Valdes has been a sparkplug for surprising Cavs

Catcher Franco Valdes' numbers aren't glossy. His .288 batting average is the lowest among Virginia's starters, and his 41 RBIs are fifth on the team.

Look through the Cavaliers' postseason performance as they prepare to head to Omaha, Neb., and their first appearance in the College World Series, though, and Valdes' influence is everywhere.

He was the most outstanding player of the Irvine Regional when Virginia handed pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg of San Diego State his first loss in 14 decisions and then beat top-ranked UC-Irvine twice on its home field. Valdes had three hits in the super regional at Ole Miss, but all three drove in runs, including the go-ahead single in the decisive third game.

Oh, and he's also guided a young pitching staff to remarkable highs. Virginia allowed two runs in three games at Irvine, and then eight runs in three games in Mississippi.

When Virginia (48-13-1) opens the CWS on Saturday night against LSU (51-16) at Rosenblatt Stadium, the Cavaliers will look to Valdes for his leadership once again.

"He's the spark," senior captain Andrew Carraway said of Valdes, his 5-11 batterymate. "And then it just moves throughout the dugout."

Teammates describe Valdes, in his second season at Virginia, as the guy who keeps everyone on the team loose before a game with his antics or odd mix of music in the locker room. But when it comes to his role as field general, he is all business.

Carraway, for example, was facing a tight spot in Virginia's third game at Irvine. The Anteaters trailed 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth, but had runners on second and third with one out when Valdes asked for time and trotted out to speak with Carraway.

"I came up to him and I said, ‘You get these two guys out, we win the game,' " Valdes said of the visit. "And then I left."

Carraway chuckles at the memory, but not the result.

"He might have thrown a couple of extra words in there that you can't go in an interview, and he walked back to home plate," he said. "A guy says that to you that confidently, you believe him and whatever my focus might have been -- ‘It's a close game. If I give up this run ...' -- that all shuts itself off and you just listen to the guy behind the plate."

Carraway struck out the next batter, got the next to ground out and Virginia scored two more runs in the top of the ninth to win a regional for the first time in its history.

What Valdes didn't say is that the Cavaliers' 2-1 lead at the time of the visit to the mound was courtesy of Valdes' RBI double in the fourth and his RBI triple in the sixth.

"The guy's clutch," said freshman Will Roberts, who was 4-0 in 11 appearances, including six starts, this year. "He lives for that moment when the game's on the line and we need him."

It's that reliability in the clutch that the Cavaliers have come to count on, too.

"If you look at his average in the eighth and ninth innings or the postseason, it would have to be around .800," Carraway said. "If you asked anybody on the team if there's a guy you want at the plate in that situation, it's got to be Franco at this point in the season."

And offense isn't even Valdes' biggest asset, pitcher Tyler Wilson said. Wilson, a sophomore (9-3), pitched 31/3 scoreless innings in relief in the Cavaliers' 5-1 clincher at Ole Miss.

"Very good catchers can pull pitchers through situations," Wilson said. "If a pitcher gets in a deep situation that may seem tough to get out of, he can pull us through and get us out of it. ... A leader like that is the one that's going to pull through when you need it."

Robert Morey, who outdueled Strasburg in Virginia's 5-1 victory to open the NCAA tournament, said Valdes' presence behind the plate boosts the confidence of all the pitchers.

"You know that you can throw a breaking ball in the dirt with a guy on third and he's going to block it," Morey said. "He gives you the confidence to throw any pitch in any count."

From the dugout, Coach Brian O'Connor knows his staff is in good hands.

"You don't have a great pitching staff without a quality catcher behind there, but it's not only a quality catcher with ability, it's somebody that has leadership capabilities," O'Connor said. "It's like another coach out there. He's running the game, he's in control of it, so you need somebody out there who has those leadership qualities, and Franco has those."