OMAHA, Neb. — Pavin Smith hit a home run and had three RBI and Brandon Waddell turned in another strong pitching performance, leading Virginia over Vanderbilt, 4-2, on Wednesday night in the deciding game of the College World Series for the school’s first national championship.
The Cavaliers (44-24) prevailed in the College World Series finals rematch against the Commodores, the defending champion, and became the first ACC team to win a title in baseball since Wake Forest in 1955.
Waddell (5-5) lasted seven innings and allowed only two hits after Vanderbilt (51-21) scored two runs in the first. He retired the last 11 batters he faced before giving way to Nathan Kirby, who pitched the last two innings and struck out five of his eight batters for the save.
John Kilichowski (3-4) took the loss.
When pinch-hitter Kyle Smith got caught looking at a fastball to end the game, Kirby threw his glove and hat into the air as catcher Matt Thaiss ran to the mound to embrace him.
Virginia’s 44 victories were the fewest by a national champion since the 1968 Southern California squad won 43 games. The Cavaliers endured a season of injuries and tough times at midseason and almost missed qualifying for the ACC tournament. They entered the NCAA tournament as a No. 3 regional seed.
The Commodores had a second consecutive season with more than 50 wins, and they entered Wednesday having outscored their first nine NCAA tournament opponents, 70-15. They couldn’t generate much after scoring their two runs in the first.
Smith stepped up for Virginia in Game 3 after going 1-for-8 and striking out four times in the first two games of the finals. He hit a two-run home run off Walker Buehler to tie the score in the fourth, singled in the go-ahead run in the fifth and flashed defensively all night at first base.
Waddell was pitching on three days’ rest after working the first five innings of the Cavaliers’ 5-4 win over Florida on Saturday. Before that, he and Josh Sborz combined on a two-hit, 1-0 shutout of the Gators on June 16.
Sborz, who won three games and pitched 13 scoreless innings, was selected as the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
Kirby, who missed nine weeks because of injury and returned to start Virginia’s 10-5 loss to Florida in its third CWS game, relieved Waddell to start the eighth and struck out the side. With a man on first, he fanned No. 1 overall draft pick Dansby Swanson for the second out.
Swanson, the Most Outstanding Player a year ago, stood with his hands on his hips and shouted “No!” as first-base umpire Perry Costello ruled he didn’t check his swing on the third strike, ending his final collegiate at-bat.
The Cavaliers also got another big game from Kenny Towns. He saved what would have been the go-ahead run for Vanderbilt in the fourth when he made a diving stop of a smash down the third-base line and threw out Tyler Campbell to end the inning. He later drove in an insurance run in the seventh.
Buehler, the 24th overall draft pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers, lasted only three innings in what was the second-shortest of his 15 starts this season. He allowed three hits and walked a season-high four batters.
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