Athletes talk about team chemistry and camaraderie like chefs talk about adding ingredients in appropriate proportions. And, speaking from outside the locker room, I won't deny that these qualities make up a factor that goes into winning and losing in sports.\nBut frankly, I always thought that it was mostly hogwash.\nMaybe part of it is that even as an amateur, I'm beginning to turn into your stereotypically cynical sportswriter. But I played sports in high school, so I also reference personal experience. I played on teams divided that won, and teams that were just smitten with each other that always found a way to lose. I've played with guys who I never knew whether I could count on, yet we still found a way to win - and vice versa.\nThen, I covered the 2009 Virginia baseball team - and I was born anew.\nWhy? Because this group's accomplishments just don't make sense. It doesn't make sense for a team that starts three, sometimes four freshmen to make the program's first trip to the College World Series. It doesn't add up for a bullpen to return two players who pitched significant innings in 2008, have both those pitchers blow up midseason, and then post a 1.45 ERA in the postseason run to Omaha.\nBelieve me, I've considered other possibilities - namely, that the Cavaliers, ranked No. 5 in the nation at season's end, have the No. 5 class of talent. But truly, they don't. You tell me that freshman standout pitcher/first baseman Danny Hultzen was projected in the second round of the 2008 MLB Draft, and I'll tell you that sophomore pitcher Kevin Arico went from throwing 14.1 innings in 2008 to being the team's lights-out closer in the last two months of the 2009 season. You tell me that freshman third baseman Steven Proscia already has the physical stature of a big leaguer, and I'll tell you that freshman second baseman Keith Werman, at 5-foot-7, 140 pounds, would make more sense as the coxswain for the club rowing team than as a .400-hitting second baseman - which he was.\nSo how does a team that starts six underclassmen position players and two of three underclassmen in the weekend pitching rotation end up at the College World Series? This group, as O'Connor and players repeated throughout the season, was as close as could be. Even on day one of the spring season, when everyone was predicting a season of growing pains, O'Connor said he had never coached a more tight-knit group in his six years with the program.\n"They just showed a toughness and a level of character and pride that I haven't been a part of," O'Connor said.\nAs the saying goes, the proof is in the pudding. Here are a few morsels - some examples of individuals who came through when they probably shouldn't have.
Coming through, and again\nIt's the bottom of the 10th of Virginia vs. Arkansas at the College World Series, an elimination game for both teams. The score is tied at 3-3; the inning before, the Cavaliers had grounded into a bases-loaded double play, with the hitter Hultzen getting thrown out at first by a quarter of a step. A half inning before that, the Cavaliers had led 3-1 and had the Razorbacks down to their last strike, before a two-run bomb knotted the game at three.\nBack to the 10th. Standing on second base is Shane Halley, who was inserted in the ninth as a defensive replacement in left field; he found himself on base for the first time since April 5. Stepping into the box is one of Virginia's three freshman starters: Proscia.\nA deer in the headlights? Far from it. Proscia lines a single up the middle, one that potentially could score Halley. But, the inexperienced baserunner Halley makes a crucial error: his first step is back to second before he breaks for third as the ball skips into centerfield. Third base coach Kevin McMullan raises his hands in frustration on one side of the diamond, and Proscia mimics him on the other side. Had Halley been running on contact, Proscia probably would have been the hero.\nBut he wasn't - and neither were the next two hitters, who struck out to leave Halley stranded. Another shot to the gut for Virginia, and a blow to the head for Proscia.\nSkip to the bottom of the 12th. After Virginia already left too many stranded runners to count, Arkansas put one of its own across in the top of the 12th - a backbreaker. Leading off the bottom of the inning is - you guessed it - Proscia.\nLet me put myself in Proscia's shoes. Here are the possible mindsets that I would have taken to the plate:\n1. I should have had a walk-off RBI-single two innings ago. If Halley had been going on contact, I'd be a hero. What the hell else am I supposed to do!\n2. Wait a minute ... It's the 12th inning of the College World Series, and I'm standing at the plate at Rosenblatt Stadium in front of 20,000-plus. A year ago, I was hitting for Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J. Abort!\nWhat did Proscia do? How about a double down the left field line.\nLike eight other Virginia runners, though, Proscia was left stranded. But, the point stands: In the face of adversity, with 21,383 people in attendance plus a national television audience watching, with the image of Halley standing on third still burning a hole in his mind, the freshman from New York came through. Again.\n"That kid grew up an unbelievable amount this year," O'Connor said.\nNo kidding.
Filling Werman's big shoes\nOne of Omaha's favorite sons in this year's College World Series was another Virginia freshman: the aforementioned would-be rowing coxswain, Keith Werman. The left-handed Werman was inserted into the starting lineup in the NCAA Tournament against right-handed pitching, and responded by hitting .435. Every time he was asked to come through, he seemed to do it.\nBut that was only against righties. Against lefties, O'Connor played the matchups, putting righthander John Barr in Werman's slot.\nAnd, as Virginia prepared for its third game in Omaha against Arkansas, O'Connor knew that the Razorbacks would likely start lefty Drew Smyly. Despite the hot-hitting of Werman - he was 6-for-9 in his first two games in Omaha - O'Connor stuck with the usual plan, sitting Werman and playing Barr.\n"We wouldn't [have been] in Omaha if it wasn't for John Barr," O'Connor said. "The guy got some big hits for us."\nWerman, poor kid.\nBut what about Barr? Put yourself in his shoes for a moment. You have yet to appear in the College World Series. Your debut is going to be filling the spot of not only the hottest hitter in the lineup, but also a Wahoo favorite. If you go up there and whiff three times, you will look bad on a national stage, you'll make your coach look bad for playing you and you'll be that hated guy who inadequately filled the shoes of Cavalier fans' favorite little man.\nOf course, Barr came through. He went 1-for-2 with a run scored against Arkansas - a pretty important run, considering it was a 3-3 stalemate in the ninth.
These truly are a couple of morsels. There isn't the space to describe some other moments that had me convinced of Virginia's togetherness and that O'Connor said had him convinced that Virginia had a legitimate shot to get to Omaha. Like the six-run ninth that propelled the Cavs to an 11-10 win on the road at Georgia Tech. Or the ACC Tournament, during which the Cavaliers trailed by at least two runs before fighting back in three of their four wins en route to their second ACC Championship in school history. All of this with six of eight starting position players being underclassmen.\nThere have been times the past year when I subtly crossed my arms to cover the sabre on my Virginia sweatshirt. Like when the football team was smacked by Duke 33-3. Or when the men's basketball team did just about anything.\nYou're not supposed to be emotionally involved with a team you're covering. But in the press box at Rosenblatt Stadium, I have never rooted so hard for a Virginia team to come through. Nothing has made me prouder to be a Wahoo than watching O'Connor's boys play ball in 2009.
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