Hoos headed back to Omaha: Virginia powers past DBU and into College World Series
Kyle Teel cemented his place in Virginia baseball history with one swing of the bat.
The freshman hit a go-ahead grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning Monday to help the Cavaliers get past Dallas Baptist 5-2 In the deciding game of the best-of-three Super Regional at Founders Park in Columbia.
Virginia advances to the College World Series and will face Tennessee in the first game Saturday or Sunday.
“Kyle Teel is fearless,” Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said, “And to win games at this elite level of baseball, you not only have to have skill, you can’t be afraid. You will crumble at times when pressure’s on if you’re afraid. He’s not afraid. He’s got 100 percent belief in his ability.”
It is UVa’s fifth trip to Omaha and first since 2015 when it won the national championship. But the journey to get there in 2021 wasn’t an easy one. The Cavs spent 12 days in Columbia between the NCAA tournament regional and super regional — and had their backs against the wall for much of their time in the Palmetto State.
Virginia became the third team in Division I history to win six elimination games on its way to Omaha.
“They are all special. This will be our fifth trip but the route this team has taken,” O’Connor said, “with our backs against the wall six times in elimination speaks to the character and resiliency of this team and type of men we have in this program.
“I’m really proud of the poise our players showed the last two weeks.”
A No. 3 seed in the Columbia Regional, they lost their first game to the host Gamecocks before winning four straight. In the Super Regional, the Cavs lost 6-5 Saturday to DBU before coming from behind to win both games Sunday and Monday.
Virginia trailed 2-1 going into seventh Monday. The Cavs loaded the bases with two outs after a walk to Zack Gelof and a Max Cotier infield single. Then, Teel, the 2020 New Jersey Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year, belted a Payton Sherlin pitch over the center field fence to make it 5-2.
It was Teel’s ninth homer of the season, which tied him for the team lead with Gelof.
“When I hit the ball, I didn’t think it was out. I thought I hit a deep flyout,” Teel said. “So very grateful for it to go over the fence.”
Nic Kent also added a solo homer in the fourth for the Cavaliers.
Matt Wyatt earned the win out of the bullpen for Virginia. The right-hander allowed just two hits in 5 2/3 innings while walking two and striking out eight. Wyatt got River Town to fly out to center field to end the game and start the Cavaliers’ celebration, which included a dogpile at the pitcher’s mound and some players going into the stands to celebrate with their fans who made the trip to Columbia.
The loss denied Dallas Baptist its first trip to the College World Series, which is about the only thing missing from the program’s resume since moving up from Division II to Division I in 2004.
The Patriots have been to seven straight NCAA tournaments, 10 overall, but just one Super Regional before this season. A trip to Omaha will have to wait for another season.
“It is so hard to get there and to be seven outs away from it — it is really tough,” Dallas Baptist coach Dan Heefner said. “At the same time, we know what we need to keep pushing for and know what it takes. It is a razor-thin line at this level. We knew that, we talked about it and to experience it will make us better as a program.”
DBU took a 2-0 lead on Jackson Glenn’s 21st homer of the season in the third but didn’t convert on other chances later in the game. The Patriots stranded eight on base, and Cavs center fielder Chris Newell also robbed Andres Sosa of a homer in the seventh inning.
College World Series bracket, schedule
Games at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska
June 19
North Carolina State vs. Stanford, 2 p.m.
Vanderbilt vs. Arizona, 7 p.m.
June 20
Tennessee vs. Virginia, 2 p.m.
Texas vs. Mississippi State, 7 p.m.
This story was originally published June 14, 2021 at 4:13 PM.
