Brian O’Connor knows his Virginia squad fell short of the ultimate goal in Omaha. Nevertheless, this group of Cavs produced a season to be proud of while advancing to the College World Series.

Virginia’s run came to an end Sunday with a 1-run loss to TCU by a final score of 4-3. That adds a bit more sting after losing the CWS opener by 1 run after blowing a 9th-inning lead vs. Florida.

Following the season-ending loss, O’Connor addressed how Virginia was competitive but ultimately fell short. Losing both games by 1 run adds a bit more sting to the ending:

“We just fell a little bit short in Omaha. Two 1-run losses certainly hurts,” O’Connor admitted. “I feel for our guys because they’ve had a terrific year. That said, we didn’t win. And that’s our goal is to win here in Omaha and give us a chance to win a national championship. And we certainly fell short of that…

“We just couldn’t get that one more big hit that we needed to win here in Omaha. And sometimes — all the time that’s what it comes down to, that big clutch hit or that clutch pitch. And we just didn’t get enough of that this weekend.”

O’Connor knows the ultimate goal was missed this season but he also wanted to take a minute to praise his team for what they accomplished this season. The head coach also praised the health of the UVA program for getting back to the CWS once again:

“That said, it doesn’t diminish what this team accomplished, to have 50 wins and be playing here in Omaha again, speaks to what they’re made of and their talent and the type of program that we have,” said O’Connor. “We’ll regroup and look to build and be back here as soon as we possibly can. So thank you.”