Omaha exceeding UVA co-captain’s expectations

Sitting in his downtown hotel room, Andrew Carraway had a moment that was tough to describe.

On the eve of the College World Series, Virginia’s co-captain and elder statesman, finally was broadsided by the magnitude of what Virginia’s baseball team had accomplished.

“It hit me, I am sitting in a hotel room in Omaha,“ said Carraway, a right-handed pitcher that is 8-1 on the season. “It is awesome. Every single part of Omaha is awesome. It probably is more than I expected.

“Almost every time we get on a bus we are met by video cameras. You can’t really expect that.“

Autographs have been begged for every step of the way and when Virginia pulls into the team hotel a host of children, most of whom did not know about Virginia baseball a week ago, ask for balls, hats and shirts to be inked.

“That just blows you away,“ said Virginia catcher Franco Valdes. “People are so passionate about college baseball. It is like being a rock star for a few days.“

The Cavaliers (48-13-1) were the first team to arrive in Omaha and promptly raced to Rosenblatt Stadium for a tour of the venue.

Players were also present as a Virginia flag was raised outside the stadium, indicating that the program was one of the eight teams in the field at the College World Series.

Carraway, who was drafted in the 12th round Wednesday by the Seattle Mariners, took the chance to do something unique. He picked up the dirt at the stadium.

“It feels different than normal dirt,“ he joked.

Something else stood out as well.

“I just stood there and stared at the scoreboard at Rosenblatt,“ Carraway said. “My dream about the whole thing was to get on the field and look at the letters on the scoreboard. That was my favorite part and then you look down at the dirt and say that is dirt from Rosenblatt. It is unreal.“