By BOB HERTZEL
Times West Virginian
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University’s returning to the NCAA Baseball Championships for the first time in 26 years and as an at large selection for the first time in its 125 years of playing the game.
(WVU photo)
Despite an endless string of injuries to its pitching staff that cost it more than 200 innings of work and its two top pitchers, the Mountaineers persevered through the Big 12, which was ranked the top RPI conference in the country and that had seven of its nine teams receive bids to author a 34-24 record.
That earned them the No. 2 seed behind host Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and date with rival Maryland at 2 p.m. on Friday.
Maryland is seeded third with a 37-21 record and 15-9 in the Big Ten, while No. 4 UMBC (23-23, 11-9) won the America East Conference Tournament. Top-seeded Wake Forest is 39-18 and was 19-11 in ACC play. It is 6-1 all time against the Mountaineers.
Playing a schedule that was ranked the 18th toughest in the nation, WVU never lost more than two games in a row and went 4-3 against Texas Tech and TCU, who drew the No. 5 and 6 national seeds, respectively.
“I’m starting to figure this RPI thing out after 25 years of coaching,” WVU coach Randy Mazey said of making the tournament this year after barely missing it last season. “The best thing to do is go on the road and play good teams.
“If you win some games your RPI will be good when the conference schedule starts. All the stars aligned with our schedule this year. We went on the road and played Southeast Louisiana and they had a good season. We played Charlotte and they had a good season. We played Tulane and they won some games.
“All the teams we played on the road had a good year and the Big 12 was as good this year as I’ve ever seen it.”
The road was filled with potholes but they avoided them all.
“They had to beat the Texas Techs and TCUs of the world on the road and in the conference tournament,” Mazey said of his players. “The way they had to do it this year was so different without Conner Dotson and Michael Grove and a whole list of injuries.
“That happens and you are thinking it’s just getting harder, but when it gets harder it’s time for the next guy to step up. If you have a good team, the next guy steps up. Everyone stuck with them and stayed behind them.
“To know what we went through with this team is incredible.”
And it certainly doesn’t get any easier from here on, Mazey pronouncing Grove, his best pitcher, out for the remainder of the season with injury.
Coming so close last year was the inspiration for this season.
“Last year definitely left a big chip on our shoulders. I took it personal. We all did. We’re going to leave any doubt this year,” said senior pitcher BJ Myers.
WVU played Maryland once already this year, on April 11, and lost a midweek game, 7-6, blowing a lead.
“Their best player was out and they have a really good pitcher that we don’t ever see in the middle of the week,” Mazey said. “It’s going to be tougher than the first time and we lost, but we’re playing pretty good right now and we’ll be on a neutral field.”
Senior reliever Jackson Sigman is eagerly awaiting the rematch, having come into the game in the seventh inning and given up five runs.
“That was one of the worst games I pitched in my life. I hate letting this team down. It means so much to me. I was going through a bad time then. Sometimes you have to go through some struggles to get where you want to be,” Sigman said.
“The struggles made me make some changes, and making those changes helped me get to where I am now. Without that I would not be here now.”
The same can be said of the Mountaineers.
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