BATON ROUGE, La. — They call it “The Intimidator” for fairly obvious reasons.
LSU baseball’s billboard-sized sign towering above the right field bleachers at Alex Box Stadium — and directly across from the visitor’s dugout — shows all seven national title years for arguably college baseball’s most storied program. Even more than the blistering heat, thick Cajun accents or anything else, it is the ultimate reminder of where you are.
This is what stands in No. 24 West Virginia baseball’s way as it tries to win the Baton Rouge Super Regional and clinch its first College World Series appearance in program history. That, all the rest of the mystique around the Tigers and, of course, a tremendously talented LSU (46-15) team it will have to beat twice in a three-game series.
Almost nobody makes it out in June. The Tigers have won 23 of 27 home regionals in program history, and nine of 12 home Super Regionals. This year’s Tigers are 33-6 at home.
But West Virginia has prepared for this all season.
“This environment is incredible,” head coach Steve Sabins said. “This will be something that is great for our kids. But going to Clemson before we came here certainly puts us in a better situation than going to a quiet, golf clap community.”
West Virginia (44-14) swept through three games at a hostile Clemson Regional last weekend, bringing its season total for wins away from Morgantown to a nation-leading 27. The Mountaineers went 10-3 in road Big 12 games and like most cold-weather teams, spent the first two weeks of the season on the road.
“As a team we love being on the road,” senior pitcher Reese Bassinger said. “On the road you’re going to have a lot of fans that really want you to suck, really want you to lose. And that’s where I think we come in together really well. Last week we played against probably 8,000 fans at Clemson, and there were 27 of us rooting for each other in the dugout.”
Everything this weekend is an adjustment, from the quality of the opponent, the size of the stadium and even the weather. For as much as playing in different environments can prepare a team, the heat index for Saturday’s 2 p.m. ET (ESPN) first pitch is expected to break triple-digits.
“The reality is this is different from what we play in,” Sabins said. “It’s extremely hot and it’s extremely humid. We had to do things to mitigate those circumstances. I think our guys are in a good spot.”
Where West Virginia may legitimately be able to carve out an advantage is in terms of experience and building off last year. Ironically, this was very nearly the super regional match-up 12 months ago. West Virginia won its regional, but traveled to North Carolina — not LSU — after the Tar Heels squeaked out a ninth-inning rally against the Tigers in the regional final.
It was West Virginia’s players who earned an opportunity on this stage, not LSU’s. The Mountaineers were in both games, but dropped 8-6 and 2-1 decisions in the program’s first-ever super regional.
But this roster features 21 upperclassmen, 11 players who were on the field in Chapel Hill last June and almost astonishingly given the historical gulf, West Virginia actually has more players on its roster with super regional experience than LSU.
“People are ready to go,” Bassinger said. “It’s not like, ‘Oh, we’re in a super!’ It’s like, ‘Yeah, we’re in a super, let’s win it.’ ” Sabins announced staff ace Griffin Kirn will start game one, but did not confirm a pitcher for Sunday. Kirn allowed one earned run in 7 1/3 innings against Kentucky in the regional opener last Friday, then pitched an inning of relief in Sunday’s clinching win.
LSU head coach Jay Johnson did not announce his pitching plans, but it really is only a question of order. Starters Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson make up the best one-two punch in college baseball.
Regardless of who goes in game one, at some point this weekend the Mountaineers will face two of the top three strikeout pitchers in the nation, a combined 291 whiffs in 189 2/3 innings.
But no matter who is on the mound, where the match-up is or how much history the opponent has, this is the same situation for West Virginia. Back on the road, definitely as underdogs, just where it has thrived all year.
“That’s the entire mentality of this state,” Sabins said. “It’s incredibly blue collar. People value hard work, they value grit, they value overcoming adversity. So, I know our team has embodied those characteristics.”
Two more road wins, and his team will get to take the ultimate trip.
— Story by Alan Cole
