Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Plugged In Doanes Gives Mountaineer Lineup A Jolt
May 09, 2018 01:17 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Tyler Doanes' athletic background matches the profile of many successful athletes West Virginia University has produced through the years - underestimated and overlooked, but oh so good.
The high school baseball accomplishments listed on Doanes' biography on the athletic website make up a mere three lines:
* Played at Whitewater High for coach Rusty Bennett
* Helped lead his team to two state championship appearances
* Team captain in 2016 and 2017
That's it.
No "all-this" or "all-that." No Perfect Game or Baseball America ratings, no top prospects lists … nothing.
The programs recruiting him were mostly NAIA and Division II schools.
But West Virginia's Randy Mazey has been known to lift up rocks to find some treasures every once in a while, and he thinks he may have uncovered another gem in Doanes, a Fayetteville, Georgia, resident.
"It's kind of like coach (Bob) Huggins recruiting Jevon Carter," Mazey recently explained. "It's not much different. You go see him play, and he lights you up with his life."
"He told me during the recruiting process that he wanted me to come out here and just play ball - be an athlete and do what I do," Doanes recalled. "I'm glad that he's given me the opportunity, and I'm able to come out here and do that."
Incidentally, Carter was another one of those overlooked guys who blew up once he got to WVU.
"(Doanes is) good on both sides of the ball," Mazey noted. "He can play offense. He can play defense at multiple positions. We didn't know if he was going to start in left field or third base - he's that kind of guy."
Third base has become Doanes' temporary home, filling a big hole that unexpectedly opened up last summer when Cole Austin decided to transfer to Arizona State. Doanes can also play short, where a spot could open up next season if junior Jimmy Galusky gets drafted in June, or he could one day play second if he is needed there.
In reality, he could probably play outfield and maybe even catch. He's that versatile, which makes him very valuable to the Mountaineers.
Doanes started the season opener at third base against Jacksonville but struggled early, as most freshmen do, getting just one hit in his first 14 college at bats. His batting average was sitting at .182 in early April when he was still finding his way.
"Every time you step in the box or the pitcher steps on the mound, you have to know that you're the best player on the field," Doanes explained.
But that wasn't happening for him early in the season, yet his teammates were there to help pick him up.
"He's been outstanding and fun to watch," said junior second baseman Kyle Gray, the team's leading hitter. "He's had a great attitude ever since he stepped foot on campus."
"After a bad game it was like, 'hey, you're good.' They did a good job of keeping me up and I'm now doing my best to keep them up," Doanes said.
Mazey has seen this before. It was simply a matter of a freshman being a freshman.
"He was putting too much pressure on himself early," he said. "He wasn't getting many hits, but once he made the decision to just relax and have fun, we've seen the kind of player he is. He has a ton of energy, a ton of fun and there's electricity in his body."
Against Oklahoma State, Doanes was finally plugged in.
He banged out two hits in West Virginia's 10-7, come-from-behind win over the Cowboys and added another hit the very next day.
Since then he hasn't been out of the lineup. He got five hits in the Texas series, including a key bases-clearing double in West Virginia's four-run eighth to help the Mountaineers come back and defeat the 19th-ranked Longhorns, 8-3.
Doanes managed to foul off several tough pitches before finally getting one he could drive into the left center-field gap.
"You get into that mode that you want to swing at everything because you've swung at four in a row and fouled them off and then, all of a sudden, he takes a really good pitch," Mazey marveled. "That's when maturity comes in. Anybody can stand in there and swing at every pitch, but it's difficult to swing, swing, swing and then, 0-2, take one."
"The bases were loaded, and I was just trying to put the ball in play somewhere," Doanes said. "I was able to battle and see all of his pitches. He's a good pitcher, but he happened to throw me a hanging slider and I was able to get the barrel to it."
He has registered 18 of his 22 hits this year since the Oklahoma State series. All 13 of his RBI and seven of his eight extra base hits have come since then, helping to account for his .418 average over his last 13 games.
Doanes is currently batting sixth in West Virginia's lineup behind Gray, who is hitting a team-best .361 with 13 home runs and 26 extra base hits. West Virginia's top three hitters average-wise, Marques Inman (.347), Gray and Doanes (.338), are in the 4, 5 and 6 spots in the batting order.
"To have him hitting sixth in the lineup means the five guys in front of him are cooking pretty good, too, so he's a perfect six-hole guy for us," Mazey explained.
One day, Doanes is eventually going to hit in the middle of the lineup and probably play somewhere in the middle of the infield for the Mountaineers. Where that ends up being has yet to be determined.
"I'm just going to stick to the plan that they have for me and whatever the team needs me to play, whenever, that's what I'm going to do," Doanes said.
