UVA baseball right-handed pitcher Connor Jones (So., Chesapeake, Va.) has received and accepted an invitation to play for the 2015 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.
Jones is 6-2 with a 2.90 ERA in 15 starts this season. He has worked 96 1/3 innings and limited opponents to a .222 batting average while striking out 101 batters. Jones has been especially strong since mid-April. Jones has worked at least seven innings in each of his last six starts, with a 1.81 ERA in that time. He earned the Game 1 win in the NCAA Lake Elsinore Regional after firing 7 2/3 innings of one-run baseball against Southern California.
Jones is the eighth Virginia player to earn an invitation from a USA Baseball National Team joining Bill Narleski (1986), Seth Greisinger (1996), Ryan Zimmerman (2004), Sean Doolittle (2005-06), Mark Reynolds (2006), Jacob Thompson (2007), Branden Kline (2011) and Nathan Kirby (2014). Kirby later withdrew before competing with the team.
The USA Collegiate National Team will compete in international friendship series against Chinese Taipei and Cuba in North Carolina, as well as participating in the Americas Baseball Festival against the Canadian Senior National Team, Cuban National Team and USA Baseball Pan American Games Team. The summer schedule begins on June 20 and continues through July 8.
The USA Collegiate National Team will be coached by Ed Blankmeyer of St. John’s and assisted by Gary Henderson (Kentucky), Rich Hill (San Diego) and Paul Mainieri (Louisiana State).
Fresh off a championship at the NCAA Lake Elsinore Regional, the Cavaliers (37-22) continue play in the NCAA tournament this weekend as it competes in a best-of-three NCAA Super Regional against the champion of the Los Angeles Regional – either UCLA or Maryland – from June 5-7 or 6-8. The Bruins and Terrapins play a decisive championship game Monday at 11 p.m. ET/8 CT.
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Chris Graham
