Virginia’s fairy-tale finish was one for the crooks.

It had been 60 years since Wake Forest won the ACC’s last College World Series, and Virginia stealing the title was the least likely scenario to break that drought. After all, the Cavaliers barely got into the ACC Tournament, not the NCAA Tournament. They had to sweep Carolina in Chapel Hill the last weekend of the regular season to finish 15-15 in the conference standings and assure themselves of a play-in spot at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

After Wahoo Wah defeated Georgia Tech to make the actual tournament field, Virginia promptly lost three straight and was a surprise at-large entry into big baseball dance, sent out to California to play San Diego State on its home turf. But then the season suddenly turned for Coach Brian O’Connor’s young club.

The Cavaliers won three in Cali, got the super regional back to Charlottesville and won two straight from old ACC rival Maryland of the Big Ten and advanced to the College World Series for the second straight year with club not nearly the equal of the 2014 team that lost to Vanderbilt in the finals.

In Omaha, Virginia patched together shaky starting pitching and great relief work by big Josh Sborz to beat Arkansas and Florida two out of three. Presto! The Cavs won their side of the pool and were back in the best of three finals against guess who? Vandy, from the dominant SEC, was trying to match South Carolina’s back-to-back College world Series championships of 2010 and 11.

And when the Commodores, who by the way have the son of former UNC basketball player and coach Randy Wiel, won the opener 5-1, it looked like good night and lights out for Virginia. But the Wahoos came back to shut out Vandy in Game 2 and rally for a 4-2 win in the do-or-die finale to take home their first national championship in baseball and the school’s 23rd NCAA title in all.

It was bittersweet watching O’Connor’s team get done in its second trip what the Tar Heels of Mike Fox could not do in six visits to the College Worlds Series in eight years. O’Connor, in his 12th season in Charlottesville, has turned Virginia into a college baseball power from once being the near doormat of the ACC. Congratulations to underdog Virginia for finally bringing home the college baseball title.

Great steal.