For the eighth time in O’Connor’s 20 seasons, the Cavaliers are headed to a best-of-three NCAA super regional, and Edgington, Parker and Early deserve a healthy share of the credit.
Averaging 9.1 runs per game and carrying a .334 batting average, UVA has what East Carolina head coach Cliff Godwin said is the best offense in the country. The Wahoos’ starting pitchers haven’t been as dominant, but in the regional round their impact was enormous.
“You can’t ask for more,” O’Connor said. “All three of them pitched deep into the game. They all three got us off to a great start.”
That’s not all they have in common. Each was elsewhere last season: Edgington at Elon University, Parker at Coastal Carolina University, and Early at Army. All-Atlantic Coast Conference center fielder Ethan O’Donnell, whose three-run home run put the Hoos ahead to stay Sunday night, is a transfer, too. He came to UVA from Northwestern University after the 2021-22 academic year.
“We’ve benefited from the transfer portal,” said O’Connor, sitting alongside Early and O’Donnell at Virginia’s postgame press conference Sunday night.