Omaha Trip Brings 'Expectations'

After Painful Loss, Virginia Returns Bulk of Its Team

OMAHA, June 18 -- They huddled together in left field, the members of the Virginia baseball team extending their momentous 2009 season a few more minutes.

Coach Brian O'Connor could not eradicate the pain after a 4-3 loss to Arkansas in 12 innings on Wednesday night. But he could still provide perspective, just as he has done throughout a season that concluded with the program's first trip to the College World Series and invigorated a fan base that was once apathetic toward baseball.

O'Connor specifically mentioned closer Kevin Arico, who allowed a two-strike, two-out, two-run home run that tied the score in the top of the ninth inning. O'Connor was once in a similar situation -- as a reliever at Creighton in 1991, he lost in the 12th inning on the same mound during the College World Series -- and knows that closers walk a tightrope that can separate another two days in Omaha from a return flight home.

"We would not be in the College World Series without the contributions of Kevin Arico," O'Connor said. "I'm sure he would like to have that one back, but there will be better days ahead for him."

Better days are likely on the horizon for the entire team, as well, namely because the Cavaliers' 2009 success happened a season earlier than most outside observers anticipated.

Virginia's lineup on Wednesday included four sophomores, three freshmen and two juniors who, from all indications, will return for the Cavaliers next season. O'Connor also will welcome a heralded recruiting class that includes Branden Kline, an All-Met pitcher from Thomas Johnson High who was drafted this month by the Boston Red Sox in the sixth round.

"It's exciting to think that about 95 percent of our club will be back next year. We have one heck of a recruiting class that I think will add to what we have right now," O'Connor said. "I think the competition in our program will be the best it's ever been. There will be expectations on this team next year that this program has never had. As a program, these players need to accept that and understand the responsibility that comes with that, not stop working and remember what got us to the point."

Those expectations could include the preseason No. 1 ranking, which the Cavaliers will be in contention to receive. Undoubtedly, they will be among the top teams in the nation entering 2010 -- a far cry from before this season, when U-Va. was unranked.

"Obviously, we're not going to be unranked next year with the entire team back," said sophomore outfielder Dan Grovatt, who hit a home run in the finale. "But there's going to be a lot of pressure on this team next year. It's going to be different than this year, when a lot of people counted us out. Next year, the expectations are going to be enormous. It's going to be a different feeling, and absolutely this experience" will help.

Grovatt's voice trailed off as he thought about the prospects of the future while still trying to accept the pain of the present. In the 11th inning, he grounded out with the bases loaded, ending a potentially game-winning rally. The Cavaliers had the winning run on third base in the ninth and 10th innings, too, as well as the tying run on third base in the 12th inning.

That was why O'Connor made a point to mention Arico by name in the left field huddle. He wanted his team to know that the loss falls on the shoulders of the entire team, because multiple players had chances to tie and win the game just moments before the clock figuratively and literally struck midnight for a group that was not expected to reach Omaha, but has now set the precedent for annual success.

"I mean, this hurts," Grovatt said. "It really does. And it just makes you want to come back even more."