The West Virginia Mountaineers entered the weekend needing a strong performance on the baseball diamond to boost their resume in hopes of hosting an NCAA Regional on their home field for the first time since 2019. But they also had another goal on the weekend as well – capturing their first ever Big 12 Tournament Championship.
By the end of the tournament, it seemed as if they had likely accomplished their first goal, though we won't know officially until Sunday night, by picking up two wins and advancing to the tournament final. But they failed in their second goal, meeting Kansas, a team they had swept in the regular season, in the finals and getting manhandled in a 9-0 shutout.
What brought about West Virginia's ugly loss to Kansas?
The Mountaineers are a really good team, there is no doubt about it. But to crack that level to compete with the best of the best, there are certain things you can't do, and WVU did one of them on Saturday.
The Mountaineers had multiple chances to seize the lead. They left 10 baserunners stranded on Saturday, including ending both the fifth and sixth innings with bases loaded without scoring a run – despite having all three baserunners on with just one out in both scenarios. By the time the Jayhawks reeled of three consecutive home runs to put the game out of reach in the seventh inning, West Virginia had fumbled plenty of opportunities.
This is something manager Steve Sabins will want to address with his team as they prepare for NCAA Regional action, as that type of missed opportunity can easily help bring the season to an end once the tournament begins.
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