The West Virginia Mountaineers were fighting to keep their season alive at the College World Series on Tuesday as they faced off against the Troy Trojans for the second time in five days. With the team in a win or go home situation, WVU needed a strong performance in every facet of the game – but stepping into their third game in Omaha, whether or not the pitching performance would hold up was the ultimate concern.
But the Mountaineers did not need to worry, as Dawson Montesa was ready to handle the pressure of the moment. Montesa hadn't taken the mound since the Morgantown Regionals, as West Virginia swept Cal Poly the Super Regional Round and he didn't get an opportunity to pitch against the Mustangs. But he went for 122 pitches in an elimination game against Wake Forest in the regionals, before coming back the next day to help close out a win against Kentucky.
Dawson Montesa saves the day for the West Virginia Mountaineers
With that in mind, perhaps it shouldn't have been a surprise that Montesa would pull off a clutch performance in another postseason elimination game. And he did just that against the Trojans on Tuesday, giving up just two hits and zero runs in 112 pitches, and tossing six strikeouts. His performance gave the Mountaineers to take a 6-0 lead during his time on the mound, and the Mountaineers would go on to capture a 12-0 victory.
"He just loves to play. He is a black lab, golden retriever type," head coach Steve Sabins said. "Throw him in the yard and throw tennis balls, and the guy will have a blast. He could play basketball, baseball, hacky sack - during BP, he's catching balls behind his back and between his legs. He just loves to play. Anytime you tell him, 'Hey, Dawson, you're going to get the ball,' he's like, 'Hell yeah, coach. Let's go.'"
"You insert that guy on any team in the country and he has a role. It doesn't matter the team, conference or situation. He's got a role. It's plus stuff, plus athleticism and plus makeup...He's a kid that we would put in any situation because we trust and then our job is to make sure it's the right situation where we think he can have success."
The Mountaineers will now move onto face UNC on Wednesday, and will have to defeat them twice if they want to advance to the College World Series. With Montesa putting in over 100 pitches on Tuesday, WVU will have to dig even further into the pitching staff. But one thing is for certain – and that is the fact they owe a lot to Montesa for getting as far as they have.
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