The Wahoos of Charlottesville are back in the College World Series in resounding fashion. Josh Sborz was the pitcher of the day, and when you combine that with the offensive firestorm Virginia put on display, you get what the Cavs did to the Maryland Terrapins today, winning 11-2 in front of a raucous fan base.
Maryland made an odd decision to start their normal bullpen 'clotter' Bobby Ruse, and that turned out to go haywire. UVA ripped in roared in the first inning, as Derek Fisher singled to center to send Daniel Pinero across home plate. Cavs' star of the night Kenny Towns made the home crowd roar with a two-run triple off the wall in left. As the Cavs were up 3-0 at that point, you could sense the terror on the Maryland players' faces. UVA fans were chanting 'Turtle Soup, Turtle Soup!', and holding signs with that same chant. For the Terrapins, it was a horror house.
The most haunting creature for Maryland of course was Kenny Towns, who with the bases loaded, kept on owning Bobby Ruse by knocking in a two-run single to left to score Pinero and McCarthy. For Maryland, it was 'Bye Bye Bobby' after that.
On a sad note for Maryland, Bobby Ruse's ineptude extended to his replacement, Tayler Stiles. He was knocked around, and while the bases were loaded for UVA, Brandon Downs bounced one up the middle. The Terps tried to get fancy with the ball, and that usually never works. Virginia now had attained a whopping 6 run lead.
And it didn't end there. In the 8th, young Mr. Stiles was pulled after a walk, and in came Terrapins closer Kevin Mooney. This is where the Turtle Soup started to boil.
Brandon Cogswell, Daniel Pinero, and Mike Papi gave the home crowd some more thrills and excitement, as they simply obliterated Mooney into, well, oblivion. After Papi's double, the Hoos were leading 11-2, which was simply insurmountable.
We must focus a bit on the magnificent display of control and power by Virginia starting pitcher Josh Sborz. Yes, he had a mighty cushion, but he didn't let that go to his head and cause him to be complacent. He was lights-out. Maryland looked lost, as the Terps had to hide in their shell multiple times due to his fastball, that pounded the zone through and through.
The Cavs' fantastic closer Nick Howard finished off the game by garnering the 'K' on Charlie White to send the Wahoos to Omaha. Brian O’Connor and his all-around monster of a team will almost certainly be up there with the favorites for the title, trying to represent the ACC as best as possible.
As for Maryland, we must congratulate them for a surprising run to these super-regionals. They weren't supposed to be here, and gave it all they got. The Cavaliers were simply better than them, however, but the Terps must be given a pat on the back.