Predicting WVU Baseball's 2021 Record

The West Virginia Mountaineers are just days away from opening up the 2021 baseball season and expectations are set high after the team got out to an 11-5 start a year ago, marking one of the best starts to a season in program history.

West Virginia will open the campaign on the road with a four-game series against Georgia State prior to heading to Myrtle Beach/Conway, South Carolina for the Coastal Carolina Baseball Tournament. Despite losing starting pitcher Ryan Bergert and starting shortstop Tevin Tucker for the year due to injury, this group has a lot of potential. Head coach Randy Mazey has built this program up and has taken it to unfamiliar places. The Mountaineers punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament in 2017 which was the first time since 1996. Two years later, West Virginia went 37-20 and hosted their first NCAA regional in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1955.

Although West Virginia is picked to finish 6th in the Big 12 Conference this season, no one is going to be sleeping on the Mountaineers. The Texas Tech's, TCU's, and Texas's of the world all know what the Mountaineers are capable of doing and know that by season's end, they will be in the mix for a Big 12 title.

The way West Virginia's schedule sets up, it gives them a really good opportunity to get off to yet another hot start before conference play gets going. They will also have the chance to pick up some quality wins along the way as they will play Coastal Carolina for a single game in the CCU Baseball Tournament and then host the Chanticleers for a three-game set in Morgantown just before conference play gets underway.

Fortunately for WVU, they will host two of the top three teams in the Big 12 and three of the top five. Texas Tech, TCU, and Oklahoma will all visit Mon Co. Ballpark for a three-game series while the key road trips consist of going to Texas and Oklahoma State. It's nice to sweep a team but in the Big 12 Conference, it's just not that easy. For example, the Mountaineers are picked to finish 6th out of nine teams in the Big 12, yet they are ranked No. 14 in the country by D1Baseball.com. The strength of the conference is unmatched. The more series wins the Mountaineers can get, the better their seeding will be come tournament time and it will also increase the likelihood of hosting another regional. Sure, winning all three games is nice, but as long as the Mountaineers come away winning two out of three more often than not, Randy Mazey will be a happy man.

When it comes to projecting the Mountaineers' record in 2021, it's a lot more challenging than it is in most years. Not only did everyone's season get cut short a year ago but the unknowns of who will be available on a nightly basis due to positive tests or contact tracing of COVID-19 makes it even more difficult. With that said, we're going to take a hack at it anyways.

48 games

Below is my game-by-game projection for the West Virginia 2021 baseball schedule:

2/19 at Georgia State W (1-0)

2/20 at Georgia State (DH) W (2-0)

2/20 at Georgia State (DH) L (2-1)

2/21 at Georiga State W (3-1)

CCU Baseball Tournament (Myrtle Beach, SC)

2/26 vs Kennesaw State W (4-1)

2/27 at Coastal Carolina L (4-2)

2/28 vs Bryant W (5-2)

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3/5 vs Kent State W (6-2)

3/6 vs Kent State L (6-3)

3/7 vs Kent State W (7-3)

3/9 vs Marshall W (8-3)

3/11 vs Central Michigan W (9-3)

3/12 vs Central Michigan W (10-3)

3/13 vs Central Michigan W (11-3)

3/16 vs Morehead State W (12-3)

3/17 vs Morehead State L (12-4)

3/19 vs Coastal Carolina L (12-5)

3/20 vs Coastal Carolina W (13-5)

3/21 vs Coastal Carolina W (14-5)

3/26 vs Kansas W (15-5, 1-0)

3/27 vs Kansas W (16-5, 2-0)

3/28 vs Kansas W (17-5, 3-0)

4/1 at Oklahoma State L (17-6, 3-1)

4/2 at Oklahoma State L (17-7, 3-2)

4/3 at Oklahoma State L (17-8, 3-3)

4/6 at Pitt W (18-8)

4/9 at Baylor W (19-8, 4-3)

4/10 at Baylor W (20-8, 5-3)

4/11 at Baylor L (20-9, 5-4)

4/16 vs Texas Tech W (21-9, 6-4)

4/17 vs Texas Tech L (21-10, 6-5)

4/18 vs Texas Tech W (22-10, 7-5)

4/23 at Kansas State W (23-10, 8-5)

4/24 at Kansas State W (24-10, 9-5)

4/25 at Kansas State L (24-11, 9-6)

4/30 vs TCU L (24-12, 9-7)

5/1 vs TCU L (24-13, 9-8)

5/2 vs TCU W (25-13, 10-8)

5/5 vs Pitt W (26-13)

5/7 vs Oklahoma L (26-14, 10-9)

5/8 vs Oklahoma W (27-14, 11-9)

5/9 vs Oklahoma L (27-15, 11-10)

5/14 vs Miami (OH) W (28-15)

5/15 vs Miami (OH) L (28-16)

5/16 vs Miami (OH) W (29-16)

5/20 at Texas L (29-17, 11-11)

5/21 at Texas W (30-17, 12-11)

5/22 at Texas L (30-18, 12-12)

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