The Cavaliers spent their offseason improving their craft in wood-bat summer baseball leagues.
“We’ve got our hands full, it’s a tough regional,” Pollard said. “We are thrilled to still be playing … this group has shown a lot of resilience to stay in the fight.”
The Cavaliers now return home for a break. The next step is the NCAA Tournament Selection Show, during which Virginia will learn of its regional assignment Sunday. Before then, though, Pollard’s bunch must shake off a heartbreaker from Charlotte.
"I thought our team overcame some mistakes today. We didn’t play a perfect or clean game by any stretch, but we were tough enough to stay in the fight, and we were able to scratch across some runs there in the sixth and then [Weatherspoon] had a big swing. That was the difference.”
“We're not gonna approach the games any differently,” Gracia said May 12. “I mean, we try and approach the game the same every single day. There [are] no big games. No games are less important than others. We're just going to continue to work on what we do.”
“I have full confidence in this team’s ability to win a regional and continue to advance, but we have to play better,” Coach Chris Pollard said. “We have to get better in all three phases than we were the last two days ... We’ll get back to practice on Monday and get ready for a big week in Charlotte.”
“We made mental mistakes on the bases, we made mental mistakes in the infield defense, and we did not do a good job against [junior pitcher Colton] Hartman of taking away the fastball, which was our game plan,” Pollard said.
“Welcome back Eric Becker,” Coach Chris Pollard said postgame. “What an incredible job stepping back in after being out for close to a month. He played an unbelievable ballgame.”
As the Cavaliers’ season reaches its conclusion, three beat writers break down the good, the bad and the ugly ahead of a critical road trip versus Louisville.
“We knew it was a matter of time to get to the other side of [an April slump] and get back to a good place,” Coach Chris Pollard said postgame. “Offensively, I've been excited to see that."
Players will wind up to energetic anthems, throw pitches to soothing rhythms and hopefully end the year on a high note during their final home game Tuesday.
“I told the team after the handshake line, we aren’t in this position with 33 wins without Lucas Hartman,” Pollard said. “[He’s] done an incredible job all year and we will continue to believe in him.”
“It is whatever it takes, that’s where we are right now. It is not a Picasso, but whatever it takes to get the job done right now,” Pollard said following the game. “We will find our way to the other side of this. We are a better offensive club but, in the meantime, it is just whatever it takes to win a ballgame and we were tough today.”
“We have to buy into our approach better,” Coach Pollard said in the postgame press conference. “More importantly, we have to have better competitive fight, and I told them both of those things at the end of the ballgame.”
It would be easy to look ahead towards postseason aspirations, or perhaps national awards at the end of the regular season. But for Hartman, his attention is locked onto the immediate future.
