West Virginia, Troy back in must-win territory
OMAHA, Neb. — There is the unfortunate feeling of being one game away from elimination now for West Virginia in the College World Series.
It is not exactly an uncomfortable feeling for a group that was in the exact same position just two weeks ago in Morgantown, when the Mountaineers bounced back after a loss against Kentucky to beat Wake Forest, before beating the Wildcats in two straight games.
“I really do think we’re one of the toughest teams in the country,” was how WVU reliever Reese Bassinger explained it. “It wouldn’t be a Mountaineer weekend if we didn’t bounce back after a loss. I feel like that’s what we’ve learned to do and learned to accept. I feel pretty good about it.”
Across the way from WVU’s dugout inside Charles Schwab Field at 2 p.m. today will stand Troy with its own never-say-die attitude.
“We are who we are, and we’re fighters and we’re killers and we’re going to get after it,” Troy head coach Skylar Meade said.
On the line is for either the Mountaineers (46-16) or the Trojans (39-31) to join North Carolina in college baseball’s Final Four.
Both teams are sort of mirror images of one another. Neither were projected to be playing in Omaha when the NCAA tournament began, yet that never stopped them from accomplishing that feat.
And if WVU’s run was impressive with those two drama-filled victories against Kentucky, Troy can match it after losing to Miami (Fla.) in the opener of the Gainesville Regional, only to bounce back with four consecutive victories, including two against Florida.
“Yeah, I actually talked with one of the Troy guys and I didn’t realize they had lost their first game of the regional,” Bassinger said. “I went back and watched it. They’re a tough team, man. They’re coached well and they have all bought in. They’re playing their tails off.”
That sets up this do-or-die elimination game between two teams who have refused – to this point – to simply walk off into the sunset content with their accomplishments.
The storylines are plentiful, beginning with the status of Troy’s star center fielder Steven Meier, who came up limp after chasing down a long fly ball in the Trojans’ 12-8 victory against Ole Miss on Sunday.
Meier fought through two shoulder surgeries just to be able to play his senior season. He remained in the Trojans’ lineup even after it nearly popped out of place early in the regular season.
Meier, who is batting .312 with nine home runs, waved off trainers after injuring his leg, but eventually did come out of the game.
“He’s a tough kid. He’s been through some stuff now, just like the rest of them,” Meade said. “So, I’m at least going to put him in there (against WVU) and then if he’s got to come out, he’s got to come out.”
The Trojans possess plenty of pop to challenge WVU pitchers, beginning with catcher Jimmy Janicki, who has hit two home runs in the World Series, as well as designated hitter Jabe Boroff, who has driven in 21 runs since the start of the NCAA tournament. The last guy to do that was Adley Rutschman, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2019 draft who catches for the Baltimore Orioles.
“It means a lot. It’s awesome,” Boroff said. “That’s an amazing accomplishment, I think. But I’m not really thinking about all that. Whenever I’m out there, I just want to play good for the guys, and it’s all about the team at the end of the day.”
WVU, meanwhile, will try to bounce back after a tough loss against North Carolina. If the Mountaineers were deflated by a 5-2 loss that saw the Tar Heels break a 2-2 tie with three runs in the seventh inning, they didn’t show it.
“I don’t think this team is fazed by much. They really like playing baseball,” WVU head coach Steve Sabins said. “They like being together. So, we get to do that. And basically the mindset is we get to rest, recover, go have a nice practice and then we get to play ball again.
“Obviously, we just want to keep playing together as long as possible. I think they’ve gotten rid of that pressure and thinking about that too much, because they think they’re pretty good. We’ve been in a lot of ball games against basically any opponent that we’ve ever played. And, so, I think they believe that they’re capable of being the best in the country.”