Young Cavaliers team has performed like veterans

CHARLOTTESVILLE — The Virginia Cavaliers opened the baseball season with 19 consecutive wins, and they haven’t lost many games since then. Which begs a question:

Aren’t they a little young to be doing this?

Apparently not. In moving past the NCAA tournament’s first weekend for the first time, the Wahoos have done so with a lineup dominated by first- and second-year players.

When UVa (46-12-1) takes the field today against Mississippi (43-18) for the opener of their best-of-three super regional in Oxford, Miss., sixth-year coach Brian O’Connor’s starters will include four freshmen — John Hicks, Danny Hultzen, Steven Proscia and Keith Werman — and sophomores Phil Gosselin, Dan Grovatt and Jarrett Parker. Another sophomore, pitcher Robert Morey, could start Saturday.

“At the beginning of the season, a lot of people called us a really young team, but we didn’t really look at it like that,” said Hultzen, who’ll start on the mound for Virginia today. “We just looked at it like whatever grade you’re in, however old you are, you’re just out there to play baseball.”

“We don’t even think about it,” said Hicks, a graduate of Goochland High. “We know our ages don’t really matter.”

Hultzen, Gosselin, Grovatt and Parker were named to the all-ACC first team last month. Hultzen, who plays first base when he’s not pitching, also became the first Cavalier to be named ACC freshman of the year.

Ole Miss, by contrast, relies heavily on juniors and seniors. The Rebels started only one freshman in their most recent game, a 4-1 win over Western Kentucky.

“It’s really amazing to think about how many freshmen we have that are major contributors,” O’Connor said, “and how poised and confident they’ve been at the most important times.”

It’s more amazing when you consider this class once included Pete Hissey and Tyler Massey, who signed letters of intent with UVa in November 2007. After being drafted last June, each decided to turn pro.

“They were both impact players,” O’Connor said.

Even without them, the class’ collective contribution has been immense. Hultzen and Proscia were named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America team this week, and Hicks is as versatile as any player at UVa, rotating seamlessly among four spots: first base, catcher, left field and designated hitter. Werman, whose brother, Kyle, played at UVa, took over at second base late in the regular season and is batting .375.

Hultzen, 9-1 as a pitcher, with a 2.01 earned-run average, is batting .335. Proscia, Virginia’s third baseman, is hitting .325, with nine home runs and 56 RBI. Hicks is at .313, with seven homers.

Other freshmen who have shined this season include first baseman Jared King and pitcher Will Roberts (Maggie Walker Governor’s School).

O’Connor said he sensed during the recruiting process that this was an exceptional group. What he saw from his newcomers during fall ball strengthened that conviction.

“What you just didn’t know yet was how they were going to respond to adversity during the year,” O’Connor said. “And when you started to see that throughout the season, you had a feeling that you could have a special club.”

The team’s veterans include junior Franco Valdes, who starts at catcher. (Another junior, Tyler Cannon, was named all-ACC at shortstop.) Valdes said he’s been more impressed than surprised by the freshmen’s impact this season.

“They showed what they could do in the fall, and they won their spots, and came out here and we had a great season,” he said. “With more to come.”

Hultzen said: “It’s a great experience. None of us are taking it for granted. We realize what we’re doing right now is pretty special, and we’re trying to keep it going.”