ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, May 21, 1996 TAG: 9605210074
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER
Virginia's first ACC tournament championship impressed more than just the Cavaliers' conference baseball brethren.
When the NCAA's 48-team field heading toward the 50th College World Series was announced Monday, UVa received one of the top 16 seeds. The Cavaliers (41-19) begin play in the South I Regional on Thursday at Tuscaloosa, Ala., as the region's No.2 seed against Notre Dame (43-16), which lost the Big East tournament championship game Sunday to West Virginia.
The other first-round games in the double-elimination Tuscaloosa regional have top-seeded host Alabama (45-17) against Princeton (26-19) and South Alabama (42-15) against Stetson (40-21). The eight regional champs advance to the College World Series starting May 31 at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb.
``We really needed this,'' said Dennis Womack, finishing his 15th season as the Cavaliers' coach. ``When you lose on a continual basis like we had been the last few years, it hurts. It sends a message that there's only so far you can go. It's hard to put into words how badly we needed a good year.''
Virginia set a school record for victories - the high was 38 in 1985 - and starts down the Road to Omaha with 21 wins in its past 26 games. The pitching-strong Cavaliers were not ranked in any national polls during the season and finished fifth in the ACC regular-season race, but impressively stopped a skid of four straight losing seasons.
UVa went 5-1 in the league tournament to win the ACC title, capped with Sunday's 12-1 rout of Florida State in Durham, N.C., which ensured the Cavs of their third NCAA bid.
The Cavaliers earned their first NCAA trip bid by winning the ACC title in 1972. There was no tournament then. That was the last year regular-season play determined the ACC champ. UVa also made the NCAA field in '85 as an at-large team.
In something of a surprise, Womack said UVa ace Seth Greisinger (11-2), a likely first-round pick in the June draft, will not start Thursday's game against the Fighting Irish, who are making their 13th NCAA regional appearance. The junior right-hander won Sunday's ACC title game over the Seminoles after beating N.C. State in Wednesday's opener.
``That was the first time all year Seth has worked on only three days' rest,'' Womack said. ``We want him back on his regular schedule, so we'll hold him until Friday.''
Womack will start right-hander Jason Sekany in Game 1, then, after Greisinger, go to right-hander Pat Danneker. If a fourth starter is needed, Craig Zaikov gets the assignment.
Womack said the Cavaliers watched Monday's pairings show on ESPN as a team, ``and it was good to see our name go up there, even though we knew we'd be in somewhere [with the ACC automatic bid]. It's just a great feeling.''
The Cavaliers' coach said he ``was beginning to feel very comfortable'' about his team's chances for an at-large berth after the Cavaliers beat Florida State in their second ACC Tournament game. Then, once UVa topped Clemson in the next outing, ``I said I didn't see any way they could keep us out.''
Virginia is one of five ACC clubs in the 48-team field. Only the Southeastern Conference, with six bids, received more spots than the ACC, which has No.1 seeds in Florida State and Clemson, second seeds UVa and Georgia Tech and a No.3 with North Carolina State.
Womack said ``maturity and consistency'' were the Cavaliers' hallmarks to go with their strong pitching. UVa, which was 13-2 against state teams, hasn't lost consecutive games since early April.
The head coach said the turning point for his club came in mid-March at Georgia Tech, where the Yellow Jackets swept a three-game series to leave Virginia with a 12-9 record and a four-game losing streak.
``We lost a couple of those in the late innings and basically, it could have been very heart-breaking,'' said Womack, who has 405 career coaching victories. ``If we'd had a little less leadership, a little less hard work, we may not have been able to get where we are.''
The only other state team in the NCAA field is Old Dominion (39-15), which opens Thursday in the Atlantic Regional at Clemson against Southern Conference champ Georgia Southern (45-12).
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