Hultzen to Get the Start for Virginia Against Arkansas
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Wednesday, June 17, 2009; 2:08 PM
OMAHA, June 17 -- In a move that indicates Virginia Coach Brian O'Connor is focused solely on the game in front of him, the Cavaliers will start left-hander Danny Hultzen (St. Albans) in tonight's College World Series elimination game against Arkansas, a team spokesman confirmed.
O'Connor mentioned that he was considering Hultzen before Tuesday's practice, but he also noted that the Cavaliers will need fresh arms if they were to win and advance to play Louisiana State on Friday.
Hultzen, who typically gets about a week between starts, pitched in Saturday's loss to LSU. He allowed three runs on seven hits in three innings.
"We just felt like it was the right thing to ask him" if he was up to the task, Virginia pitching coach Karl Kuhn said in a telephone interview today. "We didn't make the decision without asking him. We wanted to make it clear that we were not pressuring him into the position. He asked for the ball."
Kuhn said the starting pitchers have brought the Cavaliers this far, but that the bullpen carried the starters during the first two games of the College World Series. The coaching staff wanted to trust a starting pitcher with the elimination game.
Saturday's short outing also kept Hultzen fresher than he would normally be four days after a start. Hultzen said after Monday's win over Cal State Fullerton that he would be ready to pitch on Wednesday if called upon. He has been the staff ace throughout the season, and unlike LSU, Arkansas has not yet seen Hultzen.
O'Connor said he would not pitch right-handed starter Robert Morey in tonight's game. If O'Connor does not bring right-handed starter Andrew Carraway out of the bullpen tonight, he would have both starters available for the weekend.
As expected, Arkansas will start Drew Smyly. O'Connor said he would need to rearrange his lineup for the second consecutive game if the Razorbacks started the left-hander. Among the changes, O'Connor said he might not start second baseman Keith Werman (Oakton), who is 6 for 9 in the College World Series.
