Ross Vance, the dude with two first names, bailed West Virginia out big time this morning in the opening game of the 2016 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championships now underway at Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Six Michael Grove pitches and one out into the top of the first inning, West Virginia’s ace freshman right hander landed awkwardly on his knee while attempting to make an out on a sacrifice bunt play at first base, requiring him to leave the game. As Grove was being helped off the diamond, it appeared West Virginia’s hopes of getting a game one victory over the fifth-seeded Sooners was gone with the Oklahoma wind.
“You wouldn’t believe this, but when I went to bed last night I thought, ‘Please, please, Michael Grove get through the first inning.’ I was worried about anything that could possibly happen, get hit with a line drive, all of that stuff went through my mind," said West Virginia coach Randy Mazey. "When it happened, it was like, are you kidding me?”
But Vance, a crafty, high-kicking senior lefthander, came out of the bullpen and not only left leadoff hitter Alex Wise standing on third base, he literally left the entire Sooner lineup standing at the plate and watching in amazement for the remaining 26 outs of the game.
Vance allowed just one hit, a Cody Thomas one-out double in the fourth, fanning seven and walking three while facing just three batters over the minimum. It took him a mere 99 pitches and less than two hours to advance West Virginia in the winner’s bracket.
“We tell our guys all the time, there is going to be somebody on this team, every day, and every game that is played, that is not on the starting lineup card that is going to have a major influence on the outcome of the game,” said Mazey. “Vance was the guy. They only had two hits today and the leadoff batter had one of them and the other one resulted in an out. It’s just an unbelievable performance by a senior who is very deserving. He has pitched really well his whole career here and there is nobody on this team that deserves what happened to them more than he does.”
“That is actually the first time I had to come in off an injury,” admitted Vance. “So, I was a little lost out there on what to do.”
It sure didn't look that way. The McKinney, Texas, resident was in such complete control today that Mazey didn’t have to get anybody up in the bullpen, saving his other arms for potential matchups down the line against Big 112 heavyweights Texas Tech, TCU or Oklahoma State.
In order to win a double elimination baseball tournament, you have to get some breaks with your pitching, particularly teams that are not overly dominant such as 34-21 West Virginia.
And Vance’s game-saving performance Wednesday morning could be the big break the Mountaineers need, especially if Grove is able to come back and pitch later this week. If he does, that means Mazey will have his No. 1 pitcher in his back pocket going against either a No. 3 or No. 4 arm later in the tournament.
Shoot, as efficiently as Vance pitched today, he may even be available in a couple of days to get a tough left-handed hitter out in a relief situation.
For West Virginia, having a well-rested pitching staff as it gets deeper into the tournament could give it an advantage it has not had in the Big 12 tournament since joining the league in 2012.
The last time I can recall something remotely similar to this happening was the 1996 Big East Championships in Norwich, Connecticut, which incidentally, was the last time WVU won a postseason conference baseball tournament and advanced to the NCAA tournament.
It wasn’t an injury but rather Mother Nature that came to West Virginia’s rescue. After winning the first two games of the Big East tournament against Notre Dame and Rutgers, West Virginia’s third day at the tournament was washed away because of rain.
The Mountaineers were able to beat St. John’s the following afternoon and that extra day allowed No. 1 and No. 2 pitchers Mike Riley and Chris Enochs enough rest to come back and throw the winner-take-all championship game against Notre Dame.
Riley went eight strong innings on three day’s rest, limiting Notre Dame to just four runs on 12 hits, before tiring in the ninth. In came flame-throwing Enochs, coming off a complete-game, one-hitter against Rutgers two days prior, with two runners on and no outs and the Mountaineers clinging to a 7-4 lead.
Enochs got Notre Dame’s No. 3 hitter to ground into a double play and then struck out the cleanup batter to give West Virginia its only Big East tournament title.
Had the Mountaineers not had that extra day of rest for their two best pitchers, those two guys would have been watching the championship game from the dugout instead of being out on the mound to win it.
Thanks to Ross Vance’s fantastic performance this morning, West Virginia has just bought itself an extra day for its pitching staff.
Hopefully, Grove’s knee is okay and he’s able to pitch later this week.
If he does, that could be very good news for a Mountaineer baseball team needing as many wins as possible to snap its 20-year NCAA tournament drought.
