2015 Virginia Cavaliers baseball team

The 2015 Virginia Cavaliers baseball team represented the University of Virginia during the 2015 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Cavaliers played their home games at Davenport Field as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They were led by head coach Brian O'Connor, in his 12th season at Virginia.

2015 Virginia Cavaliers baseball
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
2015 record44–24 (15–15 ACC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home stadiumDavenport Field
2015 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Atlantic
No. 10 Louisville  x‍‍‍y 25–5 .833  47–18 .723
No. 26 Notre Dame  ‍‍‍y 17–13 .567  37–23 .617
No. 12 Florida State  ‍‍‡‍y 17–13 .567  44–21 .677
Clemson  ‍‍‍y 16–13 .552  32–29 .525
NC State  ‍‍‍y 15–14 .517  36–23 .610
Wake Forest  ‍‍‍ 12–18 .400  27–26 .509
Boston College  ‍‍‍ 10–19 .345  27–27 .500
Coastal
No. 6 Miami (FL)  x‍‍‍y 22–8 .733  50–16 .758
No. 1 Virginia  ‍‍‍y 15–15 .500  44–24 .647
North Carolina  ‍‍‍ 13–16 .448  34–24 .586
Virginia Tech  ‍‍‍ 13–16 .448  27–27 .500
Georgia Tech  ‍‍‍ 13–17 .433  32–23 .582
Duke  ‍‍‍ 10–19 .345  31–22 .585
Pittsburgh  ‍‍‍ 9–21 .300  20–32 .385
x – Division champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament
As of June 30, 2015[1]; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

2015 was a tough regular season for the 2014 NCAA runner-up. The Cavaliers slogged through a disappointing and injury-filled regular season. By winning 5 of its last 6 ACC games, the Cavs managed to cobble together a .500 ACC record, qualifying them for a play in game at the ACC tournament. At the tournament they won the play in game against Georgia Tech and then promptly lost the last three games.

Virginia was given an NCAA tournament berth, as a No. 3 regional seed, and the Cavs took full advantage. They swept through the Lake Elsinore (Calif.) Regional, and because Maryland, also a #3 seed, had won its regional, were able to host a Super Regional, which the Cavaliers swept as well.

In Omaha the Cavaliers won the 2015 College World Series, highlighted by winning two of three games against Florida before ousting Vanderbilt in three games in the CWS Finals. Virginia's season was notable for the Cavaliers continuing to battle in spite of numerous setbacks. That never give up attitude was evident in its post season as well: UVA scored the go-ahead run in the fifth inning or later in each of their 10 postseason wins.[2]

Previous Season

In 2014, the Cavaliers finished the season 2nd in the ACC's Coastal Division with a record of 47–14, 22–8 in conference play. They qualified for the 2014 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament, and were eliminated in pool play. They qualified for the 2014 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament as the #3 overall national seed, and were placed in the Charlottesville Regional, of which they were hosts. Also in the regional were Bucknell, Liberty, and Arkansas. The Cavaliers defeated Bucknell, 10–1, in the opening game, and then shut out Arkansas, 3–0, to advance to the regional final. There, they again defeated Arkansas, this time by a score of 9–2. In the Super Regional, the Cavaliers fell in the opening game to ACC foe Maryland, 4–5. However, they rebounded and defeated the Terrapins in the next two games, 7–3 and 11–2, to advance to the College World Series.

In the College World Series, Virginia's first game was against Ole Miss, whom the Cavaliers defeated, 2–1. In the second round, Virginia defeated #7 national seed TCU, 3–2, in 15 innings. In the semifinals, the Cavaliers again defeated Ole Miss, this time by a score of 4–1. The Cavaliers advanced to the College World Series finals to play Vanderbilt. In the first game of the finals, the Commodores won by a score of 9–8. Virginia then rebounded to defeat Vanderbilt, 7–2, in game two. In a winner-take-all game three, Vanderbilt prevailed, 3–2, to be crowned national champions.

Personnel

Roster
2015 Virginia Cavaliers roster[3]
 

Pitchers

  • 6 – Matt Doughty – Freshman
  • 7 – Adam Haseley – Freshman
  • 11 – Bennett Sousa – Freshman
  • 13 – Alec Bettinger – Sophomore
  • 14 – Derek Casey – Freshman
  • 16 – Tommy Doyle – Freshman
  • 17 – Jack Roberts – Freshman
  • 19 – Nathan Kirby – Junior
  • 20 – Brandon Waddell – Junior
  • 27 – Josh Sborz – Junior
  • 28 – Kevin Doherty – Junior
  • 29 – Riley Cummins – Freshman
  • 32 – Mark Ostbye – Freshman
  • 33 – Connor Jones – Sophomore
  • 34 – Riley Wilson – Freshman
  • 35 – David Rosenberger – Junior
  

Catchers

  • 8 – Robbie Coman – Junior
  • 21 – Matt Thaiss – Sophomore

Infielders

  • 2 – John La Prise – Junior
  • 4 – Ernie Clement – Freshman
  • 9 – Kenny Towns – Senior
  • 10 – Pavin Smith – Freshman
  • 12 – Charlie Cody – Freshman
  • 18 – Justin Novak – Freshman
  • 22 – Daniel Pinero – Sophomore
  • 25 – Jack Gerstenmaier – Freshman
  • 37 – Thomas Woodruff – Senior
  

