Way back in early April, when Virginia’s baseball team was a golf ball lost in the weeds, Brian O’Connor was looking for answers.

On the brink of elimination for the sixth time in postseason, Virginia beat the odds once again on Monday when freshman Kyle Teel smashed a seventh-inning grand slam to lift the Cavaliers to a series-clinching, 5-2 win over Dallas Baptist, punching their ticket to the College World Series.

While Griff McGarry was putting on a masterful performance in Virginia’s win over Dallas Baptist in Game 2 of the NCAA Super Regional in Columbia, S.C., on Sunday, perhaps a lighter moment helped the senior right-hander smooth his way through his only bump in the road.

In a classic pitching duel between Virginia’s Griff McGarry and Dallas Baptist’s Rhett Kouba, it appeared the outcome would be determined by which pitcher could outlast the other.

Backs against the wall has been Virginia baseball’s calling card for the past two months, and the Cavaliers will once again draw on that mantra on Sunday in the best-of-three Super Regional against Dallas Baptist.

While all the other Super Regionals are being played at home sites, Virginia and Dallas Baptist won’t have that luxury. The NCAA, set in its ways, apparently didn’t even consider moving the Super Regional to either Dallas/Fort Worth or to Charlottesville.

At least a million baseball fans became familiar with Virginia’s overnight sensation Stephen Schoch after he made a sizable splash in Virginia’s romp to the NCAA Columbia regional championship last weekend.

Dr. Winston Gwathmey from UVA Orthopedics joins “The Jerry Ratcliffe Show” to help Jerry and AFP editor Chris Graham preview the UVA-Dallas Baptist Super Regionals series.

UVA first-year Kyle Teel was named to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Freshman All-America team as a designated hitter.

Andrew Abbott has been named as one of 25 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award, annually bestowed on the top amateur baseball player of the year.

Devin Ortiz, the team’s senior designated hitter, had only pitched two innings during the season. Sure, Virginia’s deep and talented pitching staff had been mostly used up, but Ortiz?

Devin Ortiz started Virginia’s NCAA regional championship on the mound Tuesday morning and finished it in the afternoon with a 10th-inning walk-off home run that catapulted the Cavaliers into next weekend’s Super Regional with a 4-3 win over Old Dominion.

On the brink of elimination in a marathon NCAA regional doubleheader, and after watching gritty, record-breaking performances, some completely unexpected, Virginia coach Brian O’Connor put a ribbon on Sunday’s wins over South Carolina and Old Dominion.

Virginia jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and held off a late South Carolina rally to eliminate the Gamecocks, 3-2, Sunday afternoon and advanced to tonight’s game against unbeaten Old Dominion in the NCAA Columbia regional.

There’s nothing like a family dinner to spark a sibling rivalry. Just ask Virginia’s brother combination of Zack and Jake Gelof.

Virginia’s bats came alive Saturday as the Cavaliers posted a program postseason record 21 hits in a 13-8 elimination game against Jacksonville in the NCAA Columbia regional.

Brian O’Connor pointed out this week that Virginia’s formula for advancing in regional play over the years has been as simple as cornbread.

If anyone thinks Andrew Abbott is going to be feeling a ton of pressure in his first NCAA tournament pitching assignment against South Carolina on Friday, think again.

When Virginia opens the NCAA Tournament at noon Friday in Columbia, S.C., the Cavaliers will be facing one of the nation’s most potent batting lineups.