Virginia’s Jared King hit a 3-run home run in the opening game of the 2011 NCAA Tournament Super Regional in Charlottesville on Saturday. The Cavaliers went on to defeat UC Irvine 6-0. In this Sabre TV video, King, UVa coach Brian O’Connor, and UC Irvine pitcher Matt Summers talk about the homer.

Virginia’s Danny Hultzen has received quite a bit of attention for his pitching this season. And rightfully so. He is 12-3 with 151 strikeouts and just 20 walks this season after all. In the postseason, Hultzen’s bat has been just as daunting for opponents as his arm though.

In the NCAA Tournament’s Charlottesville Regional, Hultzen went 7 for 11 at the plate, a sizzling .636 batting average. He also posted 5 RBI in three games against Navy, St. John’s, and East Carolina. In the opening game of the Super Regional against UC Irvine, Hultzen kept it going with another clutch RBI – he came through in the third inning to give the Hoos a 2-0 lead at the time, which stood until Jared King smacked a home run in the sixth.

The Anteaters weren’t surprised by Hultzen’s hitting prowess. He had 2 hits and 2 runs scored against UCI in the 2009 Irvine Regional.

“No, it’s not that it’s unheard of but to answer your question you don’t see it much. You do see some two position guys,” Irvine coach Mike Gillespie said when asked if you see many college players that are talented pitchers and hitters. “We had a taste of him two years ago, so we’re not surprised by what he can do as a player, he was good then and he’s better today.”

UVa fans must be experiencing a sense of deja vu of late with respect to the Virginia football program. First, Kwontie Moore, the state’s best linebacker prospect for the 2012 recruiting class, committed to UVa. On the heels of an outstanding 2011 recruiting class where coach Mike London secured five of the nation’s Top 150 recruits, he recently got news that Michael Moore is on his way to Virginia as well.

As many know, Michael Moore is the son of perhaps the greatest modern day quarterback to ever don the orange and blue, current Cavalier receivers coach Shawn Moore. Michael Moore, a defensive end out of DeMatha High School in Maryland, is one of the nation’s best defensive players. Coupled with Kwontie Moore, the duo has set the stage for another stellar recruiting class. And back to back nationally ranked recruiting classes can put a team back in contention pretty quickly.

There are some interesting parallels happening with UVa football compared with one of the greatest eras in the history of the program; namely, the original combination of a pair of Moores – wide receiver Herman Moore and quarterback Shawn Moore, both Heisman Trophy finalists – helped propel the program to great heights. Of course, the late 80′s and 1990 version of Moore-Moore was on the offensive side of the ball. But the days of winning games with nothing but potent offenses are over. Championships are won on defense in more cases than not, and this Moore combination could anchor a unit that could help strive toward the amazing accomplishments of the original Moore combination.

I long for the days when Virginia football was talked about on the national stage, and I firmly believe those days are coming sooner than many realize. The two original Moores (Original M’s, or OM for short?) helped take UVa to a place it had never seen: the top of the college football ladder, a No. 1 ranking and the equivalent of BCS bowls. The way Coach London and staff are re-shaping this program, by getting back to its roots and the foundation that Hall of Fame coach George Welsh originally established, it’s hard to hold back the excitement and easy to draw parallels to that once great time.

Moore and Moore, it has a very nice ring to it.