Entering the weekend the only things to play for for UVa and UNC was the ACC Regular Season Championship, the #1 seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament, bragging rights, and a statement to the rest of the country that they were a force to be reckoned with, no matter who the other team was.
Unfortunately, the Cavaliers came up just short on the first two, but did send that statement loud and clear to every team in college baseball.
While not securing the Regular Season Championship probably have felt a bit like kissing your sister, those two victories are going to pay dividends in the long run when the national seeds come out for the NCAA tournament.
I am sure most, if not all followed the games via twitter or watched on ESPN3, so I won't bore everyone with mini-recaps of all the games. The boys took care of business fairly handily on Friday, gave away a game they should have won on Saturday, and gave away the finale before taking it back in extra innings (and nearly gave it back again).
Some have asked if Kyle Crockett is alright after he was not able to close out Saturday's game. He slipped a bit after a pitch, so I am assuming that is where the concern is coming from. I don't have any official word, but I imagine Kyle is just fine. He had good command and velocity after he slipped which is the only real thing you can look at. Yes, he gave up a few hits and runs, and ultimately blew his save, but everyone needs to remember he had thrown the night before to secure the first win. Not to mention, UNC is one of the top three teams in the country and has one of the best offenses in college baseball. As my Dad used to tell me, "sometimes you are the bug, sometimes you are the windshield." It just wasn't Kyle's night.
With the two wins and the series victory, the Cavaliers secured the #3 seed in next week's ACC Tournament. They also amassed 45 wins for just the sixth time in school history (all during Coach O'Connor's tenure in Charlottesville) and fourth time ever that those 45 wins came during the regular season (2006, 2010, 2011). The series victory was also the first time UVa had taken the series from UNC in three years.
All in all, a helluva regular season for a year in which many expected this team to just make a regional, and nothing more.
Hoos return to the diamond on Wednesday to play VPISU in the ACC tournament, and then Georgia Tech on Thursday, and Florida State on Friday. I'll work on a tournament preview so look for that later this week.