After the NCAA selection show Monday afternoon, O’Connor fielded questions from media members and noted that regional winners “have individual players that do something spectacular, whether it be hit a couple of home runs or go out there and throw seven innings and give up one run. There are special things that are done at this time of the year. And you either have guys that do them and do them collectively as a group or if you don’t, your season’s over, and that’s fun.”
In front of 5,919 fans at Disharoon Park, several UVA players did special things Saturday night, including Didawick and freshmen Eric Becker and Matt Augustin.
Becker went 2 for 4 and drove in the Hoos’ first four runs. His two-run triple in the second put Virginia up 2-0, and his two-run single in the seventh tied the game at 4-4.
“That guy killed us,” Mississippi State head coach Chris Lemonis said.
Augustin relieved starter Evan Blanco with none out and a runner on first in the top of the seventh. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound right-hander struck out four and didn’t allow a run before giving way to graduate student Angelo Tonas with two outs in the ninth.
“For a true freshman to go out there in that environment and that situation … was incredibly impressive,” O’Connor said.
The same was true for Becker, though his production was no surprise. He’s hitting .358 with eight home runs this season.
“I think everyone in the lineup, everyone in the clubhouse, we kind of hold ourselves to a certain standard and tonight we didn’t waver from it,” said Becker, who’s from Thiells, N.Y. “And then the crowd, it was really fun to be a part of. They kept us in that game too. So, definitely the best environment I’ve been a part of.”
Augustin, Becker and Didawick joined O’Connor at Virginia’s postgame press conference. Augustin, who’s from Cherry Hill, N.J., also marveled at the atmosphere at the Dish, where sellouts for UVA’s postseason games have become the norm.
“The crowd was absolutely electric,” Augustin said. “Coming into it, seeing everybody, obviously it made my heart rate rise. But after the first couple batters, my heart rate slowed down, I was able to lock in on it.”
He smiled. “I kind of blacked out to a point where I don’t really remember what happened.” Augustin said he pitched in a crucial game as a high school sophomore, “but nothing can top this. This…