UVA baseball will be heading to its first College World Series after defeating Ole Miss 5-1 this past Sunday in the NCAA Oxford Super Regional at the Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field.
The Rebels started the game off strong, bringing in one run in the first inning, but left the scoreboard empty for the next eight innings as the Cavaliers’ pitching managed to hold Ole Miss to one run and seven hits.
While sophomore pitcher Tyler Wilson mounted a strong defense after relieving senior Robert Poutier, UVA offense joined the Rebels on the scoreboard in the fourth inning. With sophomores Dan Grovatt on second and Phil Gosselin on third, freshman John Hicks hit a sacrifice fly to bring Gosselin home for the run.
The fifth inning saw three more Virginia runs by sophomore John Barr, junior Franco Valdes and freshman Steven Proscia.
To seal the win in the eight inning, UVA junior pitcher Matt Packer kept the Rebels off the scoreboard.
The Cavaliers now head to coach Brian O’Connor’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska to face off against LSU for the title at Rosenblatt Stadium next weekend.