Despite losing Sam White to a shoulder injury in a loss to Arizona on March 23rd, the bats have remained hot for the WVU baseball team. Since the untimely sidelining of the Mountaineers’ hitting machine just over a week ago, WVU has managed to win three of its last four outings and combined for 51 runs offensively in White’s recent absence. Read WVU bats still hot amidst key injuries.
The Injury
Sam White has been the best player to step into the batter’s box for the Mountaineers this season, so it’s no surprise that a blanket of silence fell over Kendrick Family Ballpark when White began to wince in pain after a celebration. Ironically, the injury came just moments after White did what he does best: crush baseballs in front of a passionate crowd. Over a week has passed, and no official timetable has been made public regarding a return for the man who has started all 22 games he’s played in, leads the team with a batting average of .400, and has posted three home runs as well.
To add, the Mountaineers were also without the services of Logan Sauve for multiple games over the past week, another star player in all facets of the game. Sauve was already ruled out in the game that White suffered his shoulder injury and did not return for the Marshall game on March 25th. Luckily, Sauve returned for the first game of the BYU series that spanned Thursday through Saturday. Sauve played in games one and three but was sidelined for game two in Provo, Utah. In the two games that Sauve played in following his injury, the right-handed junior collected two total hits.
Offensive Efficiency
Amidst these key injuries, WVU has found offensive efficiency across the board. In the four contests following the Arizona loss, the game in which Sam White suffered his injury and Sauve had to sit out, the Mountaineers have averaged over 12 runs a game. In that four-game span, WVU batters combined for 55 total hits and five home runs. To note, one of those five home runs came from a returning Sauve in game three of the BYU series.
Despite the aforementioned eye-popping numbers in the absence of Sam White, a return sooner than later for the star would make this WVU squad an even bigger threat in the landscape of college baseball. After all, White has 26 RBIs this season. Not only does that statistic lead the team, but it makes up over 11.76% of all RBIs generated by the entire roster (221). In addition to White’s prowess on offense, there’s no doubt that his abilities at second base defensively are sorely missed. Fielding has been a nagging issue as of late for the team as a whole over the past week, so White’s services would likely be greatly appreciated as soon as possible.
In short, the injury bug has sunk its teeth into, debatably, the most important muscle in the batting order, but West Virginia bit back. With no timetable for a Sam White return, fans can only hope that this resilient roster continues to produce without him. Keep an eye out for Logan Sauve as well, as he also deals with an injury of some sort. On the bright side, Sauve is already back in some capacity.
WVU baseball (22-4) is scheduled to be back in action on Tuesday evening in Columbus, Ohio. The Mountaineers will take on the Ohio State Buckeyes (8-16) in a non-conference showdown that will be streaming on B1G+ starting at 6 p.m. on April 1st.
GREAT piece Jonathan, welcome!