Who Could Start for WVU vs. Wake Forest? What About a Potential Rematch vs. Kentucky?

West Virginia's pitching situation went from great to extremely concerning in a hurry on Saturday. They entered the 1-0 game with a fully rested bullpen and Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Maxx Yehl on the bump. It could not have been a better scenario for the Mountaineers to be in.

That all hit the fan when Yehl struggled to throw the ball over the plate and eventually left the game in the first inning due to an injury. Steve Sabins had to unexpectedly turn to Ian Korn, who did a terrific job of eating some innings and keeping the Wildcats in check, allowing WVU to mount a comeback.

The problem? With Korn having thrown 70 pitches, there is almost no way he will be available today and certainly not for the matchup against Wake Forest. Maybe he can come in for an inning or so if WVU beats Wake and plays Kentucky later tonight, but even that is a stretch.

So, what on Earth will Sabins do?

Projected starter vs. Wake Forest: Dawson Montesa

Montesa makes the most sense. He was a starter for the majority of the year before being moved to the bullpen late in place of Ian Korn. Starting is something he has done his entire career, and although his season has been full of rough moments, he is the one guy who can provide you with length, especially if he fills up the zone.

It's not ideal, but it's probably the right decision. The biggest thing for him is efficiency. He has a tendency to find himself throwing a bunch of pitches, sometimes 20 or more an inning. Montesa hasn't gone more than 4.1 innings since early April, when he pitched seven frames against Texas Tech. If he can stay ahead in the count and pitch to contact, he'll have a chance to clip off some innings.

Starting options vs. Kentucky (if they beat Wake)

David Hagen

Although Hagen threw 40 pitches on Friday against Binghamton, he may be called back into action at some point today, possibly in a start against Kentucky. He made seven midweek starts this season, so he is used to being in that role, although he hasn't pitched incredibly deep. I would assume they would approach it as a midweek game in terms of his workload, considering he's already thrown. He may only be able to give you two or three innings, but at this point, you're just trying to find guys who can get you outs.

JT Huether

Huether is a freshman arm that the coaching staff really likes and even put him in the Big 12 Championship game against Kansas once things got out of hand to get some more experience. Again, they will have to take a safe approach here because he hasn't been stretched out to be able to pitch deep into games. The most pitches he's thrown in a game is 30, which came in the blowout loss to Pitt.

A wild card?

Sabins could go in a completely different direction and give the ball to a freshman or someone else we haven't seen pitch this season. You don't want to burn someone's redshirt, but if it gives the team the best chance to win, it may be the only choice.

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