Where WVU Ranks in Every Major Stat Among the Omaha Eight

In just three days, action will get underway at the College World Series in Omaha, and the West Virginia Mountaineers will be a participant for the first time ever. Where exactly do the Mountaineers stand compared to the other seven teams?

I've compiled a list of key stats for both pitching and hitting to tell a little bit of the story. The number next to each team's name is their national ranking in that stat category.

Pitching

ERA

No. 7: West Virginia — 3.82
No. 8: North Carolina — 3.89
No. 14: Texas — 4.08
No. 20: Alabama — 4.21
No. 22: Ole Miss — 4.35
No. 56: Georgia — 4.87
No. 77: Oklahoma — 5.19
No. 118: Troy — 5.64

Hits Allowed

No. 19 Texas — 426
No. 46 Oklahoma — 450
No. 47 West Virginia — 451
No. 93 Alabama — 484
No. 96 North Carolina — 486
No. 114 Georgia — 496
No. 132 Ole Miss — 507
No. 305 Troy — 629

Opponents Batting Average

No. 8 Texas — .225
No. 11 West Virginia — .230
No. 18 Oklahoma — .235
No. 20 North Carolina — .239
No. 27 Georgia — .242
No. 28 Alabama — .243
No. 36 Ole Miss — .246
No. 146 Troy — .277

Walks Allowed

No. 31 Texas — 192
No. 58 Ole Miss — 209
No. 60 Alabama — 210
No. 103 West Virginia — 226
No. 190 North Carolina — 259
No. 204 Oklahoma — 264
No. 216 Troy — 268
No. 234 Georgia — 273

Strikeouts

No. 2 Ole Miss — 688
No. 8 Texas — 658
No. 9 Georgia — 653
No. 21 Oklahoma — 596
No. 28 Troy — 579
No. 31 North Carolina — 573
No. 35 West Virginia — 568
No. 47 Alabama — 532

It's no surprise to see the Mountaineers at or near the top of most of these pitching categories. Sure, it helps to have the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year in Maxx Yehl, but Chansen Cole and Ian Korn also finished at the top of the league in ERA. The work that the trio has done combined with the solid relief of Reese Bassinger and Carson Estridge, has made WVU one of the top pitching staffs in the country.

West Virginia's first opponent, Troy, is quite the opposite. They have allowed a bunch of hits and walks, and if they allow WVU to put traffic on the bases early and often, they'll be in trouble.

Hitting

Batting Average

No. 4 Georgia — .328
No. 27 West Virginia — .307
No. 49 Texas — .298
No. 64 North Carolina — .293
No. 74 Troy — .290
No. 82 Oklahoma — .288
No. 235 Ole Miss — .264
No. 254 Alabama — .258

On-Base Percentage

No. 4 Georgia — .439
No. 16 Texas — .420
No. 23 North Carolina — .415
No. 32 West Virginia — .410
No. 63 Troy — .399
No. 92 Oklahoma — .392
No. 138 Ole Miss — .384
No. 182 Alabama — .376

Slugging Percentage

No. 2 Georgia — .628
No. 14 Texas — .521
No. 53 Troy — .484
No. 55 Oklahoma — .483
No. 56 North Carolina — .482
No. 73 Ole Miss — .468
No. 75 West Virginia — .467
No. 131 Alabama — .440

Runs Scored

No. 2 Georgia — 594
No. 8 North Carolina — 515
No. 16 Troy — 486
No. 19 Texas — 481
No. 30 West Virginia — 464
No. 69 Ole Miss — 422
No. 71 Oklahoma — 421
No. 92 Alabama — 406

Home Runs

No. 1 Georgia — 174
No. 14 Ole Miss — 107
No. 21 Texas — 103
No. 27 Troy — 93
No. 46 Oklahoma — 83
No. 49 Alabama — 80
No. 50 North Carolina — 80
No. 157 West Virginia — 55

Walks

No. 3 Texas — 373
No. 7 North Carolina — 351
No. 13 Georgia — 334
No. 14 Ole Miss — 331
No. 23 West Virginia — 320
No. 25 Troy — 314
No. 38 Oklahoma — 302
No. 50 Alabama — 290

Strikeouts

No. 182 North Carolina — 446
No. 234 West Virginia — 473
No. 251 Texas — 487
No. 263 Georgia — 497
No. 267 Troy — 500
No. 275 Oklahoma — 513
No. 299 Alabama — 556
No. 307 Ole Miss — 657

Stolen Bases

No. 29 Oklahoma — 124
No. 37 West Virginia — 115
No. 42 Texas — 110
No. 90 Alabama — 86
No. 141 Georgia — 71
No. 174 North Carolina — 62
No. 203 Troy — 55
No. 238 Ole Miss — 48

WVU's offense has been dynamic all year, yet I am still surprised that they come in higher in some of these statistical categories. The ones that aren't shocking are slugging % and homers. This has been a team that has strung together hits all season long, not living and dying by the long ball. If the offense carries over its red-hot production from regionals and supers, WVU just might have a chance to win it all.

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