Matt Augustin pitched 2.2 innings of scoreless relief in a Virginia win. ~ Photo courtesy of Virginia Athletics Media Relations
When Virginia freshman Matt Augustin trotted out of the bullpen in the seventh inning Saturday night, he took in the sold-out NCAA Regional crowd at Disharoon Park, but from there things are a little foggy.
“I kind of blacked out to the point that I don’t really remember what happened,” Augustin said.
What happened was a very good thing for the Wahoos. Augustin didn’t craft a perfect performance, but it had plenty of spunk as he pitched 2.2 innings of relief while Virginia rallied for a 5-4 victory in front of an enthusiastic home crowd.
With the Cavaliers trailing Mississippi State 4-2 in the winner’s bracket game of the Charlottesville Regional, Augustin inherited one runner on first base. UVA starter Evan Blanco pitched 6.0 innings and allowed 3 earned runs on 8 hits. Now, Augustin needed to keep the game within striking distance for the sleeping giant that is the Virginia offense.
First pitch, a bunt by Bulldogs’ catcher Johnny Long, which was fielded for an out at second. Not out of the woods yet, the first year then threw 7 straight balls to put runners on first and second.
“The crowd was absolutely electric,” Augustin said. “It made my heart rate rise, but after the first couple batters my heart rate slowed down and I was able to lock in on it.”
As the crowd drew further in and the strike zone grew smaller, Augustin leaned on lessons from a Virginia baseball alum in Brandon Guyer.
As the founder of Major League Mindset, Guyer works with the UVA program on mental strength, which has proven successful for a Cavalier team that now owns 21 comeback wins this season. Those lessons came flooding back to Augustin on the mound Saturday night.
“He kind of talks focal points, locking in on a certain thing,” Augustin said. “For me that’s just looking back at my catcher, seeing his EvoShield logo and that just gets me back on track.”
As Augustin zeroed in on the logo sitting on Jacob Ference’s chest, he locked in on his approach. Augustin followed 7 straight balls with 5 strikes and 2 outs, including a 3-pitch strikeout against Mississippi State’s star Dakota Jordan, who had delivered a walk-off home run the night before against St. John’s. O’Connor called the strikeout a show of impressive “poise for an 18-year-old” in that moment.
“For a true freshman to go out there in that environment and that situation with what was at stake is incredibly impressive,” O’Connor said of Augustin.
The first-year Wahoo out of New Jersey finished his first NCAA Tournament appearance with no earned runs on 2 hits and 4 strikeouts. A sea of orange and blue gave Augustin a standing ovation on his way off the field for his efforts in the ninth inning. The performance eventually led the Cavaliers to a Bobby Whalen walk-off win in the ninth, putting Virginia one win away from the Super Regionals.
After the game Augustin was clearly letting the moment catch up to him, one that will be tough to top in his career.
“The next biggest moment I think I pitched was a Diamond Classic game sophomore year of high school, but nothing can top this,” Augustin said as his teammates chuckled beside him.
Despite not having a long list of big moments to look back on, UVA coaches saw something in Augustin earlier this season which led to his opportunity on Saturday night. In the team’s ACC opening series against Miami, O’Connor grew frustrated with the pitchers up to that point and called on Augustin to change the game.
The freshman took the mound in the seventh and locked down a hot-hitting Hurricane team, going 1.2 innings with 3 strikeouts to earn his first collegiate win.
“I remember on the trip home talking to Coach Drew [Dickinson] and it felt like we had something really special there because he just proved that he wasn’t going to stand for it anymore and he was going to go out there and do the job,” O’Connor said.
On the season, Augustin has a 4.39 ERA with a 2-0 record while carrying a 95-mph fastball in his arsenal. Recently he followed Blanco again in the ACC Tournament during a 13-0 run-rule victory over Georgia Tech, allowing no hits in one inning of work. O’Connor chose to use the freshman in that moment to give him a taste of postseason baseball and to prepare Augustin for what he saw ahead.
“Coach Drew and I talked before this regional and decided when it was a big moment in the regional, Matt Augustin was going to be in the game,” O’Connor said. “Because he’s got guts, he makes big pitches and that was on full display tonight.”
While his memory of the night will be fuzzy, Augustin more than repaid his coaches’ faith in him with a game he won’t soon forget.
“Honestly that was probably the best moment that I’ve ever seen,” Augustin said.
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