The Hidden Factor That Could Decide WVU vs. UNC in Omaha

Many things can determine tonight's game between West Virginia and North Carolina, but the one area that could truly make a difference is the production from the Mountaineers' bottom third of the order.

Despite an incredible tournament from each of the three — Brodie Kresser, Ben Lumsden, and Tyrus Hall — they aren't going to be headlining any opposing team's scouting report. Their recent surge will certainly have the attention of North Carolina's Scott Forbes, but it can be easy for a pitcher to perhaps lose focus a little bit when the bottom of the order is up.

West Virginia's top three hitters, Armani Guzman, Gavin Kelly, and Paul Schoenfeld, went a combined 1/13 in the College World Series opener against Troy on Friday afternoon. One could assume that water will find its level and that trio will be much more productive tonight, especially Kelly, who hasn't had many two-game "slumps" for lack of a better word.

If the top of the order does indeed do what they're expected to do, then Ryan Lynch can't afford to mess around with Kresser-Lumsden-Hall. The group has been the rally factory for the Mountaineers all postseason long. They are the ones who engineered the come-from-behind victory against Kentucky and then got the wheels in motion to score two in the 8th inning of Friday's game to take a 7-5 lead against Troy.

Since the start of the NCAA Tournament, Brodie Kresser is 10/31, and over the past three games, he's 6/11, striking out just once, doing a much better job of putting the ball in play. Lumsden has been a QUAB (quality at-bat) machine, going 10/24 (.416) with three homers and 11 walks. That is not a typo. Eleven walks compared to just five strikeouts in tournament play, making him one of the toughest outs in WVU's lineup. And then the 9-hole hitter, Hall, all he's done is go 11/30 (.366) with a pair of homers, four doubles, and 14 RBI.

While it is an unfair ask for this trio to continue to perform as well as they have, a strong showing from them tonight could be what allows WVU to put a bunch of traffic on the bases for their best hitters in what will be the biggest game in program history. Can the 7-8-9 bunch come up big once again?

First pitch between West Virginia and North Carolina is set for 7 p.m. ET.

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