Outfielders

  • 23 – Christian Lowry – Freshman
  • 31 – Joe McCarthy – Junior
  

Coaching Staff
NamePositionSeasons at
Virginia		Alma Mater
Brian O'ConnorHead Coach12Creighton University (1993)
Kevin McMullanAssociate Head Coach12Indiana University of Pennsylvania (1990)
Karl KuhnAssistant Coach12University of Florida (1992)
Matt KirbyAssistant Coach4College of William & Mary (2003)

Schedule
Legend
 Virginia win
 Virginia loss
 Postponement
BoldVirginia team member
2015 Virginia Cavaliers Baseball Game Log
Regular Season
Post-Season
NCAA Tournament – Lake Elsinore (Calif.) Regional
Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record NCAAT Record
May 29(2) USCLake Elsinore Diamond • Lake Elsinore, CA6–1Jones (6–2)Davis (3–3)Sborz (13)2,00035–221–0
May 30(4) San Diego StateLake Elsinore Diamond • Lake Elsinore, CA3–1Sborz (4–2)Seyler (9–3)2,11436–222–0
May 31(2) USCLake Elsinore Diamond • Lake Elsinore, CA14–1011Rosenberger (3–0)Wheatley (4–4)Sborz (14)1,06537–223–0
NCAA Tournament – Charlottesville, VA Super Regional
Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record NCAAT Record
June 5Maryland#13Davenport Field • Charlottesville, VA5–3Jones (7–2)Mooney (3–1)Sborz (14)5,00138–224–0
June 6Maryland#13Davenport Field • Charlottesville, VA5–4Bettinger (5–5)Galligan (4–5)5,00139–225–0
NCAA Tournament – College World Series
Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record CWS Record
June 13#7 Arkansas#8TD Ameritrade Park • Omaha, NE5–3Sborz (5–2)Killian (3–5)24,22840–221–0
June 15#2 Florida#8TD Ameritrade Park • Omaha, NE1–0Waddell (4–5)Puk (9–4)Sborz (15)19,54441–222–0
June 19#2 Florida#8TD Ameritrade Park • Omaha, NE5–10Faedo (11–6)Kirby (5–3)19,01541–232–1
June 20#2 Florida#8TD Ameritrade Park • Omaha, NE5–4Sborz (6–2)Lewis (6–2)15,56042–233–1
June 22#5 Vanderbilt#8TD Ameritrade Park • Omaha, NE1–5Fulmer (14–2)Jones (7–3)21,65242–243–2
June 23#5 Vanderbilt#8TD Ameritrade Park • Omaha, NE3–0Sborz (7–2)Pfeiffer (6–5)24,64543–244–2
June 24#5 Vanderbilt#8TD Ameritrade Park • Omaha, NE4–2Waddell (5–5)Kilichowski (3–4)Kirby (1)17,68944–245–2

All rankings from Collegiate Baseball.

Rankings
See also: 2015 NCAA Division I baseball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Final 
Coaches' 2 2* 2* 1 1 7 14 12 17 23 20 23 24 NR 25 NR NR* 1 1 
Baseball America 4 4 4 3 3 14 20 16 22 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 1 
Collegiate Baseball^ 3 3 2 2 3 12 25 20 NR NR NR NR NR NR 29 NR 13 8 1 
NCBWA† 2 1 1 1 1 9 12 9 15 21 19 22 27 27 24 30 14 1 
D1Baseball

^ Collegiate Baseball ranks 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
 † NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
 * New poll was not released for this week so for comparison purposes the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.

Awards and honors
Nathan Kirby
Joe McCarthy
  • Louisville Slugger Pre-season Second Team All-American[4]
  • Perfect Game USA Pre-season Second Team All-American[5]
  • Baseball America Pre-season Second Team All-American[6]
Josh Sborz
  • Most Outstanding Player, 2015 College World Series[8]
  • ACC Second Team[7]
Brandon Waddell
  • Louisville Slugger Pre-season Second Team All-American[4]
  • Perfect Game USA Pre-season Third Team All-American[5]
Matt Thaiss
  • Louisville Slugger 2015 Third Team All-American[9]
Pavin Smith
  • ACC All Freshman Team[7]
  • Louisville Slugger Freshmen A-A Team[10]
Adam Haseley
  • ACC All Freshman Team[7]
  • Louisville Slugger Freshmen A-A Team[10]
Kenny Towns
  • ACC Second Team[7]
Daniel Pinero
  • ACC Second Team[7]

References
  1. "Baseball Standings". Atlantic Coast Conference. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  2. "Brian O'Connor Bio - VirginiaSports.com - University of Virginia Official Athletics Website - UVA Cavaliers Baseball". virginiasports.com. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  3. "Official Baseball Roster". Virginia Cavaliers. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
  4. "NCAA Div. I Pre-Season All-Americans". Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
  5. "Preseason College All-Americans". Perfect Game USA. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  6. "2015 College Preview: All-America Teams". Baseball America. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  7. "2015 ACC Baseball Honors Announced". TheACC.com. Archived from the original on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  8. "Dodgers draftee Josh Sborz named Most Outstanding Player of College World Series". True Blue LA. Retrieved 2015-06-25.
  9. "Louisville Slugger All-Americans Announced". Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  10. "Louisville Slugger Freshmen A-A Team". Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
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