There is a baseball that will forever live in infamy in Virginia athletics.
Shipped all the way to the Irvine Regional in California to face collegiate baseball's equivalent to the 'Group of Death' in the World Cup, the 2009 Virginia baseball team began its run to Omaha and the College World Series against San Diego State - also known as Stephen Strasburg and Co.
On the first pitch he saw from eventual No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 Major League Baseball draft, Phil Gosselin got a hold of one of Strasburg's signature high-90 mph heat fastballs and ripped it over the left-center field wall. It was shown on all the highlight reels on SportsCenter and certainly jumpstarted the Cavaliers' memorable postseason. And as Strasburg builds his legacy in the pros, so, too, will Gosselin's long ball.
But although there was a home run ball that electrified Virginia's dugout that day, there also was a starting pitcher who quietly squelched the team's first opponent in the NCAA Tournament, tossing six shutout innings and allowing only five hits and three walks while striking out nine.
His name is Robert Morey.
But before the junior right-hander left his imprint on Virginia's historic season, there was a time when the Cavalier rotation was highly unstable. Then-freshman Danny Hultzen and senior Andrew Carraway were staples from day one, but coach Brian O'Connor could not find a consistent Sunday starter until nearly two months into the season.
Will Roberts began the season as the No. 3 man but struggled to last more than four innings. O'Connor temporarily turned to the reliable Tyler Wilson out of the pen to start on the mound against Maryland April 5, and the right-hander responded with an effective outing, logging five innings of six-hit, two-run baseball to earn the win. The following weekend, Virginia traveled to Atlanta to face No. 8 Georgia Tech. A rain delay in the series opener pushed the remaining 6.2 innings to Saturday, and Wilson started the continuance of the game. With Hultzen done for the weekend and Carraway slated to start the back end of the doubleheader Saturday, O'Connor needed someone other than Wilson to step up Sunday.
"I didn't even know until the end of the second game that I was gonna get the start," Morey said. "Coach O'Connor told me to just go out there, told me to not hold anything back, to just make my pitches."
Then known as a pitcher whose stuff was as good as anybody else's but simply couldn't find the plate, it seemed like only a matter of time until Morey would get his opportunity.
"I just wasn't consistent," he said. "I would have a couple good outings and then I'd fall apart in the next one."
Perhaps the beneficiary of wild stratospheric conditions, Morey thrived during his first career start April 12, logging 5.2 innings and allowing only two earned runs on three hits and a walk.
One month and 11 days later, Morey was starting in a pivotal ACC semifinal against Duke. Less than a week after that, he was lined up against Strasburg - that is, San Diego State.
"Facing a guy like [Strasburg], you just have to just focus on you and your opponent," Morey said. "I can't beat him head-to-head - he has to face my lineup, I have to face his lineup."
And that's all she wrote.
Indeed, in hindsight, it seems inevitable that the 29th round draft pick out of high school was going to toe the rubber and finish the 2009 season with a 3.33 ERA and a College World Series start to his belt. Morey, who said he has "played just about every sport under the sun" and almost opted to play lacrosse in college, is regarded as one of the best athletes on the team. His athleticism became readily apparent to his teammates during the fall of his freshman season, when he out-dueled Wilson during the team's most grueling strength and conditioning program, The Iron Cavalier Challenge. The victory was no anomaly - Morey again was crowned Iron Cav Champion prior to this season. Geared up in army attire, the team - divided between position players and pitchers for the competition - grinded out seven days of wall jumps and sits, bow and toes and bar hangs, among other workouts. The competition culminates in an obstacle course - which included additional obstacles from the skies in the form of slush and mud this year - after which the winner is crowned.
"Iron Cav is fun - it's very competitive," Wilson said, adding that he was glad to best Morey before the 2008-09 season. "Rob is an animal."
Most importantly, Morey's ability to carry a bucket of baseballs above his head for an extended, unknown-to-the-public period of time translates to success on the diamond. The junior said he models his game off of "The Freak," Tim Lincecum, a two-time Cy Young Award winner for the San Fransisco Giants, and Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies.
"I try to use that as best I can on the mound," Morey said. "It helps with my endurance throughout the game, also fielding balls."
Indeed, Morey's endurance has improved as the 2009-10 season has progressed. He tossed a four-hitter through seven innings for a win against Boston College March 20. And since his poor five-inning performance against then-No. 2 Georgia Tech, during which he allowed seven earned runs on eight hits and two walks, he has reached the seven-inning plateau in both starts against Virginia Tech and Maryland, limiting both teams to only two runs. He now boasts a 6-2 record and a 3.98 ERA.
"I felt really good today," Morey said following the Tech game. "I feel like I'm in a good spot physically and mentally and I feel like from here on out that's who you're gonna see."
The No. 2 starter's prediction has proved prescient thus far. And as the postseason approaches, talk of a return to O'Connor's home town is abound.
Asked if his team would have made the CWS without Morey as a starter a year ago, O'Connor simply looked aghast.
"No - no, no doubt," he said. "No way do we. There's no question."
It seems to go without saying that should the legend of Virginia baseball continue to grow this year, there's no question Robert Morey will be there every step of the way.
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