West Virginia has advanced to the Regional Final for their first time since 2017 after defeating Grand Canyon 5-2 Saturday night. The win moves the Mountaineers to 2-0 in NCAA play and puts Randy Mazey’s squad one win away from a Super Regional appearance.
The first game of the final will be at 9:00 p.m. ET. Should the Mountaineers win, they will claim the regional title and move on to a Super Regional. With a loss, West Virginia will play again on Monday with the time TBD.
The opponent in the finals for West Virginia will not be decided until a couple of hours before their game. Luckily for the Mountaineers, one-seed and regional host, Arizona, is eliminated after an 0-2 outing. This means the Gold and Blue will face a team they have already prepared for and beaten; Dallas Baptist or Grand Canyon.
Randy Mazey did not release a starter for the game Sunday evening. Aidan Major has yet to get a start during the postseason thus far but Mazey did state Major being banged up and needing rest at the end of the regular season. Going into the Big 12 tournament, Major was listed as day-to-day.
This will be the first Regional Final for the Mountaineers since 2017 when they made it through the losers bracket. This time, they are undefeated and will only need to win one game out of two to advance and extend Randy Mazey’s final season.
Should West Virginia play DBU, the first game won by the Mountaineers was a balanced offensive and defensive attack. Getting a dominant complete game from Derek Clark, West Virginia used a three-run home run from Logan Sauve and an rbi double from Reed Chumley to win the game 4-1.
If Grand Canyon wins to advance, it will be back to back games against the Antelopes for the Mountaineers. With another great pitching performance, this time 7.2 innings from Tyler Switalski, West Virginia survived a bases loaded jam in the ninth to win the game 5-2. Producing eight hits and three separate rbi singles, the offense was able to produce without the home run ball.
Future MLB first round draft pick JJ Wethholt has yet to record a hit in Tucson in the two games played. His offensive production has yet to be needed but will be more than welcomed by Randy Mazey in the finals.
First pitch is set for 9:00 p.m. ET with a trip to a Super Regional on the line. West Virginia needs to win one of the final two games to advance. They will take on the winner of Dallas Baptist and Grand Canyon that starts Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. A TV network has yet to be chosen for the Finals.
