UVA baseball gears up for College World Series

College World Series Coverage

OXFORD, Miss. — In 2006, Robert Poutier watched the Charlottesville Regional from an inauspicious place.

Injured and out of commission, a year after earning freshman All-American watched from the general admission seats behind the Virginia dugout.

The low point in a roller coaster career that included countless hours rehabbing major back woes, Poutier did not know if he would ever return to form.

In fitting fashion, the fifth-year senior was given the ball to start on the mound Sunday in the most important game in program history.

Poutier was never given time to become nervous as Cavaliers coach Brian O’Connor tossed and turned in bed Saturday night debating who to turn with as his Game 3 starter.

“I knew it was a possibility but coach called me at 9 a.m. and asked me if I was up. I told him, ‘I am now,’ Poutier recounted. “He told me I was starting and it

wasn’t something that I didn’t expect or want and it worked out.”

Poutier was not asked to pitch a complete game or even into the back-half of the elimination that Virginia ultimately won 5-1. He was merely asked to compete as deep as he could before turning it over to a suddenly stellar bullpen.

It did not start in storybook fashion.

Poutier allowed two hits in the first inning and the Cavaliers (48-13-1) trailed 1-0 before their first plate appearance.

“Nerves get you a little bit early on,” Poutier said. “This was my first time pitching in the postseason other than the ACC tournament, but after I gave up the first run I just pitched base by base.

“They called a slider, I threw a slider and gave up a base hit, but it takes one to win a game anyway so one run was nothing.”

Poutier kept the deficit in place at one run, working into the third inning before sophomore Tyler Wilson entered from the bullpen.

“Poutier’s start was the key for me,” O’Connor said after Virginia advanced to the College World Series for the first time in program history.

“I just felt it was important to get somebody out there that would give us two or three innings and keep the game in check.”

Poutier, hopeful to be picked on Wednesday in the second day of the Major League Baseball draft, was never a lock to return for his fifth season.

A medical redshirt, stemming from the 2006 season, had to be granted.

Once that was in place, O’Connor needed to welcome the graduate student back into the program.

Those hurdles were cleared, setting the stage for a memorable season that included an ACC tournament title, a regional victory at UC Irvine and Sunday’s Super Regional win over Ole Miss.

For now, the military brat that was born in Seoul, South Korea is living in the moment.

“It is amazing. I guess the fifth time is the charm,” Poutier said with a smile. “It was definitely worth coming back, every bit of it. “We knew it was going to be a pitching staff day and we just had to piece it together. Our defense stepped up when they needed to and our hitters continued to swing the bats even when we were behind early on in the game. It is just an unbelievable feeling.”

A feeling that will now include a trip to college baseball’s promise land.

Virginia will meet third-seeded LSU (51-16) on Saturday at 7 p.m. in its opening game, which will be televised by ESPN. The Cavaliers are also guaranteed a contest Monday in bracket one in the four-team, double-elimination format that also includes Arkansas (39-22) and Cal State Fullerton (47-14).