Sean Doolittle

The 2019 World Series was loaded with surprises, comebacks, superstars, and a few new records. Home field advantage belonged to the 105-win Houston Astros, who were looking to take back a title they had won in 2017. The white-hot Washington Nationals were fighting for the first championship in franchise history. The Washington Nationals beat the Houston Astros in a most unpredictable Fall Classic, winning Game 7 with one last rally in a season full of rallies. For the first time in MLB history, the road team won all seven games in the World Series.

After a heartbreaking loss to Vanderbilt in the 2014 College World Series Championship game, Virginia entered the 2015 season with its sights set on making the 1,186-mile trip back to Omaha. But a host of injuries and tough losses had the Cavaliers on the verge of missing the NCAA tournament for the first time since head coach Brian O’Connor took the helm in 2004. A late-season run gave Virginia renewed hope as it relied on the strength of the program’s culture to make one of the sport’s most remarkable turnarounds en route to a CWS Championship finals rematch with Vanderbilt and the ACC’s first College World Series title since 1955.