Structuring a pitching game plan for a single-elimination tournament is not an easy thing to do. It is, however, a little easier for a team like West Virginia who was rewarded with a double-bye, given the advantage of being able to throw their ace while facing a team who is playing their third game in as many days.Still, there were many different ways Steve Sabins could have approached last night's game. He could have tried to save Maxx Yehl for tonight's game, which would have kept him on his regular 7-day schedule, but instead, he gave him the ball against K-State to give the Mountaineers the best chance to win.Yehl was dominant, although his velo was a bit down. His slider really had hitters off balance, and through five innings, he had a no-hitter going. Once his pitch count approached 100 and he gave up a two-run shot that cut the lead in half, Sabins turned to the bullpen, going with Ian Korn. Ideally, the Mountaineers would have been able to save Korn for a start, but Sabins took the right approach — win the game that is in front of you.WVU Athletics Communications“In these single elimination games, where if you lose, you go home, you are basically putting your best option in the game. It’s the same reason we started Maxx Yehl," Sabins said. "We thought today was an important day, an important game for our program. We’re trying to win. But if we leave this tournament and the best pitcher in the league doesn’t pitch, you kind of go like, ‘What are you doing?’ And then if you leave this game and Ian Korn didn’t get in the game, it’s kind of like, ‘What are you doing?’ I think you have to play it game-by-game in these single-elimination tournaments. And we have depth. We have the three best pitchers in the league. Starting (Chansen) Cole game two is a nice luxury to have. And (Reese) Bassinger and (Carson) Estridge and (Dawson) Montesa, and a lot of these bullpen pieces are special. I would hate to leave Arizona with Yehl and Korn having not thrown.”In his start against the Sun Devils earlier this season, Cole gave up one run on five hits in 5.1 innings of work. He struck out four, walked three, and came out after 88 pitches. Since Sabins only used Korn in relief on Thursday, the Mountaineers will have their top two bullpen options, Carson Estridge and Reese Bassinger, available. If Cole pitches well and gives them length, it could allow Sabins to hold Montesa for Saturday, and who knows, maybe Korn would be available to go a few innings in a potential championship game since he threw just 33 pitches last night.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow