West Virginia head coach Steve Sabins is going to have to play a balancing act this weekend when the Mountaineers hit the road to face LSU in the Super Regionals.
The Mountaineers are going to have to figure out how to fill out their 27-man roster this weekend, doing so with a different set of standards than they did last weekend in the regional round.
"That's one of those meditation questions I need to figure out while I'm thinking. That's what we did this week, we traveled 28 guys. So things happen throughout the season. Like if we were to have some injuries over the regional, we could put somebody else on the roster," Sabins said.
The big part of the balancing act comes in figuring out how many pitchers compared to position players are going to be on the roster. WVU used nine pitchers this past weekend and used a total of 12 position players, meaning there was not much wiggle room for Sabins.
"I do feel like if I had to do it again for the regional, going into that fourth or fifth game, you would need to put every pitcher that you have on the roster. Because if you're in the losers bracket of that regional and you have to play five games, right, you're asking [Armani] Guzman to start pitching for you. So I think more pitching in general for that tournament format," Sabins said.
This weekend it will be more straightforward for the skipper as it's a traditional three-game series. Win two games, and the Mountaineers move on. Lose two games and their season is over.
The three-game sets are also identical to how the Mountaineers handled every single weekend this season, making it easier to have different combinations ready to go.
"When it comes to the Super Regional, it's only a three-game set, I would feel more comfortable. Like you probably won't end up pitching more than eight to 10 guys. If you're throwing more than 10 pitchers in a three-game set, things didn't go well for you," Sabins said.
Since the regional, there have been changes to WVU's roster. Jorge Valdes entered the portal, meaning there are fewer position players to tap into for the Mountaineers. While Valdes didn't get an at-bat, he did appear in two games as a pinch runner and defensive replacement.
It's likely that Spencer Barnett and Chase Swain are on the roster, while the last four spots would all be used for pitchers.
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