Going into the 2024 postseason, fans had high expectations for All Big 12 first team selection, Derek Clark. With that pressure, came a diamond.
Spending his first three seasons at Northwood University, nobody really knew what type of talent WVU was going to be getting from Clark this past season. It became known very quickly however that Mazey had just added a piece that could take this team far into June.
It wasn’t long before Clark was the Friday starter, pitching multiple complete games during the regular season; four to be exact. The All Big 12 first team was not the peak of the pitcher’s season. He would forever cement his name in the mind of Mountaineer fans through his postseason play.
After not getting the chance to pitch in the Big 12 tournament, his first outing in the NCAA Regionals is one fans may never forget. Clark went and out performed a projected MLB first round pick on Dallas Baptist’s mound.
Clark would throw just over 100 pitches and go the distance, making it his fifth complete game. He only allowed four hits and one run while striking out eight in a 4-1 WVU win. But his job in the regionals was far from over.
In the championship round when the Mountaineers were looking to advance to their first ever Super Regional, Clark was called out of the bullpen for the first time all season to get the final two outs with the tying run at the plate against Grand Canyon. After letting up a hit to start, Clark would fan the next two and move West Virginia to the furthest the program has ever gone.
And while the season did not quite end as the team and fans had hoped, Clark put together another gutsy performance in his final outing. Throwing a season high 144 pitches in 8.1 innings, Clark kept the Mountaineers in it, allowing seven runs on only seven hits.
The game would end in heartbreaking fashion for WVU after a UNC walkoff home run, but Clark’s effort will be something that fans remember for a long time to come.
Clark finished his season with a 8-3 record and a 3.23 ERA. In just his lone season in the gold and blue, Clark represented the state of West Virginia in a way many never do.