Steve Sabins Highlights WVU’s Depth, Pitching in Win Over No. 21 Arizona State

The No. 9 West Virginia Mountaineers (39-13) advanced to the Big 12 baseball championship after defeating the No. 21 Arizona State Sun Devils (37-19) Friday night 7-3.

West Virginia head coach Steve Sabins met with the media following the game and discussed the performance on the mound, the depth of the batting order, and more.

Opening statement

"Incredible game. Guys played really, really hard. I was just fired up because it was a team win. We threw more pitchers than we had in that game in pretty much any game all season. Had multiple big contributions off the bench and guys played with energy and played really hard. We trailed in that game in the sixth and I felt like the at-bats just kept getting better and better and the concentration and guys just willed their way and found a way to win. So really proud of the group."

West Virginia starting pitcher Chansen Cole's outing. The sophomore threw five innings and registered six strikeouts

"He's nasty. He's one of the best guys in this league. He's one of the best guys in the country. His consistency is remarkable and he's one of the most consistent personalities that I've ever coached and he just keeps getting better and his future is incredibly bright. Doesn't matter who he goes up against. The guy was pitching at Newberry College last year and for him to roll in against Arizona State or TCU or anybody that he faces, it's just ultra confident and calm and he's out there playing chess and never blacks out. The moment never gets too big. He's just executing his pitches for the team. So he's a gem, man."

West Virginia pitching staff allowing just three Arizona State hits

"Top of Arizona State's lineup is susceptible to left-handed pitching. And so we thought that the matchup was too great to do what we have done traditionally, which is (senior Reese), Bassinger, (senior Cole) Estridge. Usually when they get the ball, they basically pitch until they can't pitch no more. And this lineup's dangerous. Those top four hitters are exceptional and the top three are a little bit more like normal humans against left-handed pitching.

"Basically we got to the top or somewhere in there and were able to go to (sophomore Josh) Suriago and were able to go to (senior Ben) McDougall and we were relatively successful. Suriago got two out of the three top hitters out and McDougall got a fly ball induced to (Arizona State senior Dean Toigo. We ended up dropping that ball in center field, but in general the concept was probably correct and ended up working out for us.

"Bassinger was great in his limited role. He threw 19 pitches. That's one of the shortest outings of the year. I was just fired up for the dudes to be able to get them in big games. Suriago hasn't pitched a ton. McDougall hasn't pitched a ton, but it was the right time at the right moment and we trust those guys and they executed.

"(Junior) Dawson Montessa, I think that's only his second outing out of the bullpen this entire year. The guy's 95-97 with a power breaking ball and handled that moment really well. He hasn't done that. He's only been a starter his entire career. That's a big game in a big moment and he just held his emotions and made big pitches in big moments. So really excited for Dawson. And going down the stretch here in regionals and super regionals and trying to compete for a national title, you need some of that electricity on the back end. You need some of that nasty stuff and Dawson certainly has it."

Depth of the WVU batting order

"That's kind of been the story of this entire season. We certainly have some superstars in the mix on the pitching staff and on the position/player side, but it's really been a group that anybody through nine and the bench can have major contributions. You can basically go one through nine and there's just been guys that have carried us for a game, a series, a month.

"When you have a leadoff hitter who's one of the most disciplined guys in the country, he can carry us. The nine-hole hitter (junior) Tyrus (Hall) can get hot and he's hit some of the furthest home runs for us all season. So there's little spurts and pockets throughout the lineup that somebody can get you. They can use their speed, they can bunt, they can hit, they can hit for power.

"In general the team hasn't slugged at a really high level, but as soon as we're not doing that, someone will pop a home run, someone will get a big hit, and it really feels like it's a team that's been built around finding ways to win.

"And these two guys (senior Brodie Kresser and senior Sean Smith) are just massive pieces of that. Sean's one of the best pure hitters in the country. That guy's hit since he was a freshman at junior college. You go back and look at his history — literally every year that he's played baseball, he has hit and hit at a high level and he's adjusted to this level and become dominant.

"We said at the end of the game today, the guy that we're facing is going to pitch in the big leagues for a long time. Arizona State is really talented, really well coached, incredible team, and both these guys had massive days. Brodie can carry us offensively, he can carry us defensively. He just plays the game really, really hard and is one of the most consistent personalities when it comes to putting in the work on a daily basis.

"There's just a bunch of guys one through nine that have that capability of carrying us and it's just a lot of guys that are playing for each other right now."

West Virginia will meet Kansas in the Big 12 baseball championship Saturday evening. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST and the action will be televised on ESPN2.

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