MORGANTOWN — Tyler Switalski didn’t just exceed expectations Saturday night in the Arizona desert, he blew them out of the water.
Because of that, the West Virginia baseball team is in the championship game of the Tucson Regional after taking down Grand Canyon 5-2 in the winner’s bracket game. The Mountaineers are now in the driver’s seat in the regional and will sit and watch as the Antelopes play Dallas Baptist at 3 p.m. Sunday, before taking on the winner of that game at 9 p.m.
WVU (35-22) must still be defeated twice. If it loses Sunday night, a winner-take-all game will be played Monday. The Mountaineers are in their first regional final since 2017, and with one more victory will advance to their first super regional in school history.
“Obviously the trap you can fall into — in this position — is all we have to do is win one of the next two,” WVU head coach Randy Mazey said. “That’s the absolute wrong way to think. We need to try and win the game (Sunday) night. If you think about winning one of the next two, you’ll probably have a letdown. We’re going to come with guns blazing tomorrow night.”
A day after WVU rode starter Derek Clark to a complete-game victory, Switalski wasn’t quite as dominant, but just as impressive. The Waynesburg, Pa. native — just 30 minutes north of Morgantown — grew up as a fan of the Mountaineers, and the 6-foot-4 lefty had his best outing of the season when the program needed it the most.
“That’s his longest outing of the season, and at a time like this, he was just amazing,” Mazey said of Switalski. “He did what he needed to do. He got three double plays to help him out. He made them put the ball in play and we played pretty good defense. It was an unbelievable performance at a huge moment.”
Switalski went 7 2/3 innings, gave up six hits and walked just one and struck out three. He had never pitched more than five innings this season and was demoted to the bullpen at one point during the regular season, but he was in complete control and got the Mountaineers into the eighth inning with a great chance to make history.
“I knew I was going to be ready and prepared,” Switalski said. “Coach has had full confidence in me the whole year, even through the ups and downs at the beginning of the season. He stood by me and made sure I was ready to rock every outing.
“He gave me the ball and gave me the opportunity to still compete and do what I know I’m able to do.”
Behind Clark and Switalski, WVU has suddenly become Pitcher U in this NCAA tournament. The two starters have combined for 16 2/3 innings while allowing just two runs, all while keeping a depleted pitching rotation rested and ready for what lies ahead.
There were plenty of heroes for WVU on this night. The game saw plenty of drama in the ninth inning, as Grand Canyon (35-24) had the bases loaded, but before that, the Mountaineers dazzled defensively, and Brodie Kresser came up with two critical hits to get WVU the lead.
The only run Switalski allowed came in the second inning, a sacrifice fly that gave Grand Canyon a quick 1-0 lead. WVU answered in the bottom of the second inning when Kresser singled up the middle to score Reed Chumley to tie the game.
WVU’s defense may have been just as important as Switalski’s arm. J.J. Wetherholt came up with a double play to end the first inning, snagging a line drive that looked like was going to go over his head and then he ran to second base to force out the runner.
Nothing could match the effort made by WVU first baseman Grant Hussey, who maybe came up with the catch of the year in the seventh inning. Grand Canyon’s Beau Ankeney hit a towering foul ball toward the WVU dugout. Hussey, now just inches from the entrance from the dugout, reached out and was able to keep one foot in the field of play while making the catch while falling down the stairs to end the inning.
The play was confirmed after a video review.
“I told the team in the outfield before the game started that the team that plays the best defense was probably going to win this game,” Mazey said.
Kresser came up again in the fourth inning with the bases loaded. His single scored Chumley and Sam White to give WVU a 3-1 lead. Benjamin Lumsden hit a hard ground ball that second baseman Elijah Buries couldn’t handle for another RBI and Skylar King grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored Kresser for a 5-1 lead.
That was all Switalski needed. He retired nine in a row until giving up a base hit in the fifth, but that was erased with one of the Mountaineers’ three double plays of the night.
Mazey finally called for a reliever with two outs in the eighth. Hambelton Oliver came in to face Tyler Wilson, the WAC Player of the Year after hitting 17 home runs this season. With two runners on base, Wilson hit a shot to right field that took Lumsden all the way to the fence, but he was able to reach up and make the catch, as a sigh of relief hit the WVU dugout.
“Lumsden catching the ball with his butt against the fence was a big play,” Mazey said. “It was a little worrisome when it went off the bat, but it was nice to see (Lumsden) get his big mitts up there and catch that one.”
In the ninth, Dustin Crenshaw had an RBI single and the bases were loaded with two outs, as Mazey lifted Oliver for Carson Estridge. With the go-ahead run at the plate, Marcus Galvan grounded out to Wetherholt to end the game.
