UVA freshman ready to face LSU in College World Series

OMAHA, Neb.—What Danny Hultzen wanted, Danny Hultzen got.

A freshman All-American, the rookie longed for the baseball in Virginia’s opening game in the College World Series.

The long-held dream will come to fruition tonight against third-seeded Louisiana State (51-16) at 7 p.m. inside Rosenblatt Stadium.

“I want to be there on the mound in the first game,“ said Hultzen, who is 9-1 with an ERA of 2.09. “It is going to be awesome. It is going to be a lot of fun. I am ready.“

The nation will find out if that’s the case when Virginia (48-13-1) looks to continue its stellar postseason play, a stretch that has included an ACC tournament title and series-clinching wins at the Irvine Regional and Oxford (Ole Miss) Super Regional.

“We have played great baseball to this point in the postseason. It has been a magical ride,“ Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said. “But this is when the little things must be done properly, and we have done that during the postseason.

“To make a run here in Omaha we will need to continue that. I just know that our players are hungry and eager to get things started here at the College World Series.“

O’Connor, from nearby Council Bluffs, Iowa, has enjoyed the return to the CWS and to Rosenblatt Stadium, a place where he played with Omaha-based Creighton University and coached as an associate head coach at Notre Dame.

Some of that luster vanished Friday, at least temporarily, as heavy rain fell at Rosenblatt Stadium just minutes before Virginia was to have a practice session. It came minutes after LSU finished its practice session.

“That was really unfortunate,“ O’Connor said. “I wanted our players to take the field, but it was not in the cards today. We were able to hit in the batting cages, but there is something special about having the guys on the field at Rosenblatt.“

LSU will counter today with sophomore Anthony Ranaudo (10-3, 2.95 ERA), who ranks third in the country with 147 strikeouts. In a super regional win over Rice, the right-hander fanned nine batters.

LSU enters the double-elimination portion of the CWS with a 10-game winning streak and the highest win total in the country.

“It’s always good to have a winning streak but that could end [today],“ LSU’s Blake Dean said. “It’s not all that important. Obviously, you know that you’re playing well, you’re rolling and you’ve got the momentum, but I don’t think it’s too big of a factor.“