It will be a battle of longtime rivals when Maryland and Virginia meet in an NCAA baseball Super Regional this weekend, and also a rematch of the same scenario that played out last season.
The Cavaliers (37-22) won after losing Game 1 to the Terrapins (42-22) last year.
This season, both went to California last week as No. 3 seeds and pulled regional upsets. Virginia swept through the Cal-Santa Barbara region and Maryland beat UCLA, the No. 1 national seed, twice.
Virginia had advanced this far six times in seven years, and last year played for the championship, losing in three games to Vanderbilt, but has had what shortstop Daniel Pinero called a "rough" season.
In danger of not qualifying for the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, the Cavaliers rallied to win six of their last seven games. After winning their opener in the tournament, they lost three in a row, but the struggles have served to make them more relaxed.
"It's a very loose group that's enjoying the moment that we're in," coach Brian O'Connor said Thursday. "We're playing the game as a reward that we worked so hard to put ourselves in this position."
The Terrapins' had never been this far before last season, but have a program-record victory tally already and have adapted to higher expectations in three seasons under coach John Szefc.
"Outside of us, I don't know how many people really expected us to come out of that regional, but I know in-house, we had a lot of belief," said ace Mike Shawaryn (13-2, 1.66 earned run average).
Szefc agrees.
"Our guys are playing probably at their best I think right now, which any coach wants to have their players playing at their best late in the season, so we feel pretty good," he said.
The Terrapins will go with Shawaryn in Friday's opener, and Virginia will counter with Connor Jones (6-2, 2.90), a sophomore right-hander who has assumed the ace's role since star Nathan Kirby was sidelined.
Here are some things to watch when Maryland and Virginia meet:
KIRBY CLEARED: Virginia left-hander Nathan Kirby (5-2, 2.28) has missed the last seven weeks with a strained lat, but has been medically cleared to return, O'Connor said Thursday. That doesn't mean he will pitch.
"We've got to do the right thing," O'Connor said of protecting the junior, a projected first-round draft choice in the Major League Baseball draft next week. He said putting Kirby into a game when he hasn't faced live hitters for so long would be unfair to Kirby, and to the rest of the Cavaliers.
ROTATION NOTATION: The loss of Kirby in mid-April caused O'Connor to adjust, and often meant moving closer Josh Sborz (4-2, 2.02, 13 saves) back into a starting role. If the Cavaliers don't need Sborz in a closing role Friday or Saturday, and there is a Game 3, he'd be their likely starter.
Sborz's thoughts on the matter?
"As long as we win two games, I don't really care," he said.
COIN TOSS: Despite playing on Virginia's home field, Maryland will be the home team in Game 1. The Terps won a coin toss to gain that right. Virginia won the coin toss to be the home team in Game 3. The coin was tossed because both teams have the same seeding.
BUDDIES ON THE BENCHES: Three years ago, in June, Szefc paid a visit to O'Connor to pick his brain about running a baseball program. The last two years, also in June, Szefc has returned to Charlottesville, but brought his team along to play in Super Regionals.
The coaches spent some time catching up when both teams flew home from their regionals in California on the same flight.
"I have fewer questions than I had three years ago," Szefc said.
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