Wilson carries Virginia to 8-1 elimination win over Cal

OMAHA  Top seed Virginia earned a shot at redemption against defending national champion South Carolina Friday by ending California's season with an 8-1 elimination game victory Thursday at the College World Series.

Senior Tyler Wilson pitched into the eighth inning for Virginia (56-11) and the Cavaliers used 11 hits and three Cal errors that produced three unearned runs to build a comfortable lead. Wilson is now 2-0 at the Series and 10-0 overall. Keith Werman had two hits, two sacrifice bunts, two runs scored and a run driven in.

"Virginia does so many things fundamentally well, you have to play an almost flawless game to beat them," said California coach Dave Esquer. "Tonight we weren't flawless. They did an outstanding job offensively and took advantage of any little crack. Then they got the pitching to back it up. Virginia deserved to win."

Wilson blanked the Bears on three hits through seven innings before giving up two hits that led to a run in the eighth. Cody Winiarski got the final four outs.

"It's the College World Series. The atmosphere is incomparable and I was just ecstatic to be out there and be able to give my team a chance to build some momentum," Wilson said. "I tried to set the tone for our ball club."

Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said, "Tyler Wilson was just spectacular tonight. In all my years of coaching, (Wilson) is as good of a leader as I've ever seen. I think he's a warrior out there."

For California, a season unlike any in its 115-year history closed with honor. The Bears learned in September that baseball was being axed by budget cuts. It was not until late April that a determined fund-raising effort restored the program.

After earning an at-large berth in the NCAA field, Cal (38-23) lost its opening game in the regionals before winning four elimination games, the last in which it was down to its final strike. The Bears lost their first game in Omaha to Virginia, 4-1, but bounced back to knock out Texas A&M before it finally ran out of comebacks.

"We'll never forget this," Esquer said. "As I addressed them at the end of the game, to experience this with their best friends, 20, 30 years down the line these things don't go away. At some point we're going to be honoring this team."

The only time Virginia had lost consecutive games all season was when it was swept in a three-game series by North Carolina and four times the Cavaliers followed those defeats with shutout victories. Wilson came close to delivering a fifth, holding Cal scoreless on three hits through seven innings. The Bears finally pushed across a run and knocked Wilson out of the game in the eighth, but it was small consolation.

Virginia hit .333 in its first five NCAA tournament games but were hitting .246 and had scored only five runs in two games in Omaha. The Cavaliers improved that by using three hits and an error to take a 2-0 lead in the third inning and settled matters with four more runs in the sixth. Werman's single and doubles from David Coleman and Chris Taylor were the key blows.

Virginia was outplayed in every phase of the game during a 7-1 loss to No. 4 seed South Carolina on Tuesday. But the Cavaliers could pitch junior left-hander Danny Hultzen against the Gamecocks on Friday.

Hultzen, who started against Cal on Sunday, was the second overall pick in the major league draft earlier this month and is 12-3 with a 1.41 earned run average and 157 strikeouts in 17 starts this season. He allowed three hits and no runs in a 6⅓ innings no-decision against the Bears to open the CWS.