West Virginia's offense entered Thursday slumping in a big way. They hope, after their 10-3 win over Cincinnati, they have started to find themselves again.
Last weekend against Kansas, West Virginia totaled five runs on 19 hits, as they were shutout twice. They also struck out 29 times while walking only six times over the three losses to the Jayhawks.
"We just hadn't had quality at-bats for the last two weeks," West Virginia head coach Steve Sabins said.
The Mountaineers entered Thursday losers in eight of their last 11 games. Sabins said part of that was his team starting to press, knowing a title was on the line, a title they ended up clinching, but did so not in the way they wanted to.
"It felt like we had pressed, and we had pushed, and we had pressed. And there was a Big 12 regular season title on the line. And no matter what you say and how you prepare, when these kids pour this much into being great, they do feel that. And so I felt over the course of the last few weeks, maybe the guys were pressing for hits or trying to have success for the program," Sabins said.
That success was hard to come by early on against Cincinnati starting pitcher Carson Marsh. Marsh held West Virginia hitless through the first three innings on Thursday before everything changed with one swing of the bat.
"At the point of contact, I knew it was gone, obviously. But it was more about feeling a weight lifted off our shoulders as a team. I'm not saying that I carry anybody by any means. But it's like a moment of relief. We're down, and that ties us up. And it's like, hey, it's not over yet. So I think as a whole team, it's just setting the tone. We're a relentless offense. And that just got a five-run inning started. So I think it's more of a team thing than a selfish thing," Kyle West said.
West delivered a very loud blow inside the majority empty Globe Life Field as a 112 MPH rocket left the bat of West, traveling 401 feet and getting stuck in between two seats in the bleachers in right field.
That swing was more than a solo home run. It was a wake up call for an offense that picked up the phone and answered as West's home run sparked a five-run fourth inning, and Marsh went from in control to out of the game in a hurry.
It was the little things that also helped West Virginia. Jace Rinehart, who leads the Big 12 in doubles, reached first on a dropped third strike. Grant Hussey, the program's all-time home run leader, placed a perfect bunt, which went for an infield hit. It wasn't a power show, but it was a showing of a complete team up and down the lineup.
"[Rinehart] swung and missed and struck out and the ball went to the backstop and he hauled ass down the first baseline and beat it out. And so that mentality of a guy that's been so good for so long, leads the Big 12 in doubles, to not jog down the line kind of personifies what we're trying to do and what this team's capable of. If he's able to sprint down the line after striking out with a great at-bat, then anybody can. And from that point forward, I felt like the at-bats got better and better and better," Sabins said.
Another piece to it was WVU's ability to hit with runners in scoring position. Over the weekend against Kansas, West Virginia was 1-for-22 with runners in scoring position. On Thursday, they went 5-for-14 with guys on second or third base, helping them cash in when it mattered most.
One of those at-bats came from Sam White. White only got to the plate because Rinehart worked an 0-2 count to a walk. White was also down 0-2 in the count, but battled to deliver a two-run single later in the ballgame, adding to WVU's lead. The pair saw 16 pitches in their two at-bats, something that the Mountaineers weren't doing against the Jayhawks last weekend.
"It's super encouraging to know that we had an approach set in. And it's different for every pitcher, but I think we, as a team, stuck to that approach per pitcher the whole game. And at the end of the game, we're grinding out at-bats. We're bunting guys over. We're hitting doubles. And when that happens, I think it's a very dangerous game for the other team," West said.
----------
• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot.
• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting.
• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel
• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan, @wesleyshoe
