West Virginia baseball begins their NCAA Tournament journey as they play Indiana in the first game. The Mountaineers had 39 wins this season, and one more win will tie a school record. However, despite the success, West Virginia is hungry for more.
Our Wesley Shoemaker and Aaron Parker give their take on if the will be able to move on to the Super Regional round.
Aaron Parker:
The 2023 WVU baseball team could very well be one of the best ever assembled in program history. With nearly 40 wins, including six series victories against Big 12 opponents, Randy Mazey’s Mountaineers have proven to be deep and dangerous.
Through much of the season, the bats have done the bulk of the damage for WVU, as six Mountaineers have driven in at least 40 runs. Leading the way offensively has been JJ Wetherholt, who hit .443 with 15 homers and 56 runs batted in during the season.
Wetherholt leading by example will be key for WVU to get hot in the NCAA Tournament, as the sophomore phenom’s strong play directly correlates with the team’s success. During WVU’s five-game losing streak to end the season, Wetherholt hit just .210 with no home runs and no runs batted in.
While Wetherholt has struggled as of late, the rest of the WVU order will need to hold themselves accountable. The Mountaineers as a whole pushed across just over two runs per game during the five-game skid, a far cry from their nearly eight runs per game during the entirety of the season.
WVU’s pitching will also need to get back on track for the Mountaineers to advance to super regionals, as Ben Hampton and Blaine Traxel have gone 0-3 in games since May 18.
WVU’s Friday opponent, Indiana, is a strong representative of the Big Ten conference, as the Hoosiers come in with a 41-18 record. Three Hoosiers (Brock Tibbitts, Devin Taylor, and Josh Pyne) come into regional play with at least 50 runs batted in.
Despite Indiana’s record and WVU’s recent struggles, I think the Mountaineers get the job done on Friday evening. I think WVU’s offense will get back on track with the likes of Wetherholt, Landon Wallace, and Caleb McNeely. I think it will be a hard fought game that WVU will win 8-5.
While I believe WVU has the talent to come out of the region, I see Kentucky taking down the Mountaineers on Saturday and in a potential regional final if WVU wins a second game against Ball State or Indiana. While Kentucky comes in with less wins than WVU and Indiana, the Wildcats are battle tested. Kentucky swept both Indiana State and South Carolina, both of whom are hosting an NCAA regional. Kentucky also won a three-game series against Alabama, who is also hosting a regional.
Wesley Shoemaker:
West Virginia has to be one of the better two-seeds in the tournament. 14 days ago, we were talking about West Virginia being a top-eight national seed and now here we are as them not even hosting a regional.
The Mountaineers come into this weekend having lost five straight. Kentucky comes into this regional having lost six of their final seven SEC series since the first week of April, including a quick exit in the SEC Tournament. Indiana also is a sneaky team to watch in this regional, finishing second in the Big Ten. However, the Hoosiers went 1-2 in the Big Ten Tournament, and got swept pretty handily by Maryland — the first place team in the Big Ten.
Speaking from a West Virginia perspective, this is almost as good of a regional situation you could have asked for. You are not facing a traditional power such as Florida or Vanderbilt, you get a place that is relatively close to Morgantown, and then you also get to play the No. 12 national seed, not having to face a top-eight seed.
As a whole, it seems any of the three teams mentioned have an opportunity to win it, with there being no clear favorite.
For the Mountaineers, the obvious key seems to be Wetherholt, but for me it’s going to be the play of four pitchers. David Hagaman, Ben Hampton, Carlson Reed, Blaine Traxel. Those four names will be the deciding factor on if West Virginia makes it to their first-ever Super Regional.
The Mountaineers must get quality starting pitching, especially from their ace in Hampton and No. 2 in Traxel. Hagaman had a strongish start in the Big 12 Tournament, and he will likely be the third starter. Then it’s how head coach Randy Mazey utilizes his closer in Carlson Reed. Remember, Reed used to be a starter when he was first in the program, and it will be interesting to see how often he throws. If Reed has to throw Friday against Indiana and you win, how do you then use him against a team like Kentucky on Saturday, and keep using him on Sunday and possibly Monday. Where is the line with Reed to where he is no longer effective.
I think West Virginia wins Friday. I just think the Mountaineers are experienced, and their talent will shine against Indiana, who has a 5.16 staff ERA. From there, I think it is a fight between WVU and Kentucky on who has to use less pitching. If a team burns a good starter and they lose, that will be the difference in winning or losing this regional.
Final Predictions
Aaron Parker: I can see WVU winning a game or two in this regional, and the talent to advance to super regionals is there, but I think the SEC experience will get Kentucky the edge over West Virginia in a potential regional final.
Wesley Shoemaker: West Virginia does it. The Mountaineers will win this regional because their lineup can go toe-to-toe with anyone and to be honest, they are due for a game or set of games which takes them on a run. They have had a bad taste in their mouths for two weeks since the Texas series, and I think the Mountaineers outlast Kentucky, but don’t be surprised if this series reaches Monday.
