WVU had a big week, and was rewarded with a historic sweep of the Big 12 awards
Here's how: https://t.co/O9ExBMusbT pic.twitter.com/5m6glUYNMq

— WVU Baseball (@WVUBaseball) May 2, 2016

That’s a pretty big deal in the throes of conference play, but good luck arguing the Mountaineers weren’t deserving with those three did. Perhaps more significantly, WVU won a mid-week non-conference game Tuesday, edging Virginia Tech, now 16 games below .500, by a run in a game that had a mid-week feel.

And now, entering a critical weekend series against Texas, the Mountaineers have won five out of six.

Tuesday’s lineup was mostly normal, but Braden Zarbnisky, was the starting pitcher. You’d call Zarbnisky the ordinary right fielder/DH and leadoff batter, except there isn’t much ordinary about him, from his ability to start on the mound to his funky slap-style singles.

Zarbnisky, who pitched and hit last week against Marshall, lasted four innings Tuesday, and six relievers followed to get the win. Cramer hit his sixth home run, and he, Vera, Ray Guerrini and Darius Hill are all one a roll at once. It’s a good time for the Mountaineers, but it took time, too.

They’ve tinkered with their lineup — Vera would lead the Big 12 in batting if he had enough at-bats, but he was platooning with Guerrini behind the plate or at DH until he debuted at third base against Marshall — and their pitching staff all season. They typically start six freshmen, a sophomore and two juniors in the field and they’ve only recently asked a freshman to be the weekend’s third starter.

WVU, now 24-19 overall and 8-9 in the Big 12, has never been more than six games above .500 this season, and that was the team’s 10-4 start long ago. Texas is 21-24 overall and 9-9 in the league and was swept at home by Oklahoma State over the weekend to fall from No. 101 to 125 in the RPI and basically drop out of the title race, which now includes just league-leading Texas Tech, TCU and OSU. The Longhorns are fourth in the standings, and WVU, which was snowed out at Kansas after winning the first two games of that series in March, is a half-game behind.

The Nos. 4 and 5 play one another in the first game of the Big 12 tournament, and the winner advances to play the winner of the 1-8 game. The Mountaineers could, in theory, still get to 14 Big 12 wins, and they do play Texas Tech to conclude the conference schedule, but it’s a more realistic goal to get into third place, draw the No. 6 seed in the first game and then match the outcome of the 2-7 game.