Sports FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 2015 47 OMAHA: Players and coaches of the Virginia Cavaliers hold up the National Championship trophy after defeating the Vanderbilt Commodores during game three of the College World Series Championship Series in Omaha, Nebraska. — AFP Virginia grab first CWS title Virginia down Vanderbilt for College World Series title OMAHA: Six weeks ago, it looked as though pitched the last two innings and struck out five of the Gators on June 16. Sborz, who won three just got himself up in the fifth, sixth and seventh Virginia might not even qualify for its conference his eight batters for his first save. Reliever John games and pitched 13 scoreless innings, was select- and just turned the game around - went 1-2-3, 1-2- tournament, let alone the NCAA Tournament. Look Kilichowski (3-4) took the loss. ed as the CWS Most Outstanding Player. Waddell 3, 1-2-3,” Vandy coach Tim Corbin said. “When they at the Cavaliers now. They’re national champions When pinch-hitter Kyle Smith got caught look- got stronger after the first inning. “I thought brought Kirby out, he pitched with a lot of adrena- for the first time in baseball after finishing a magnif- ing at a fastball to end the game, Kirby threw his Waddell in a lot of ways was left for dead, but he line.” — AP icent postseason run with a 4-2 victory over glove and hat into the air as catcher Matt Thaiss ran Vanderbilt on Wednesday night. “This team was a to the mound to embrace him. “It was awesome to crazy ride this year,” said coach Brian O’Connor, be able to close it out because I felt like that I finally NHL: Montreal goalie Price who was born in Omaha. “Certainly, we had a lot got back on the mound for the eight guys behind that went against us through the year, but this me and the 20 guys in the dugout,” Kirby said. “You wins MVP in 4-award haul team found a way and got into the NCAA basically come out and throw as hard as you can.” Tournament. It’s an amazing example of what you Virginia’s 44 wins were the fewest by a national LAS VEGAS: Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey lots in Hart voting by a media panel to defeat can do if you put your mind to it, play for each oth- champion since the 1968 Southern California Price, who backstopped his club’s best regular sea- Russian runner-up Alex Ovechkin of Washington er and have each other’s backs. squad had 43. The Cavaliers didn’t assure them- son in 26 years, won four top honors Wednesday at on 888 with John Tavares of the New York Islanders “Not many people thought this could happen. I selves a spot in the ACC Tournament until the last the NHL Awards ceremony, including league Most third on 739. He dominated Vezina voting by team couldn’t have forecast it. But we’re darn glad we’re weekend of the regular season, and they entered Valuable Player. The 27-year-old Canadian led the general managers with 144 points to 60 for Finnish sitting up here with this trophy.” Freshman Pavin the NCAA Tournament as a No. 3 regional seed. NHL with 44 wins, a 1.96 goals-against average and runner-up Pekka Rinne of Nashville. No goalie had Smith homered and drove in three runs and The Commodores had a second straight season a 93.3 save percentage, becoming the first goalie to won the Hart MVP award since Montreal’s Jose Brandon Waddell turned in another strong College with more than 50 wins, and they came into pace the league in all three categories since Ed Theodore in 2002 and Price is only the seventh World Series pitching performance. The Cavaliers Wednesday having outscored their first nine NCAA Belfour in the 1990-91 campaign. Price also broke goalie to do so in NHL history. Ovechkin was (44-24) prevailed in the CWS finals rematch against Tournament opponents 70-15. They couldn’t gen- the Montreal record for wins in a season, the 42 set named to his seventh NHL First team All-Star the defending champion Commodores and won erate much after scoring their two runs in the first. by Jacques Plante in 1955-56 and matched by Ken squad, being joined by first-time selections Price, the Atlantic Coast Conference’s first title in baseball Pavin Smith stepped up for Virginia in Game 3 after Dryden in 1961-62. Tavares and Philadelphia right wing Jakub Voracek since Wake Forest in 1955. “We were just a team going 1 for 8 and striking out four times in the first In addition to the Hart Trophy as MVP, Price plus second-time defensive selections Erik Karlsson that never gives up,” Smith said. “Really resilient. It two games of the finals. He hit a two-run homer off won the Vezina Trophy as the top NHL goalie, the of Ottawa and P.K. Subban of Montreal. showed in the first inning when we were down 2-0 Walker Buehler to tie it in the fourth, singled in the Ted Lindsay Award as most outstanding player and Calgary’s Bob Hartley won the Jack Adams and didn’t stop playing.” go-ahead run in the fifth and flashed defensively all the Jennings Trophy as the goalie for the club that Award as the NHL’s best coach while Czech left Waddell (5-5) went seven innings and allowed night at first base. “This kid has done a great job of allowed the fewest goals in the season, an award wing Jiri Hudler of the Flames won the Lady Byng only two hits after Vanderbilt (51-21) scored twice hitting in the middle of our order all year long,” he shared with Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford Trophy for sportsmanship and skill. They helped in the first. He retired the last 11 batters he faced in O’Connor said. “Him and I had a brief talk in the after the Canadiens and Chicago each allowed a the Flames win 45 games and finish on 97 points to his third CWS start and fifth of his career. Virginia dugout before the game and I just told him to relax league-low 189 goals. No goalie had ever swept claim their first playoff spot since 2009. In the tight- won each of them. “At this point, everything goes. If and enjoy the moment.” the four awards. The Canadiens won 50 of 82 est vote of the night, Boston’s Patrice Bergeron you’ve got anything in the tank, you’re giving it,” Waddell was pitching on three days’ rest after games and finished on 110 points, second in the took the Frank Selke Trophy as the top NHL defen- Waddell said. “You’ve got nothing to save it for.” working the first five innings of the Cavaliers’ 5-4 Eastern Conference and overall NHL season stand- sive forward for the third time in four years, edging Nathan Kirby, who missed nine weeks because of win over Florida on Saturday. Before that, he and ings with their biggest points run since 1988-89. Jonathan Toews of Stanley Cup winner Chicago by injury and returned to start a game in the CWS, Josh Sborz combined on a two-hit, 1-0 shutout of Price had 1,498 points and 139 first-place bal- 1,083 to 1,051. — AFP .