West Virginia baseball was given a scare by Kentucky on Friday as the two teams faced off on the opening day of action at the Clemson Regional in the NCAA Baseball Tournament, but the Mountaineers ultimately walked away from the diamond with a 4-3 win to avoid early entry into the elimination bracket. Here are three takeaways -- two positive and one not so much -- as WVU continues to advance in the winner's bracket.
The Resiliency is Reassuring
West Virginia dropped seven of their last nine games entering Friday, including a 1-5 record during their last two Big 12 series and a 1-1 record at the Big 12 Tournament.
The Mountaineers were hoping to right the ship on Friday after getting over a week off to recharge and focus on the task at hand -- but then a weather delay struck, and when the Mountaineers finally hit the diamond, they managed just three hits through four innings and trailed 3-0 halfway through the game.
The late-season slump combined with the rough start on Friday could have compounded and spiraled out of control, seriously impacting the Mountaineers mental focus and setting them behind a game from the jump. However, the Mountaineers showed a ton of grit and resiliency in pulling off a rally and securing the comeback win -- and after the past few weeks for WVU baseball, that's a major reassurance.
One Step Closer to the Driver's Seat
The format of the four-team, double-elimination regional is unfavorable to those who fall into the elimination bracket, and the earlier you drop to that bracket, the worse your odds are.
West Virginia's win is big in the fact that they are now going to be one of two teams in the four-team bracket that can put themselves into the driver's seat going into the latter half of the regional. If the Mountaineers had lost, they would be required to play five games over the four-day event and pull off four consecutive wins between Saturday and Monday to advance to a Super Regional -- which is a bit of tough proposition.
The Mountaineers could still fall into the elimination bracket with a loss Saturday, but would only need to pull off three consecutive wins on Sunday and Monday to emerge as the regional champion. However, if WVU can pull off a win tomorrow as well, they'll be sitting pretty -- they'll face a maximum of four games (possibly as few as three) to get out of the bracket victorious, and will have to be defeated twice by whoever emerges from the elimination bracket.
They'll also have the benefit of the elimination bracket winner having to play a double-header on Sunday, meaning their Sunday matchup will be with a team that's already played once that afternoon.
Can the Bullpen Hold Up?
The big problem as of late for West Virginia has been their bullpen not having enough depth -- the Mountaineers have are missing a member of their starting rotation due to injury with Gavin Van Kempen sidelined, and have struggled all season to have a definitive starting rotation on the mound.
Griffin Kirn has been the Game One starter consistently for WVU this season -- he went seven innings and tossed 118 pitches on Friday. Reese Basinger saw just under two innings in relief, saving his arm a bit for future action this weekend. Jack Kartsonas will likely start on Saturday, and Carson Estridge has been effective in long stints on the mound as a reliever this season, but has just three starts.
David Hagen is the next most experienced starter this season with seven starts and a 2-0 record, Chase Meyer holds an 8-2 record and has been an effective relief pitcher throughout the year, and Benjamin Hudson, Ben McDougal, Tyler Hutson, Mac Stiffler, and Robby Porco have all been options that have seen significant action this season. But right now, the WVU bullpen is a question mark, particularly if this drags into a four-or-five game weekend for the Mountaineers.