Brian O'Connor hopeful pitcher Connelly Early can settle back in after shaky fourth inning

The Virginia baseball team got off to an excellent start in a back-against-the-wall game against Duke in the second game of the Charlottesville Super Regional, needing to win to keep its season alive.

The Cavaliers plated a run in the first inning, two runs in the second inning and a run in the fourth inning to take a 4-0 lead before the Blue Devils began to answer.

Starting pitcher Connelly Early, who worked through three scoreless frames, was tagged for three runs in the bottom of the fourth, cutting Virginia’s lead to 4-3.

“Well he did a nice job in the first three innings,” coach Brian O’Connor said during an in-game interview on the game broadcast. “They had base-runners each time and he managed it. They had a nice approach against him right there that inning with two strikes and runners in scoring position.”

Through four innings of work, Early had given up six hits and three runs. He had four strikeouts and no walks.

O’Connor wanted him to go much deeper into the game, so it’ll be interesting to see if Early can get his stuff back under control in the fifth inning and beyond.

“He’s just got to settle down and go out there and eat this game up for us,” O’Connor said.

One thing Virginia will have to work with today is another excellent crowd at the home park. They watched Duke take Game 1 of the Charlottesville Super Regional on Friday and know Virginia will need all the help it can get avoiding elimination.

The Cavaliers are looking to make only their second trip to Omaha and the College World Series since winning it all in 2015. The program reached Omaha in 2021, as well.

O’Connor urged the fans to continue providing excellent support.

“Certainly we’ve got a great fanbase here,” O’Connor said. “They’ve been here all year long for us. This is something we’ve built over the years and they’re very passionate about our baseball program and especially postseason baseball.”

Virginia led 8-3 in the bottom of the fifth inning in Game 2 of the Charlottesville Super Regional at the time of this writing.