Cav Rising

When the Virginia Cavaliers beat Ole Miss in a best-of-three series in the Oxford Super-regional last weekend, it marked the first College World Series appearance for the Cavs. But not for UVA Coach Brian O’Connor, who grew up near Omaha and pitched in the CWS for Creighton. Ironically, his first round opponent is LSU, which is coached by Paul Mainieri. Mainieri and O’Connor coached together at Notre Dame several years ago with Mainieri serving as O’Connor’s mentor. Now the two will face each other at Rosenblatt Stadium this weekend in college baseball's biggest showcase. But Virginia’s emergence on the national college baseball scene shouldn’t be a surprise. After making just 3 appearances in the first 49 NCAA tournaments, Washington National Ryan Zimmerman and Arizona Diamondback Mark Reynolds led the Cavs into their successive tournament appearances which now number six, culminating in this trip to Omaha. So now, the student must see if he can defeat the teacher and advance into the winner's bracket. It's a great week in Omaha, one that every college baseball fan should visit someday.