2023 WVU Baseball Record Predictions
Schuyler Callihan: 28-27
This is a very talented squad that Randy Mazey has. The only problem with it is it's young. As Mazey mentioned during his preseason press conference, this is arguably the best group of freshmen pitchers that he's had since arriving in Morgantown. They'll flash here and there but young pitchers tend to have issues with consistency.
The biggest adjustment for this team will be the way in which they manufacture runs. They still have speed but losing Austin Davis (transferred to TCU) and Victor Scott (turned pro) completely changes the offensive approach. Conversely, there is more pop in this year's lineup, so WVU will likely score their runs in bunches via the long ball compared to scattering hits and walks that turn into a crooked number.
This is a building year for the Mountaineers and although I have them finishing just above .500, they have the potential to reach 30+ wins and make it to the NCAA Tournament if the young bucks can stay consistent.
Christopher Hall: 32-23
West Virginia's non-conference schedule is brutal. The Mountaineers have three weekend series road trips against programs which earned postseason bids a season ago and the first one is in the season-opener versus Georgia Southern. Additionally, WVU will play midweek games against two more teams who made the NCAA tournament last year with the first one on the road at Maryland before the home-opener versus Canisius.
The Mountaineers return one starting pitcher from last season in lefty Ben Hampton. He collected eight wins last year with an ERA of 4.66.
The pitching staff is young, but they showed potential last season.
Right handers Aidan Major, Carlson Reed, Michael Kilker, Chris Sleeper may become name stays and lefty Jake Carr could reemerge, along with left-handed utility player Kevin Dowdell can be pulled from the outfield in relief.
Offensively, West Virginia lost two of its top three batters but returns leading hitter Dayne Leonard. The senior got hot at the end of last season, and being one of the seniors on the team, and as a catcher, will look to lead the Mountaineers this season.
Sophomore J.J. Wetherholt will look to build off a solid freshman campaign where he hit .308 with a team-leading 17 doubles while sophomore Grant Hussey blasted a team-high 11 home runs.
The tough non-conference schedule could pay dividends for a postseason bid with a good showing, but the Mountaineers will have to get production from the pitching staff early or a lot of offense to collect more wins than expected before entering the brutal Big 12 Conference slate.
West Virginia finished 33-22 last season and missed postseason play after faltering in the first two games of the Big 12 tournament and was essentially eliminated from the postseason.
I have the Mountaineers finishing with the same record this season but earning an NCAA tournament invitation after a better showing in the Big 12 tournament.
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