Baseball past and present intersected last weekend for University of Virginia sophomore Luke Hanson.
Hanson took a trip down memory lane last Friday, when he watched younger brother Jake and the Lafayette High Rams play in the Class 3 state semifinals. Five years ago, Hanson, then a freshman like Jake, was the winning pitcher for Lafayette in its state championship-game victory.
A few weeks later, he committed to play for Virginia, where he currently platoons at third base with Eric Becker. After watching his brother and his former teammates in the state semis, he made some new memories.
Hanson started at third and produced a stellar defensive play in the Cavaliers’ win over Kansas State in the NCAA Charlottesville Super Regional opener. He followed on Saturday with a three-run double as UVA won 10-4 to complete a two-game sweep of the Wildcats and earn a spot in the College World Series.
“The excitement was overwhelming,” Hanson said. “Not just to qualify, but to go back and get another crack at that championship trophy.”
The Cavaliers (46-15) begin CWS play in Omaha, Nebraska, at 2 p.m. Friday against North Carolina (47-14). UVA also reached the CWS a year ago, but was eliminated with consecutive losses to Florida and Texas Christian.
“Last year, you could tell in our (Super Regional) celebration we were just excited to go,” Hanson said. “This year, the mindset is to go there, compete and play University of Virginia baseball.
“We want to have fun and take it all in, but our main goal is to win the national championship and not just go to Omaha.”
A true freshman a year ago, Hanson made the trip to Omaha, but did not play. While he was grateful just to be a part of it then, he is virtually certain to see playing time this year and is likely to start against left-handed pitchers.
He goes into the series batting a solid .309 with 34 runs, 37 RBIs, seven doubles and seven home runs in 52 games. That’s double the number of games he played in a year ago, when he displayed his potential by hitting .356 in 26 games.
The seven home runs this season are the first of his collegiate career.
“I haven’t made any big changes mechanically,” he said. “You’ve got to shorten your swing and learn to adapt and make adjustments.
“With every pitch, every day, every week, every month, you learn to make adjustments. But the biggest key is being athletic and not being a robot.”
Hanson had two home runs as UVA won two of three in a weekend series against No. 11 Louisville and another in a win over CWS opponent North Carolina. That he’s hitting so well is a huge bonus for the Cavaliers because he usually bats in the No. 9 spot.
“It’s where Coach (Brian O’Connor) put me, and personally I love it,” Hanson said. “There’s usually guys on base when I come up, too, so doing whatever the team needs in different situations has been great.
“People get caught up in mechanics, but what has really helped me improve is that Coach makes everything game-like in practice and we compete every day.”
Hanson — who quarterbacked Lafayette to a football state championship and was All-Tidewater Athlete of the Year in high school — said that relying on his athleticism helps him defensively at third base, a new position for him in college. That and bringing a “shortstop mindset” to the hot corner.
“That means being athletic and moving your feet,” he said. “The biggest thing I learned about third base is that you can get stuck, but it helped a lot to watch how Griff O’Ferrall (now the Cavs’ starting shortstop) moved when he played third.”
Would Hanson like to go back to shortstop, the position he’s played most of his career, at some point? That doesn’t matter.
“I’ll play in the outfield or at catcher if they want,” he said. “In high school, you want to win, but everybody is looking for personal success, too.
“Here at Virginia, everybody is a team guy and playing for the name on the front of the jersey.”
