The Virginia Cavaliers survived the UC Irvine Anteaters, achieving a walkoff 3-2 victory thanks to a clutch hit by Chris Taylor in the 2011 NCAA baseball tournament's Charlottesville Super Regional. The Hoos will advance to their second-ever College World Series and first since 2009, where they'll take on the California Golden Bears.
Virginia Vs. UC Irvine Final Score, NCAA Baseball Super Regionals: UVA Posts Walkoff Win
Few would’ve expected to see the No. 1 overall seed Cavs nearly fall to UC Irvine, but there we were.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and down by a run, David Coleman stroked a grounder up the middle, with Mitchell Shifflett taking over as pinch runner.
Big Jared King stepped to the plate with Matt Summers on the hill, though Summers remained mindful of Shifflett’s speed. King sent a shot right back at Summers, which bounced off the righty’s shoe and advanced Shifflett to second.
Reed Gragnan stepped to the plate next, pinch hitting for Keith Werman. Summers fell behind 3-0 in the count and was seen barking at himself on the mound before throwing high and away to load the bases, with pinch runner Corey Hunt joining the fleet of base runners.
Leadoff batter Taylor stepped up and watched a strike before batting up the middle to score a pair, sending a herd of UVA players crashing the middle of the diamond in celebration. To Omaha!
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