Sabins Points No. 2 Seed Mountaineers’ Heads and Hearts to Friday’s Clemson Regional
The preliminaries are history, and the real fight begins now. When West Virginia head coach Randy Mazey handed over the reins to assistant and eventual successor Steve Sabins last year, it wasn’t just a passing of the clipboard—it was a torch lighting the path toward uncharted territory. On Friday, that path winds south to South Carolina, where the No. 2 seed Mountaineers (37-18) will clash with formidable opposition at the NCAA Clemson Regional.
Behind closed doors at Monongalia County Ballpark on Monday, Coach Sabins gathered his squad. The mood? A mix of electricity and solemnity. They knew what the Clemson Regional meant—not just another game, not just another tournament. This was redemption, culmination, and opportunity bundled into nine innings. “We’ve earned this,” Sabins told his team. “Now it’s about heart, execution, and playing Mountaineer baseball.”
West Virginia enters the regional as a hardened unit, forged through the fire of a rugged Big 12 schedule. After finishing second in the conference standings and posting their highest win total in over a decade, the Mountaineers have silenced doubters, one fastball and one stolen base at a time. Spearheaded by All-American center fielder J.J. Wetherholt, whose bat slices through pitches like a scythe through late-summer wheat, the offense has swagger. Wetherholt, batting .413 with 11 home runs and 38 stolen bases, is the tip of the spear.
But the Mountaineers are more than their star. Lefty ace Tyler Switalski has emerged as the go-to guy when the moment demands calm amidst chaos. With a 2.84 ERA and pinpoint control, Switalski will likely get the ball Friday against the third-seeded Bulldogs of Georgia Southern, who bring a heavy-hitting lineup but a suspect bullpen.
Sabins knows the margin for error is razor-thin. “Every pitch, every at-bat, it’s all magnified in June,” he said. “But pressure? That’s a privilege.”
Friday’s opener in Clemson marks West Virginia’s fourth NCAA Regional appearance in the last seven seasons, but the Mountaineers have yet to punch through to a Super Regional. Sabins, ever the tactician, has drilled fundamentals and situational hitting into his team all week. He’s reminded them: this game is about inches and instincts. One error, one wild pitch, one missed bunt sign—that’s the difference between heartbreak and history.
While Clemson, the host and No. 1 seed, looms large in the bracket, the Mountaineers aren’t looking ahead. First comes Georgia Southern. After that? Perhaps the Tigers. Perhaps destiny.
At practice Tuesday, the crack of aluminum bats echoed across Morgantown. Fielders dove, runners slid, coaches shouted. But beneath the surface was a focused fire—a team unified in belief, built not just on talent, but on trust. Sabins doesn’t just point his team to Clemson; he points them to something higher.
“We’re not just chasing a win,” he said. “We’re chasing a legacy.”
Friday, that pursuit takes center stage.
