By: Shanna Rose
MORGANTOWN, W.Va.- The West Virginia University baseball team travels to Baton Rouge, La. to take on No. 6 overall seed LSU in a best-of-three series in the Baton Rouge Super Region.
For the Mountaineers, it is the second straight appearance in a super regional while the Tigers are making their 17th appearance since 1999.
LSU is 9-3 in super regionals at Alex Box Stadium.
Last season, WVU lost to North Carolina in two games in the Chapel Hill Super Regional.
Under first-year head coach Steve Sabins, the Mountaineers won a school-record 44 games. Despite a slump at the end of the season, WVU won the Clemson Regional with a 3-0 record beating Clemson and Kentucky twice.
In all three games, the Mountaineers came from behind and had some unexpected heroes, including Ben Lumsden and Armani Guzman.
The Tigers won their first two games impressively before running into trouble against Little Rock. In the first game of the championship, the Trojans defeated LSU 10-4 before rallying on Monday night to advance in the tournament.
Both teams have some of the top pitchers in the game. Seniors Griffin Kirn and Jack Kartsonas have been the backbone of WVU’s rotation. Left-handed batters struggle against Kirn and he has a fast ball that reaches the low 90s. The southpaw is 5-2 with one save. He has a 3.13 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and has posted 100 strikeouts on the season.
Kartsonas has been equally as impressive for the Mountaineers, going 6-3 with one save. The right-hander was one of the top strikeout rates in the Big 12. Kartsonas had a 2.94 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 76 strikeouts in 64.1 innings, which is less than Kirn.
For the Tigers, their talented arms are Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson.
Both starters dominated in the Baton Rouge Regional and are two of the country’s top strikeout pitchers. Anderson is a projected first round draft pick, going as high as the top five while Eyanson could also be selected in the first-round.
Anderson is 9-1 with a 3.28 ERA. In 96 innings, the sophomore left-hander had 156 strikeouts. Eyanson has a 2.50 ERA and 135 strikeouts.
In their regional starts, the duo combined for 14.2 shutout innings. Eyanson was called upon again to get the final outs as a reliever in the final game.
Offensively, WVU ranks third in the Big 12 with a .299 batting average, but was 11th in slugging and home runs. Kyle West led the Mountaineers with 10 home runs. He is the only player on the roster with double-digits in home runs.
However, Grant Hussey is WVU’s all-time leading home run leader. The senior did not start in the regional but came on late in the game and almost had a grand slam.
Both Anderson and Eyanson have been known to give up a home run.
In the regional, Guzman started all three games and played a clutch role in the Mountaineers’ success. After going 8-for-12, including driving in the game-winning run in the championship, he was voted Most Valuable Player. On the season, he is hitting .337 on the season with 22 RBIs. Lumsden also played a crucial role in WVU’s success. He is batting .156 on the season, but he had three hits last weekend.
Sam White is hitting .352 on the season with 44 RBIs. West is batting a .347 clip with 36 RBIs. The Mountaineers are in the top 40 in the country with 122 doubles. They have 107 stolen bases, which is 46th best in the nation this season.
At multiple times this season, LSU’s lineup struggled to hit for power against good pitching, including in the team’s loss to Little Rock.
Towards the end of the season, Jared Jones was struggling at the plate. In the regional, he was moved down in the batting order and had two hits, including a long ball. On the season, he has 20 home runs and 61 runs scored. He has also struck out on 73 occasions.
Ethan Frey leads the Tigers with a .359 average and has 13 home runs and 49 RBIs.
WVU’s bullpen has struggled a times this season. Reese Bassinger has been the top reliever but he has had his share of struggles at the end of the season. After a stellar performance in the first game against Kentucky, he struggled with control against Clemson. Bassinger has posted a 4.28 ERA on the season. Chase Meyer has come up big for the Mountaineers but has struggled, too. He has a 4.09 ERA and has struck out 62 in 44 innings.
Carson Estridge has been another big reliever that has been spot on at times but has had struggles over the last month.
The winner of this weekend’s series will advance to the Men’s College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. The 78th MCWS gets started on Friday, June 13.
Game Times/TV
Saturday — 2:00 p.m. (ESPN)
Sunday — 6:00 p.m. (ESPN2)
Monday (if necessary) — TBD
