment that was tough to describe.

On the eve of the College World Series, Virginia’s co-captain and elder statesman finally was broadsided by the magnitude of what Virginia’s baseball team had accomplished.

“It hit me, I am sitting in a hotel room in Omaha,” said Carraway, a right-handed pitcher who is 8-1 on the season. “It is awesome. Every single part of Omaha is awesome. It probably is more than I expected.

“Almost every time we get on a bus, we are met by video cameras. You can’t really expect that.”

Autographs have been requested every step of the way, and when Virginia pulls into the team hotel a host of children — most of whom did not know about Virginia baseball a week ago — ask for balls, hats and shirts to be inked.

“That just blows you away,” said Virginia catcher Franco Valdes. “People are so passionate about college baseball. It is like being a rock star for a few days.”

The Cavaliers (48-13-1) were the first team to arrive in Omaha and promptly raced to Rosenblatt Stadium for a tour of the venue.

Players were also present as a Virginia flag was raised outside the stadium, indicating that the program was one of the eight teams in the field at the College World Series.

Carraway, who was drafted in the 12th round Wednesday by the Seattle Mariners, took the chance to do something unique. He picked up the dirt at the stadium.

“It feels different than normal dirt,” he joked.

Something else stood out as well.

“I just stood there and stared at the scoreboard at Rosenblatt,” Carraway said. “My dream about the whole thing was to get on the field and look at the letters on the scoreboard. That was my favorite part, and then you look down at the dirt and say that is dirt from Rosenblatt. It is unreal.”

Back in the fold?

Virginia pitcher Matt Packer has every reason to focus internally.

The left-handed standout led the nation in earned run average as a sophomore and was also drafted on Wednesday in the 32nd round by the Cleveland Indians.

Having arrived at the College World Series, Packer said it would be hard to envision passing on the chance at a return ticket to the sport’s highest stage as a senior in 2010.

“This is something to come back to,” said Packer, who pitched in all three games in the super regional at Ole Miss. “It will take something special to miss out on this.”

Packer was unaware that he was even picked after asking for $200,000 as a starting point in negotiations.

“I wasn’t really watching the draft and I got some text message saying, ‘Congratulations,’ and I was like, ‘For what?’ Right after that, a guy called me from the Indians and said he would talk to me after we were done in Omaha.”

Extra bases

With a right-handed pitcher starting today for LSU, O’Connor could elect to start a number of left-handed batters, including second baseman Keith Werman. That decision has not been made, however. Phil Gosselin will be in the lineup and could assume the position, play left field or be slotted at designated hitter. ... Because LSU was a national seed, Virginia will be the road team tonight.