Steve Sabins Believes WVU May Have Found Another Bullpen Weapon for Postseason Run

Although it took a few innings for West Virginia to muster up some offense, there was really never much concern that the Mountaineers would fall to Binghamton in the opening game of the Morgantown Regional. It was just a matter of time before the bats broke out and WVU took firm control of the game.

The one question going into it was the pitching. How deep into the game could Chansen Cole work before turning to the bullpen? In his previous three starts, he logged 5, 5.1, and 5 innings of work. Last night against the Bearcats, he went six, finishing the night with 94 pitches.

Steve Sabins needed nine outs to finish off the deal, and sophomore David Hagen got the job done, saving the bullpen for a crucial game against Kentucky in the winner's bracket. He may not have been the star of the game for most, but if you ask me, his performance mattered just as much as Cole's did. Not having to use Reese Bassinger, Carson Estridge, or any other regular bullpen piece is a huge advantage, especially with the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, Maxx Yehl, toeing the mound tonight.

"Fired up for David Hagen," WVU head coach Steve Sabins said. "He hasn’t been in a ton of games this year, but he’s pitched in really important games, and over the course of the season, it’s about getting better, and that’s what this guy has done. He just consistently gets better. He was 90-92 with plus offspeed offerings, and for him to come into that game and save some of our bullpen was critical. And as you do that and you prove that you get better, he’s going to continue to find himself in leverage positions moving forward.”

Not only did Hagen save the bullpen for the rest of the regional, but he may have also pitched his way into a regular relief role for this postseason run.

“Hell yeah. How can you not?" Sabins responded when asked if he thinks he added another bullpen arm in Hagen. "That dude’s delivery is so clean and rhythmic, and the breaking balls are nasty. It’s never been like a stuff thing; it’s been just a slow maturity process. Hagen was excellent. His confidence should be as high as it’s ever been. You feel like, alright…it was a 10-1 ballgame, but let’s go try that in a 4-3 ballgame sometime.”

Hagen spent the majority of the year as the Mountaineers' midweek starter and had some mixed results throughout. Before last night, his last outing was on May 5th against Marshall. Lengthening your bullpen at this juncture is a major deal and Hagen may be able to do exactly that for WVU.

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