Virginia ace Andrew Abbott said it’s important for this team to stop and smell the roses

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Andrew Abbott, who will start Sunday’s College World Series game against Tennessee, almost has to pinch himself to believe that he and his teammates are really in Omaha.

The Cavaliers’ ace, one of the nation’s leaders in strikeouts, has experienced a couple of “Aha” moments that he’s going to be on the mound at AmeriTrade Park, college baseball’s mecca. In fact, he’s had two such moments.

“Two stick out,” Abbott said. “One, it was winning the Super Regional, knowing that you’ve got here and you’re wearing the hat that says Omaha Bound. That was pretty cool and a loss for words when that happened.

“Then showing up here the first day and seeing the park and seeing the atmosphere and doing media and all that kind of stuff has been really exciting. You don’t really know what to expect the first time coming here, and it’s all been fun. So, I’m definitely thankful to be here.”

The UVA southpaw is 8-6 on the season and owns a 3.04 ERA over 100.3 innings pitched. He has walked only 30 and struck out 152. Virginia is 9-7 in the 16 games Abbott has started this season, but four of those seven losses were one-run games, another a 2-0 loss to Florida State when he wasn’t getting a lot of run support from his offense. In his two NCAA starts, the Cavaliers lost 4-3 to South Carolina and 6-5 to Dallas Baptist.

A semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, he has been selected as an All-American by Baseball America, the ABCA, the NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

It was no surprise that UVA coach Brian O’Connor picked Abbott, the team’s regular Friday night starter, to be on the bump against Tennessee, a No. 3 national seed. The Vols will start right-hander Chad Dallas (11-1, 4.10 ERA, 19 walks, 118 strikeouts).

(NOTE: for an incredible breakdown of Tennessee, check our podcast on this website with LSU coach Paul Mainieri, whose Tigers played the Vols five times this season. Mainieri also talks about his long relationship with Brian O’Connor. If you’re a UVA fan, you don’t want to miss this podcast).

“Here’s Andrew Abbott, who made this commitment to come back to the University of Virginia after the draft last year, and he’s worked so hard to put himself in this situation to have this opportunity,” O’Connor said. “I trust and believe with every fiber in my body that he will go out there and be prepared and be poised to get us off to a great start.”

Also on Virginia and Tennessee’s side of the bracket is Texas (47-15), the No. 2 seed, and Mississippi State (45-16), the No. 7 seed. The Longhorns and Bulldogs play at 7 p.m. Sunday after UVA and UT meet at 2 ET. The Cavaliers will play again on Tuesday, at either 2 p.m. or 7 p.m., depending on Sunday’s results. The early game will be televised on ESPNU, while the late game will be televised by ESPN2.

Abbott is thrilled to be in Omaha.

“This has been a dream for all of us, but it’s very important to sit back and just reflect on the season and how far we’ve come as a team and just be grateful that we have great coaches that have been here before, teaching us how to get here and then enjoying it while we’re here,” Abbott said.

It is Virginia’s fifth trip to the College World Series in O’Connor’s 18th year with the program. The Cavaliers were 4-12 in ACC play in early April, but turned things around and arrived in Omaha with a 35-25 record.

“It’s important to reflect and learn from where we’ve come from, definitely from the Regional and from the Super Regional,” Abbott said. “Playing those great teams _ South Carolina, ODU and Dallas Baptist., and relying on our coaches, who have been here and know what you have to do with this thing.”

Abbott said the coaches have told the Cavaliers that the team that executes most is going to win, and to take the CWS games in stride, moment by moment because this is the top of the mountain for college baseball players and to enjoy the ride.

This team in particular should soak in all the atmosphere and appreciate every moment because none of these players had been to postseason until now. Virginia’s last appearance in the NCAAs was 2017, and this senior class didn’t want to be the first class under O’Connor that failed to reach postseason.

Abbott is one of those guys, and having grown up in Halifax County, he has watched Virginia teams over the years do some magical things.

“The best way to describe it is we started off slow and now we’ve turned the corner,” the big left-hander said. “Being a part of those teams under Oak (O’Connor) that didn’t reach the postseason, it definitely fueled the fire for this year and years to come to set the UVA standard again. I think it’s important to be thankful and enjoy every moment that has come and the adversity we faced will help us down the road.”