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Virginia lands nine on Charlottesville Regional All-Tournament team

michael sauls, the virginian-pilot
·3 min read

Virginia’s 8-3 victory over East Carolina on Sunday night secured the Cavaliers a spot in a Super Regional, where they’ll host the winner of the Conway Regional (Duke or Coastal Carolina) at Disharoon Park.

Nine of the 11 spots on the All-Tournament team were awarded to players from UVA coach Brian O’Connor’s squad, which went undefeated in regional play.

Junior pitcher Connelly Early made the biggest splash of all the UVA players who earned an all-tournament nod.

Early’s 10-strikeout outing Sunday was so good that it earned him the Charlottesville Regional’s Most Outstanding Player honor.

Junior Kyle Teel added to his already impressive season by being named the best catcher in the regional. Teel was a stellar 7 for 12 in three games and logged a 4-for-5 performance in Sunday’s game against ECU.

Teel was named to the All-ACC first team last month and was also named the ACC Player of the Year, UVA’s first since 2006.

Virginia Beach product Ethan Anderson (from Cox High) was named the best first baseman in the regional. The sophomore was 3 for 12 from the plate but had two timely home runs in the first two games of the regional. Anderson also tallied four RBIs and drew two walks.

Anderson was named to the All-ACC third team last month.

Junior Jake Gelof was named the best third baseman in the regional. Gelof, like Anderson, was 3 for 12 over three games and also drew three walks. He hit a double in Saturday’s game against East Carolina that was inches away from being a home run. Had the ball gone out, he would have set the UVA single-season home run record.

More accolades could be coming for Gelof — an All-ACC first teamer — this season. He is currently a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy and the Golden Spikes Award.

Virginia All-ACC shortstop Griff O’Farrell was named the regional’s best shortstop. The sophomore was 5 for 14 over three games. In the matchup against Army to open the regional, O’Farrell was 3 for 4 and managed two hits in the first inning as the Cavaliers batted around.

Casey Saucke and Ethan O’Donnell were named to two of the three outfield spots on the all-regional team. Saucke went 6 for 12 from the plate and O’Donnell went 1 for 9. O’Donnell struggled from the plate in the regional, but a game-changing home run late in Sunday’s matchup against ECU was enough for the first-team All-ACC player to land on the all-regional team.

Sophomore Anthony Stephan shared honors as the regional’s best designated hitter. Stephan had his best two games of the regional against East Carolina. He went 5 for 12, including a three-run home run in Sunday’s game to put the Cavaliers up 7-2.

Early and graduate pitcher Nick Parker rounded out Virginia’s all-regional selections. Parker was just as dominant in his outing against ECU as Early was.

In the 2-1 win over the Pirates on Saturday, Parker threw 100 pitches over seven innings, striking out five batters and giving up just five hits.

All-Charlottesville Regional team

C – Kyle Teel (Virginia)

1B – Ethan Anderson (Virginia)

2B – Jacob Starling (ECU)

3B – Jake Gelof (Virginia)

SS – Griff O’Farrell (Virginia)

OF – Casey Saucke (Virginia)

OF – Bryce Madron (Oklahoma)

OF – Ethan O’Donnell (Virginia)

DH – Easton Carmichael (Oklahoma)/Anthony Stephan (Virginia)

P – Connelly Early (Virginia)

P – Nick Parker (Virginia)

Most Outstanding Player: Connelly Early (Virginia)

***Tie in the voting at DH makes it a 12-person team

Michael Sauls, michael.sauls@virginiamedia.com, (757) 803-5775