By the numbers, Cavaliers get path of least resistance to Omaha

It is the time of year that baseball coaches analyze stats and recent trends with a grain of salt, all the while completely blocking out a program’s winning percentage.

The games are won on the field and not on paper, a point that Virginia coach Brian O’Connor has stressed over the past eight years.

Fresno State, a No. 4 seed in a regional in 2008, went on to win the College World Series by getting hot at the right time.

“What I have learned from [the past] is that this is the best of the best,” O’Connor said of the Super Regional round. “You are in the final 16. There are no easy ones from here on out, and no matter whether you win the first game or lose the game, you have to win two ballgames.”

With a quick look solely at RPI numbers, however, there is an interesting path of ease that has opened up for the top-seeded Cavaliers (52-9) to reach the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.

It mirrors what Kansas could have used to reach the Final Four in men’s basketball this year as it faced three double-digit seeds (No. 16 Boston University, No. 12 Richmond and No. 11 VCU).

The Jayhawks lost to VCU in the Elite Eight, failing to take advantage of their fortune.

In the Charlottesville Regional last weekend, Virginia beat Navy (RPI No. 189), St. John’s (No. 53) and East Carolina (No. 26) to advance.

Now in the Super Regional round, the Cavaliers entertain UC Irvine (42-16) in a best-of-three series.

The Anteaters entered the Los Angeles Regional with an RPI of No. 43, explaining how the second-place team in the Big West Conference slipped to a No. 3 seed in the four-team regional with top-seed UCLA (RPI No. 34) and second-seeded Fresno State (No. 21).

Interestingly, only two of the 16 regionals that will be played this weekend will feature a team with an RPI below Irvine’s.

UConn, which won the Clemson Regional, entered the postseason with the 48th-best RPI and faces another tough task at South Carolina, the No. 4 national seed.

The strangest regional in regards to numbers will be played between Dallas Baptist and California on the campus of Santa Clara (neither team had sufficient lighting to host a Super Regional).

The winner of the Charlottesville Super Regional will play the winner of the series between Dallas Baptist (RPI No. 43) and California (No. 45).

Should UConn win this weekend and its opening game in Omaha, it is possible that Virginia could avoid a No. 1 seed until the third day of competition (or beyond) at the College World Series if it advanced in matching fashion.

O’Connor is paying attention to the numbers, pointing out that the teams still alive have quality starting pitchers and options in the bullpen.

“The pitching that we face from this point forward is some of the best pitching that we have faced all year,” he said. “You are not going to get a lot of opportunities, but when you get those opportunities, they might come with two outs, you need to get those clutch hits.”

Starting with the ace

O’Connor made it official Thursday, announcing that left-handed All-American Danny Hultzen will start the opening game in the Charlottesville Super Regional against UC Irvine on Saturday at 1 p.m.

It was an expected move, one that mirrors what Virginia did the past two years, as the top-seeded Cavaliers (52-9) look to win the opening game.

It will be the first start for Hultzen (11-3) since he was drafted second overall by the Seattle Mariners on Monday in the first-year player draft.

Irvine has not announced a starter in the opener and spent all of Thursday traveling to Virginia.

Bruno is ruled out

Virginia infielder Stephen Bruno has officially been ruled out for the remainder of the season.

O’Connor waited to make the announcement as Bruno continued to rehab a torn hamstring, but said Wednesday that the injury was “season-ending.”

Changes are allowed to be made to the 27-man roster before each round in the postseason, but the Cavaliers will kept their previous roster in tact.

Bruno, a sophomore, could receive a medical redshirt, but is expected to be drafted high enough next year that he would be signed.

A 26th-round pick in the 2009 draft by the New York Yankees, Bruno was batting just .240 this season with two doubles in seven games played.

A look back at the draft

Major League Baseball teams continue to confirm that the ACC is one of the top leagues in the country. During the 50-round, three-day draft this week, a total of 58 players were selected from ACC schools.

Clemson and Virginia tied for the most, having eight players selected. Miami had seven players drafted and Florida State and North Carolina State had six players taken apiece.

It was the third-highest number of players taken from the league and marked with the sixth straight year that at least 50 ACC players were drafted.

Juniors that were selected have until Aug. 15 to sign a professional contract.

Ticket talk

A limited number of $24 general admission ticket books for the NCAA Charlottesville Super Regional baseball tournament will go on sale at 9 a.m. today through the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office. These ticket books were made available after UC Irvine returned a portion from its allotment of tickets. The remaining general admission ticket books are expected to sell quickly. General admission ticket books are good for the entire series.