June 6, 2004: This was the day that officially marked the halfway point of my college career. It had nothing to do with when I finished my last exam. Nor did it have to do with moving out of the best house I've ever lived in. I didn't go home, and I didn't get a job. What I did do was cover my last game as the Virginia baseball associate editor, when the greatest season this program had ever seen came to an end with a loss to Vandy in the NCAA Regionals.
The story of the 2004 season was straight out of a movie. It was too perfect. Kevin Costner's role was filled by Brian O'Connor, the rookie head coach who turned 33 in mid-season. He overhauled the coaching staff to hasten a youth movement which brought an entirely new attitude and intensity to a mediocre 11-12 ACC team of a year ago. With a roster comprised entirely of holdovers from longtime Virginia coach Dennis Womack's tenure, O'Connor small-balled a squad beset by injuries to a No. 1 seed and a host spot in an NCAA Regional for the first time in school history, and took home ACC Coach of the Year honors to boot. Not bad for a new kid on the block.
Senior tri-captain Joe Koshansky, the gentle giant at first base, set a school record with 67 RBI in addition to his 16 home runs. The left hander beat out players with better offensive numbers for ACC Player of the Year because in his spare time he was Virginia's Sunday starter on the mound, finishing 8-3 with a 2.98 ERA -- both staff bests.
First team All-ACC third baseman Ryan Zimmerman's .361 batting average was 59 points higher than Koshansky's .301 -- the next closest contender for the team batting title. After catching the eye of O'Connor in fall ball for his potential to be the best player on the field, Zim knocked out more hits in 2004 than any Virginia player had ever done in a single season, setting a new mark with 90. After switching from his natural position of shortstop to the hot corner last year, Zimmerman has mastered the bare hand roller to the point where he looks like a major leaguer throwing out bunters.
I recall past stages of my life in relation to the sporting events which made an impact on me. My senior year in high school was seeing Bonds hit 70 in Houston. Fourth grade was Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding. First grade was Rickey Henderson and neon green batting gloves. I know this -- my second year at U.Va. will be Brian O'Connor putting Virginia baseball on the map. And I feel lucky to have had a front row seat through its entirety.
Seeing tears welling in Joe Koshansky's eyes in the postgame press conference was a hard way to end the year. But after the disappointment subsides, the thing I will remember most about the experience of the Charlottesville Regional will be 2,000 fans chanting "U-V-A! U-V-A!" in the first inning against Vanderbilt. Thinking back to the Brown game earlier this season, when I could have counted the number of fans in attendance with two hands and a foot, and I could not stop smiling.
If you asked 50 U.Va. students about their version of "Cheers" on campus, what responses would you get? O'Neills? The Biltmore? Bistro? Mine is Davenport Field -- I know all the senior citizen ushers, the t-shirt vendor, the sports information director, the cop at the gate... What can I say? Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name.
Back in February, a lacrosse player I'm friends with asked me why I had lobbied so hard to get put on the baseball beat when I could have probably just as easily forced my way into covering the defending national champs. "Baseball?" he asked. "Why don't you cover the sport where the winners are?" That was the day before he left for Colorado to play in some early season tune-ups against Air Force and Denver.
Virginia baseball went 44-15 overall this year, tying the school record for wins. Their 18-6 ACC mark, including five three-game sweeps, shattered the previous high of 11 conference wins in a season. I will never forget what an amazing ride it was -- but I'm already marking the days off my calendar until opening day, 2005.
Read More
Wrestling gets blown out 34-9 on long road trip to Stanford
By Ryan Weiner | 7 hours agoSolid performances from its most reliable trio were not enough for Virginia.
Freshman excellence powers No. 5 men’s tennis past Boise State, No. 19 Alabama
By Thomas Baxter | 16 hours agoVirginia, unlike many other regional hosts, held serve as its quartet's top seed.
No. 1 women’s swimming and diving destroys No. 2 Texas
By Xander Tilock | 18 hours agoOnce again, Virginia has proven to be head and shoulders above other top programs.
