Since winning the Clemson Regional on Sunday, the Mountaineers have been waiting to see when and where they will begin their quest to reach Omaha.
On Monday night in the opposite bracket, LSU defeated Little Rock to advance to host WVU in the NCAA Super Regional. The Mountaineers and Tigers will battle in a Best 2-out-of-3 series to determine who which program will advance to the College World Series.
Game One of the NCAA Super Regional will be held on Saturday, June 7th. Game time has been slated for 2 p.m. and will be aired on ESPN. This will be a fantastic chance for WVU to play on the main ESPN channel in front of a national audience.
On Sunday, June 8th, Game Two will start at 6 p.m. and will be available to watch on ESPN2. Because of MLB Sunday Night Baseball, WVU will not have a chance to be seen on ESPN, but playing on ESPN2 will also be a great opportunity for first-year head coach Steve Sabins to bring exposure to the WVU baseball program.
If needed, Game Three will be played on Monday, June 9th with both the time and network still to be determined. The final game will only be played if WVU and LSU both have wins in the first two games.
LSU should be a tall task for the Mountaineers to handle
Boasting a 46-15 record (19-11 in the SEC), the LSU Tigers have had a fantastic season. At the plate, six Tigers are sporting a batting average of at least .300, including Ethan Frey, who leads the team with a .356 average. On the same wavelength, LSU has three hitters (min. of 50 Abs) who have at least a 1.000 OPS (Frey, Jared Jones, and Daniel Dickinson). Jones is also the team leader in home runs (20 HRs) and RBIs with a staggering 69 RBIs.
On the mound, WVU will face two superstar starting pitchers in Anthony Eyanson and Kade Anderson. Both starters have over 90 innings pitched this season (93.2 IP and 96 IP, respectively) while maintaining an ERA below 3.30 (2.50 ERA and 3.28 ERA, respectively). Eyanson is 10-2 on the season, and Anderson is 9-1. Eyanson has also saved two games for the Tigers.
Out of the bullpen, Casan Evans, a freshman, is an emerging elite pitcher and will likely join the top end of LSU’s rotation. Joining Evans in the pen, Zac Cowan has also been extremely reliable. Evans and Cowan are tied for the team lead with six saves apiece.
Taking down the Tigers in a three-game series will be an extremely tough task. But if Sabins’ Mountaineers can shock the college baseball world, they will be on their way to Omaha, Nebraska, for the College World Series.