Virginia baseball 2008: success or disappointment? For the fifth straight year, the Cavaliers were one of 64 teams selected to an NCAA Regional. For the fifth straight year, however, Virginia, the No. 3 seed in the Regional hosted by top-seeded Cal State Fullerton, was unable to advance, as losses to UCLA and Fullerton put Virginia's hopes of advancing to a Super Regional for the first time in the history of the program to rest.
Putting this postseason defeat in the context of the program's history, Virginia's season doesn't seem all that special. But to label the Cavaliers' season as a failure, Virginia coach Brian O'Connor points out, takes for granted the difficulty of even qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.
"Anybody's crazy if they don't think [2008 was] a successful season," Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said. "Quite frankly, I think people in this community, of what we've accomplished these first four years here, have been spoiled ... There's 220 Division I schools that don't have the chance to play in the NCAA Tournament."
What perhaps cast the most frustrating shadow on Virginia's season was the manner in which the season ended. In the Cavaliers' 3-2 loss to UCLA, Virginia was victimized by the hidden ball trick with a runner on third in the sixth inning. Then, with the score 2-2 in the ninth, junior first baseman Jeremy Farrell lost a throw to first from sophomore third baseman Tyler Cannon in a blinding sun just over the horizon beyond third base, allowing the winning run to score.
The misfortune continued the following afternoon against Fullerton. Trailing 4-0 in the sixth inning, the Cavs finally strung some hits together and threatened with the bases loaded and no one out. On the ensuing David Coleman ground ball to second, the second baseman threw out junior Greg Miclat at second, and the shortstop made no throw to get Coleman at first, apparently allowing a run to score. Second base umpire Marc Lewis, however, called Coleman out at first, ruling that Miclat interfered with the shortstop as he slid into second base, though replays showed that Miclat did not raise his arms and that he slid directly into second base. The call not only gave the Titans two outs, but also by rule sent all Virginia runners back to their initial bases, including the runner on third who had scored on the play. As junior David Adams followed with a pop-out, the Cavaliers' best scoring threat ended with a flourish, and Fullerton went on to a 4-1 victory and ultimately to the Super Regional.
"If you're going to lose, you don't want it to be because of other factors," senior pitcher Michael Schwimer said. "If UCLA and Cal State were just better than us and beat the pants off of us, then it would still be tough but it would be not nearly as bad as if it happened this way."
Sometimes, however, O'Connor said, a bounce of the ball or a umpire's call is the difference between disappointment and jubilation.
"To move on at the end of the year, you not only have to be good, you also have to have some breaks go your way," O'Connor said. "Unfortunately, the last two years in the NCAA Tournament, the breaks haven't went our way."
On the other hand, Virginia's postseason wasn't all disappointment. In the ACC Tournament, the Cavaliers played their best baseball of the season, defeating North Carolina and Florida State, both of whom went on to the College World Series. Freshman right fielder David Coleman made the All-Tournament team as he went 5-13 on the series, and made a running catch while flipping over the wall down the right field line against Florida State that earned him the No. 1 play of the day on SportsCenter.
"Without question the most fun I had in the last four years was [in the ACC Tournament] versus Florida State and versus UNC," Schwimer said. "Had we played the games against UNC and Florida State in the Regional, we would be in the Super Regional."
And that's not all Virginia has to brag about from 2008. Sophomore reliever Matt Packer won the ERA Title with a 1.14 ERA, and fellow sophomore Neal Davis was also outstanding out of the bullpen with an ERA of 1.58. Schwimer
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