Sabins Confirms Starting Pitcher Maxx Yehl Exited Saturday's Game with an Injury

If you had told West Virginia head coach Steve Sabins before the NCAA Tournament began that his team would win game one comfortably and not have to use a single regular relief pitcher, he would have been giddy thinking about all of the different ways he could attack the rest of the regional.

However, if you had told him that his ace pitcher Maxx Yehl wouldn't last a full inning in his start because he would leave with an injury and he would be forced to go to Ian Korn, he would have probably felt very uneasy about his team's chances to advance to a third straight super regional.

Unfortunately, the injury occurred and completely upended the Mountaineers' pitching plan. Yehl couldn't find the zone, and very early in his outing, you could tell something was off. He kept missing high with his fastball and missed badly on several pitches, including plunking a couple of batters. All season long, Yehl has been a strike thrower, so you could tell something was up and that it wasn't just the pressure of the moment getting to him.

Going back to his start in the Big 12 tournament last week, I had noticed that his velocity was a tick down, but it didn't seem to matter. He still produced a quality start and held Kansas State in check. But with him leaving the game on Saturday, I can't help but wonder if some early signs were showing last week.

“Maxx left the game with an injury," Sabins confirmed in his postgame press conference on Saturday. "Don’t know what that is exactly. Haven’t talked to the trainer. At that point, you’re just trying to make decisions in the best interest of the team to get somebody hot and get them going. I’ll have to talk with the trainer after the game. Haven’t had that conversation. I don’t even know if Maxx has been checked out yet, so we’ll find out there.”

Yehl missed all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery, and then earlier this season, he was pulled early from his start against Houston after feeling some discomfort in his arm. Sabins made the decision to give him a week off to get rested, so he didn't pitch in the weekend series against Cincinnati, and with the pitching plan being altered for that three-game set, Sabins had to be careful with who he used in relief against Pitt, which is why that game got out of hand.

No update has been provided on Yehl as of early Sunday morning, but we will keep you posted once one becomes available.

Add us as a preferred source on Google