WVU baseball advances to Big 12 title game
The history-making season for the WVU baseball team is writing a new chapter each day.
The streak these Mountaineers established at the end of the regular season has picked up even more in the postseason. On Saturday, West Virginia earned its third victory in the Big 12 Tournament by dominating Oklahoma, 11-1, in seven innings.
This was the second victory by the WVU baseball team over OU in the tournament. The Mountaineers won an opening round game over the Sooners, 6-0. West Virginia also beat Texas Tech, the top seed in the tournament, by a score of 9-4.
These convincing wins have become a trademark of the Mountaineers. It has been a mix of solid pitching and explosive hitting. Saturday against Oklahoma was no exception.
The WVU baseball team pounded out 11 hits and 11 runs in Oklahoma City on Saturday. Leadoff man Kyle Davis led the day with three hits and four RBI, including his 10th home run of the season, while Ray Guerrini and Jimmy Galusky each had a pair of hits.
Starting pitcher Conner Dotson pitched into the seventh inning and tallied nine strikeouts. Dotson walked only four and allowed just four hits.
It really is amazing to see this Mountaineer team come together and defy the odds in the Big 12 Tournament. This team was predicted to finish sixth in the conference, originally, now it has a chance to win it all.
It wasn't even a decade ago that WVU baseball couldn't finish in the top eight in the Big East. Now playing for a Big 12 title.
— Michael Minnich (@michaelminnich) May 28, 2016
The WVU baseball team will face TCU on Sunday for the championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
.@WVUBaseball seeking their sixth conference tournament title all-time tomorrow. Last was in 1996 beating Notre Dame for Big East crown
— Jeff Culhane (@jeffculhane) May 28, 2016
So, it has been 20 years since West Virginia was last in this position. In 1996, the Mountaineers also qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the last time.
As this Mountaineer squad, under head coach Randy Mazey, looks to make even more history, it has already done enough to make a name for itself.
Mazey has been the architect of this program for the past four years. Not only has he built a winner on the field, Mazey is breathing a new fire into the WVU baseball program.
With the erection of Monongalia County Ballpark, the Mountaineers had a true place to call home. And, as the team wins games and truly dominates in the conference, the best recruits from around the country can start flocking to Morgantown.
West Virginia was hardly a university known for its baseball program before Mazey arrived on campus. The Mountaineers have developed into the team to beat in the competitive Big 12 Conference.