"He's very teachable and very coachable, but he's also got some things you can't teach, which is going to make him a great player for us," Mazey said.
Actually, Tyler Doanes is not too bad right now.
The high school baseball accomplishments listed on Doanes' biography on the athletic website make up a mere three lines:
* Played at Whitewater High for coach Rusty Bennett
* Helped lead his team to two state championship appearances
* Team captain in 2016 and 2017
That's it.
No "all-this" or "all-that." No Perfect Game or Baseball America ratings, no top prospects lists … nothing.
The programs recruiting him were mostly NAIA and Division II schools.
But West Virginia's Randy Mazey has been known to lift up rocks to find some treasures every once in a while, and he thinks he may have uncovered another gem in Doanes, a Fayetteville, Georgia, resident.
"It's kind of like coach (Bob) Huggins recruiting Jevon Carter," Mazey recently explained. "It's not much different. You go see him play, and he lights you up with his life."
"He told me during the recruiting process that he wanted me to come out here and just play ball - be an athlete and do what I do," Doanes recalled. "I'm glad that he's given me the opportunity, and I'm able to come out here and do that."
Incidentally, Carter was another one of those overlooked guys who blew up once he got to WVU.
"(Doanes is) good on both sides of the ball," Mazey noted. "He can play offense. He can play defense at multiple positions. We didn't know if he was going to start in left field or third base - he's that kind of guy."
Third base has become Doanes' temporary home, filling a big hole that unexpectedly opened up last summer when Cole Austin decided to transfer to Arizona State. Doanes can also play short, where a spot could open up next season if junior Jimmy Galusky gets drafted in June, or he could one day play second if he is needed there.
In reality, he could probably play outfield and maybe even catch. He's that versatile, which makes him very valuable to the Mountaineers.
Doanes started the season opener at third base against Jacksonville but struggled early, as most freshmen do, getting just one hit in his first 14 college at bats. His batting average was sitting at .182 in early April when he was still finding his way.
"Every time you step in the box or the pitcher steps on the mound, you have to know that you're the best player on the field," Doanes explained.
But that wasn't happening for him early in the season, yet his teammates were there to help pick him up.
"He's been outstanding and fun to watch," said junior second baseman Kyle Gray, the team's leading hitter. "He's had a great attitude ever since he stepped foot on campus."
"After a bad game it was like, 'hey, you're good.' They did a good job of keeping me up and I'm now doing my best to keep them up," Doanes said.
Mazey has seen this before. It was simply a matter of a freshman being a freshman.
"He was putting too much pressure on himself early," he said. "He wasn't getting many hits, but once he made the decision to just relax and have fun, we've seen the kind of player he is. He has a ton of energy, a ton of fun and there's electricity in his body."
Against Oklahoma State, Doanes was finally plugged in.
He banged out two hits in West Virginia's 10-7, come-from-behind win over the Cowboys and added another hit the very next day.
Since then he hasn't been out of the lineup. He got five hits in the Texas series, including a key bases-clearing double in West Virginia's four-run eighth to help the Mountaineers come back and defeat the 19th-ranked Longhorns, 8-3.
Doanes managed to foul off several tough pitches before finally getting one he could drive into the left center-field gap.
"You get into that mode that you want to swing at everything because you've swung at four in a row and fouled them off and then, all of a sudden, he takes a really good pitch," Mazey marveled. "That's when maturity comes in. Anybody can stand in there and swing at every pitch, but it's difficult to swing, swing, swing and then, 0-2, take one."
"The bases were loaded, and I was just trying to put the ball in play somewhere," Doanes said. "I was able to battle and see all of his pitches. He's a good pitcher, but he happened to throw me a hanging slider and I was able to get the barrel to it."
He has registered 18 of his 22 hits this year since the Oklahoma State series. All 13 of his RBI and seven of his eight extra base hits have come since then, helping to account for his .418 average over his last 13 games.
Doanes is currently batting sixth in West Virginia's lineup behind Gray, who is hitting a team-best .361 with 13 home runs and 26 extra base hits. West Virginia's top three hitters average-wise, Marques Inman (.347), Gray and Doanes (.338), are in the 4, 5 and 6 spots in the batting order.
"To have him hitting sixth in the lineup means the five guys in front of him are cooking pretty good, too, so he's a perfect six-hole guy for us," Mazey explained.
One day, Doanes is eventually going to hit in the middle of the lineup and probably play somewhere in the middle of the infield for the Mountaineers. Where that ends up being has yet to be determined.
"I'm just going to stick to the plan that they have for me and whatever the team needs me to play, whenever, that's what I'm going to do," Doanes said.
"He's very teachable and very coachable, but he's also got some things you can't teach, which is going to make him a great player for us," Mazey said.
Actually, Tyler Doanes is not too bad right now.
Players Mentioned
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