“I’ll tell you what this team has accomplished and the opportunity they have now is just incredibly special,” Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said.
Sherlin had fooled Teel with a breaking pitch earlier in the at-bat, with Teel going almost to his knees as he swung.
“Kyle Teel is fearless,” O’Connor said, “and to win games at this elite level of baseball, you not only have to have skill, you can’t be afraid.
Virginia, like fellow ACC member and CWS entry North Carolina State, is playing its best baseball after struggling early.
They lost to South Carolina in their opener before winning four straight, including two in a row over Old Dominion for the regional title.
Mississippi State center fielder Rowdey Jordan denied Brooks Coetzee with a diving catch to end the top of the second, and then the Bulldogs broke it open.