Playoff Mentality Pays Off As Virginia Completes Sweep of Miami

Photo Courtesy of UVA Athletics

Virginia is fighting for their postseason lives over the final weeks of the regular season and have won 10 of 11 following this weekend’s sweep of a red hot Miami program. After clinching the series with a gritty comeback on Saturday, first year Tomas Valincius and Henry Ford shined on Sunday to complete the sweep by holding off a Miami rally, 8-6.

Following a disappointing 10-3 midweek loss to Liberty on April 15th and a canceled series at Florida State, the ‘Hoos have flipped the switch and are playing like the team everyone expected them to be early in the season. Virginia was 20-15 overall with an RPI in the 90s after that loss to the Flames in mid-April. After a crucial series at Florida State was canceled due to a tragic on-campus shooting, UVA knew they didn’t have any more room for error.

“We've used this phrase for about three weeks now: playoff baseball,” said UVA head coach Brian O’Connor following the sweep. “And when you're in the playoffs, if you don't win, you go home. That's the situation we put ourselves in. When you play that way with that kind of edge to you, it can really make a difference.”

The team has responded in a big way as each night different players stepped up to contribute and deliver. Following his fantastic start on Friday, Jay Woolfolk stressed a “win or go home mentality.” Evan Blanco, who has struggled all season, tossed 3.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen on Saturday while Aidan Teel reached base six times and provided the walk-off winner.

On Sunday, it was Henry Ford and Tomas Valincius who stepped forward to carry the team to victory. Ford started things off with a two run blast in the 1st inning, immediately putting the pressure on Miami. After walking the first two batters of the game, Valincius settled in and pitched into the 7th inning before giving up a run. 

Despite entering the 7th with a 7-0 lead on just 84 pitches, Valincius began to tire and the Hurricanes took advantage, capped by a Daniel Cuvet 3-run blast off reliever Drew Koenen that brought Miami back within two runs. Valincius still earned a quality start, going 6.1 innings and giving up three earned runs while striking out seven. But Cuvet had once again rallied Miami and swung the momentum.

“If Cuvet’s not the best hitter in the league, he's certainly one of them,” O’Connor said post-game.

While perhaps the home crowd started feeling anxious, the Virginia dugout remained confident and rightfully so, as Ford immediately reclaimed the momentum in the bottom half of the inning by blasting a solo shot to left. The second year Charlottesville native credited the early struggles to the team’s recent success.

“The adversity we went through in the beginning part of the year is huge for us,” Ford said. “That's drawn us a lot closer together. We've been in pretty much every situation possible and we're comfortable in those situations now, we know what we can do.”

Miami threatened one more time in the 9th when Daniel Cuvet hit an RBI single to right to represent the tying run on first base with nobody out. With runners on the corners in a 2-run game, O’Connor played matchups and used three pitchers to get the final three outs.

The first out of the bullpen was senior lefty Matthew Buchanan, who has had to overcome a ton of adversity on and off the field over his four years on Grounds. He was Virginia’s midweek specialist as a freshman in 2022, going 3-1 with a 3.49 ERA over 23 appearances. Over his next two seasons, Buchanan only played in 14 games and gave up 12 earned runs in 15.2 innings.  

Shortly before his junior season, Buchanan lost his father. Pitching on Senior Day and helping Virginia complete the sweep on the back of a bounceback year for Buchanan is a testament to his character, especially when you consider all of the emotions he must have been feeling. 

“I'm just so proud of him,” O’Connor said. “He's what our program's about. He's a first-class young man that represents our program the right way. Coming into this year, over the summer, he made a change to his arm slot,  which gave him some deception. He wasn't really used in the first month of the season and we just started to plug him in there, and he's been incredibly consistent. I know this program means so much to him and we wouldn't be where we are this year without his efforts.” 

Over 19 appearances this year, Buchanan is 3-0 with a dazzling 2.70 ERA and has 17 strikeouts in 13.1 innings pitched. The University of Virginia means so much to the senior southpaw that he plans to stay in Charlottesville following his graduation and the conclusion of the season. 

Dorian Gonzalez put Miami ahead with a crucial two out RBI in the 8th inning on Saturday before UVA came back in the 9th, but Buchanan made sure the senior Hurricane captain would not get that opportunity on Sunday. In front of a huge crowd, the Virginia lefty struck out Gonzalez and left the mound to a huge ovation.

Bryson Moore did the same to pinch hitter Kulikowski before closer Matt Lanzendorfer induced a game-ending fly out from Nolan Johnson to strand the runners on the corners.

Henry Ford went 3-for-3 with a double, two home runs, and four runs batted in as he reached base in all four plate appearances.  

“It's playoff baseball,” Ford said. “We treat every series like a super regional and every midweek like a regional. It’s do or die, and that's how we're playing. That's been big for us, and it’s going to help if we keep it going and get in the playoffs because we're going to have that type of experience going in there.”

Despite the playoff mentality, the team is playing more relaxed and looser than they have been all season. Instead of playing with added pressure, Virginia is playing carefree as if they have nothing to lose. With a loaded roster that earned them preseason accolades as the #2 in the nation, their win or go home mentality combined with their relaxed attitude makes them a very dangerous team.

They're having fun, they're aggressive,” said O’Connor. “And when you know what you have to do in front of you, you either run to it or you run away from it.”

Virginia is running to it with a vengeance. As of this writing, they’ve seen their RPI soar up into the Top 60 while their 14-10 conference record could set them up for a bye in the ACC Tournament. A series win at arch-rival Virginia Tech could put Virginia into the tournament field. And nobody in the country wants this UVA team as the 3-seed in their Regional.