While you were sleeping: UVA baseball was doing what it does

Preseason #1 to the cusp of not making its own conference tournament. This was UVA baseball’s season in a microcosm, explained away by a run of injuries that should have had the Cavs down for the count.

UVA lived that experience in five excruciating hours Sunday night into Monday mid-morning, and somehow, some way, came out of it headed toward another Super Regional.

Up 4-0 in the top of the first, Virginia starter Alec Bettinger left without recording an out as USC scored five runs in its half of the first, and after the Trojans batted around for the second time in the fourth inning, Brian O’Connor was into his B bullpen, seemingly resigned to having to make another go at Southern Cal on Monday.

Then something odd happened. The weak link in the pitching staff, i.e. that part of the pitching staff not surnamed Kirby, Jones, Waddell or Sborz, got into gear.

Tommy Doyle, who had logged just 19.2 innings in 2015, calmed things down with two and two-thirds innings of scoreless relief.

Then it was David Rosenberger, with a 6.26 ERA in 27.1 innings coming in, a WHIP of 1.90, putting up four perfect innings.

The B pen shored things up long enough to allow the bats to work Virginia back into it, with three in the eighth tying the game at 9-9, and then a five-spot in the 11th putting Southern Cal away.

Sborz got the last three outs in the 14-10 win, and UVA baseball is back to doing what it does, winning regional championships.

This is the sixth in the last seven years, the second on the road, the second in California.

The clincher was far from pretty – Virginia committed three errors leading to four unearned runs, and USC had four errors leading to four unearned runs, and Trojans pitchers issued 14 walks and hit three UVA batters.

After giving up a total of two runs in wins over Southern Cal and San Diego State to get to the regional final, it would seem to be illogical to say that it was pitching that carried the Cavs to the next round, but that’s what happened.

But you were sleeping, so you’ll have to take my word for it, as I finish my work just after 5 a.m. Eastern.

– Column by Chris Graham