Welcome to the Friday Feedback. PING!
Quite unexpectedly, but quite truly, West Virginia’s baseball team in this final third of the season has put itself in position to earn an invitation to the NCAA Tournament.
Earlier this month, the Mountaineers lost seven in a row and looked lost on the back end of the pitching staff. Now they’ve won three in a row and five of six and have massive three-games series at home the next two weekends. I worked Wednesday’s game against Marshall and wanted to see if what had caught my eye was real or a figment of my focus.
It’s real. WVU’s offense doesn’t mess around and gets on base up and down the lineup. The splits in the first three innings are telling, and when you’re a revived team like the Mountaineers are, early runs keep that carousel spinning and keep everyone on board believing.
A three-run second inning got WVU rolling and extended a trend that’s helped aim the team’s fortunes in the right direction again. In the past six games, the Mountaineers are outscoring teams 17-7 in the first three innings and have led four times and been tied once.
During the losing streak, the Mountaineers were outscored 16-7 in the first three innings and never led entering the fourth.
WVU had two three-run innings against the Thundering Herd, giving them six innings with at least as many runs in the past six games. The Mountaineers had no innings with three or more runs and only three two-run innings in their losing streak.
It’s a different team than what Marshall prepared for before the March 18 game between the two was postponed.
“The biggest thing is they’re getting production from the back end of their lineup and they weren’t earlier,” Marshall manager Jeff Waggoner said. “That’s why they’ve become a great offense. The first part of the season, their top four or five guys were swinging it. Now they’re getting guys at the back end hitting. It makes it hard to pitch against them when they’re getting production from all nine guys.”
Equally important is the stabilization of the pitching staff. It looked like a lost cause when WVU was swept at home by Oklahoma State to put the caps on the losing streak. That left Mazey in a tricky spot for a midweek game against Ohio State, and almost by default he flipped the ball to Ross Vance. The left-handed sophomore aced his first career start with a complete-game, 14-strikeout gem that looks to have changed the season.
Mazey wanted to take Vance for a spin as a starter a second time, but knew he wouldn’t be available in that weekend’s series at Oklahoma. He nevertheless planned for a weekend rotation with Harrison Musgrave, John Means and a third starter, and that meant bumping Sean Carley to the bullpen to close things at the end. With Vance recovering, Mazey started Corey Walter for the first time this season.
Walter went four innings. Ryan Tezak took the ball and didn’t allow a hit in 2 2/3 innings. Carley pitched 2 1/3 innings for the save and WVU won the final game and thus the series. Neat!
A fresh Vance went six innings and allowed one run in a momentous 14-2 win Tuesday against Maryland. Walter, who impressed Mazey against Oklahoma. and got the ball again Wednesday and allowed three runs (two earned) in seven innings against Marshall.
The rotation is set with Vance on normal rest for Sunday and the bullpen is fresh and secured with Carley as the closer for three games against the Wildcats and the Big 12’s best team batting average.
WVU needs wins and must avoid losses, especially at home, though they’ll have a lot of chances in conference play and non-conference games to help the cause.
WVU has the benefit of playing in the RPI’s No. 2-rated conference and will follow the series against Kansas State with another three-game series at home against Texas, which is No. 8 in the RPI.
WVU also gets a neutral-site game against Virginia Tech (No. 119) and a road game against Maryland in addition to valuable three-game road series in the conference against Kansas (No. 68) and Texas Tech (No. 14). A prominent college baseball statistics site projected before Tuesday’s win the Mountaineers could win six of their final 16 games and remain in the top 45.
“I don’t know if there’s a benchmark, but you probably feel safe if your RPI is in the top 30, top 35,” Mazey said.
Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, get a grip.
Dann White said:
Ah! Spring!! Where thoughts of football begin to drive out all distractions from other less entertaining notions. I am ecstatic today, reading the double-f and listening to “Scoop and Score” simultaneously on my trusty desktop, while the wife is not at home. It don’t get no better than that.
There seems at times to be an idea that the measure of a successful season is winning the approval of the fan base by winning enough games and attaining the right bowl invitation. Boy that’s a reach! Everyone should know and understand that the team exists just to please the folks on this blog!
My prediction on job one: Unless he again does everything in his power to give the job to someone else, Paul Millard will get the nod against Alabama. DH wants his QB to know what he wants, without him having to say it. Paul has that part of the job DOWN PAT. Were I coaching this team, I would make Paul take first team reps at a very fast pace, rushing at least three at a time.
If he can be conditioned to execute when things get frantic, if he can wait to plant his feet when he hears the hoof-beats coming; he may actually become a decent pro-style quarterback. Will Dana heed my advice? Of course not!
By the way Mike: In all honesty, your radio persona is really coming together. While I didn’t peg your voice right off as necessarily of radio quality, it has matured with what I would guess to be increased confidence through practice. Likewise, your ability to ad-lib has come full circle. Kindly pass that learning curve off to the QB rotation.
I’ve got to hand it to you little brother, you have broadcast talent. Don’t wait too long to make your next move; writers who can also express themselves on the air are probably few and far between. If you don’t have a good, no – GREAT agent, start sending out some clips and some clippings in search of one, he who hesitates is lost,
Dann
That’s an interesting, and I think increasingly understood, endorsement of Millard. It’s a big, big, big opportunity and you’d like to avoid spike strips by any means available. As for me, thanks for the kind words. I rather enjoy this venture. And I don’t have an agent, but I do all right.
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