MORGANTOWN — It was a “controlled aggression” Grant Hussey was in search of in terms of his swing.
Up until the end of his freshman year as WVU’s first baseman, the former Parkersburg South standout had become accustomed to living a free-swinging style that led to state tournaments, state awards and stats that showed a ton of both power and ability.
“I think it was always God-given, honestly,” Hussey said after hitting a home run and going 3 for 4 Wednesday night in the Mountaineers’ 15-9 victory against Marshall. “I’ve always been lucky with that. It’s kind of crazy, but it’s always been there.”
Hussey could always swing for the stars, as the saying sort of goes, and wind up with homers and doubles to the gap.
That was until his first season in college. Sure, the power was still there — Hussey led WVU with 11 home runs as a freshman — but nothing else seemingly came as natural as it had before.
A year later, Hussey said changes had to be made to his swing.
He needed to make his approach at the plate more simple. Collecting multiple hits rather than always going for the highlight-reel home run became his objective.
“I definitely cut it down,” Hussey explained. “Controlled aggression is how I like to call it. As long as my swing is under control, you can still do damage, obviously.”
It took some time for Hussey to find his rhythm this season. WVU manager Randy Mazey has pulled him out of the starting lineup a few times.
But, damage is the textbook definition of what Hussey’s been doing lately.
“He’s made some adjustments, mentally as well as physically,” Mazey said. “He puts a lot of pressure on himself, because he’s one of the best players who has ever come out of this state.
“He just needs to relax. When he relaxes, if you were here for batting practice, he put on a laser show. I felt bad for the people standing in line waiting to get it. He was peppering them and the cars.”
Hitting .204 on the season heading into the Kansas State series last weekend, Hussey has since gone 8 for 16 and his average has risen 67 points.
It all leads into Friday’s three-game series against Kansas (13-14, 3-3 Big 12), which begins at 6 p.m. inside Mon County Ballpark.
The No. 24 Mountaineers (22-7, 2-1) need a good performance in order to keep pace with the leaders of the Big 12, as well as to remain in the national rankings and in line to host a regional in the NCAA tournament.
Hussey’s bat could play a major role in all of that, as WVU’s lineup is beginning to find some impact from others outside of J.J. Wetherholt.
Caleb McNeely is now tied for third among Big 12 hitters with eight home runs, while Tevin Tucker has gone from a .231 hitter to a .321 hitter in the span of a month.
Hussey has added six extra-base hits in his last four games.
“He can carry a team,” Mazey said of Hussey. “He obviously did that tonight.”
WVU is expected to start Ben Hampton (2-0, 3.56 ERA) on the mound today, and the Mountaineers have won four of their last five against the Jayhawks.
Opposing teams are hitting .270 against Kansas, which has also given up 79 extra-base hits this season, including 12 triples.
“You have to pitch to us the whole way through the lineup,” Mazey said. “There are no easy outs in our lineup. (Tucker) is having a great year. Everybody in the lineup is doing what they’re supposed to do.”
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