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Batting last: A sweet perk

Posted on 06/01 at 05:57 AM

Home sweet home.

Perhaps an overlooked element in regional play, the team that bats last matters more than most expect.

The manager, well, coach at this level, can play the game in a completely different fashion during the late innings.

Thanks to the wisdom of Virginia’s operations doctor Eddie Smith, the Cavaliers will have that luxury today against regional host Cal State Fullerton.

Smith, calling the flip for the Cavaliers late Saturday night, guessed - or strategically called - that it would be heads.

How right he was.

Thanks to his call, Virginia will man the dugout that Fullerton has called home the entire season. The Titans will be relegated to the dugout that they normally send their opponents to during regular-season showdowns.

Better yet, this is the dugout that the Titans sat in - and lost in - Saturday night in a longer-than-expected setback against UCLA (the game lasted 3:43).

Virginia has a tough road ahead needing to win three straight, which would include a win over host Fullerton and two over UCLA in order to punch its ticket for Super Regional play, but this coin flip could be the first step.

Not to be lost in the shuffle, Pepperdine is the early favorite to win the Stanford Regional. If that happens and Virginia goes 3-0, the Cavs would host a Super Regional because Pepperdine does not have lights at its field.

For now, however, it is a one-game-at-a-time mentality for a Virginia team longing to quiet the critics.