The sweep of the best-of-three series secured Virginia (46-15) a berth in the College World Series for the third time in four seasons and the seventh time in program history — all coming under Coach Brian O’Connor, who in 2015 directed the Cavaliers to their only national championship. The College World Series opens Friday in Omaha.
Virginia never trailed as it won its fifth in a row and for the ninth time in 10 games. Timely hitting continued to carry the Cavaliers, who finished the super regional round with 10 two-out RBI, including seven in the clincher.
“Going three of the last four years is not normal, and I think it’s kind of important to realize that as a team,” Virginia shortstop Griff O’Ferrall said. “Every journey is different. This season had more twists and turns than our season last year. We’ve been put through a lot of challenges throughout this season, but [we are] kind of seeing the whole team come together at the right time. Everyone knew that we had been put in a position by coaches to play our best ball right now.”
Jay Woolfolk worked 6⅓ innings for the Cavaliers, yielding six hits and three runs. The junior right-hander struck out seven and walked two on 102 pitches.
Reliever Chase Hungate closed with two perfect innings to earn his second save; he tossed his glove high over his head after striking out Chuck Ingram swinging to end the game. Hungate’s teammates charged out of the dugout to celebrate on the mound to the delight of another capacity crowd of 5,919.
“It definitely means a little more,” Woolfolk said of earning the win that sent Virginia to the College World Series in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2014 and 2015. “I didn’t have the greatest start to the year. Coach O.C. is always telling us it’s not how you start; it’s how you finish. I didn’t have my best stuff today, but [I was] just battling. That’s the easiest way to pitch, honestly. Everyone knows we have one of the top offenses in the country. You pitch a little more comfortable.”
Virginia was looking to add to its 5-4 lead in the ninth when Ference stepped to the plate against Wildcats reliever Josh Wintroub and smacked the first pitch to right-center, bringing home Casey Saucke and Ethan Anderson. Ference was the first of three runners to score moments later on pinch hitter Luke Hanson’s bases-clearing double down the left field line.
Tension mounted in the eighth with the Cavaliers seeking to protect a two-run advantage. The margin shrank to 5-4 when Kyan Lodice led off with a homer against Angelo Tonas; O’Connor turned to his bullpen again, calling on Hungate. The junior needed just seven pitches to retire the next three batters.
“Just so many moments today and over the last two weeks,” O’Connor said. “As the leader of the program, you’re just so proud of them and what they stand for as young men. That’s the biggest thing I’m proud of them [for]. We’ve got excellent men that represent this program the right way. They’re tigers. I won’t be able to get the smile off my face that they get the opportunity to go back to Omaha.”
The Cavaliers loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth but were in danger of stranding all three runners until Henry Ford entered the batter’s box to face Kansas State starter Jackson Wentworth. On an 0-1 count, the freshman catcher drilled a fastball down the third base line to drive in O’Ferrall and Bobby Whalen for a 4-2 lead.
Brendan Jones’s two-out homer in the bottom of the inning drew the Wildcats (35-26) within one, and Lodice followed with a triple that Whalen was unable to track down in center field. But Woolfolk extinguished the threat by getting Kaelen Culpepper to fly out.
“They’re the gold standard of college baseball,” said Kansas State Coach Pete Hughes, who was Virginia Tech’s coach from 2007 to 2013. “They’re Omaha driven and fueled every single year. Programs that are the gold standard are the ones that can refuel and reload and compete to go to Omaha. That’s where we need to be. That’s where we inspire to be.”
