Back in early April, West Virginia State was limping along with a 16-10 record - successful for most programs, but not the kind of winning percentage the Yellow Jackets had come to expect.

But since April 5, State has won 20 of its last 22 games, outscoring its opposition 279-77 in that span - an average winning margin of more than nine runs a game.

The Jackets have ridden that hot streak to another West Virginia Conference tournament championship and another berth in the NCAA Division II North Atlantic Region tournament, which will begin Thursday at a site to be announced Sunday night.

What prompted the turnaround? Veteran State coach Cal Bailey isn't sure, but he has an idea.

"Who knows how it happens? Just chemistry, I guess," Bailey said. "I'm not smart enough to know why it works, but you keep tinkering with things until you find the right combination."

Thirteen different State players have started at least 10 games, but it wasn't until early April that Bailey stumbled upon that winning combination.

And it took a few blessings in disguise to find it.

"We had some injuries that forced us to make some changes, and for the most part those changes worked out for us," Bailey said.

For instance, Mike DeLeeuw opened the season at third base but moved to first base when an injury limited his mobility. That opened up a spot at third base, so Chad Chambers was shifted to fill that void.

When Chambers pulled a hamstring, Bailey put Joey Jobst at third, and he played so well there that Chambers was moved to second base upon his return.

When another injury slowed DeLeeuw, he was switched to designated hitter, the spot held by slugging freshman Bo Darby. Since Bailey knew he needed Darby's bat in the lineup, he switched the Logan product to right field. First base, meanwhile, was filled by Ryne Holestine.

Bailey's tinkering came to full fruition on that April 5, during a doubleheader at Bluefield State. After losing the opener, the Jackets came out in the nightcap and rolled to a 28-0 win.

The roll hasn't stopped since then. Sure, there was a 5-4 loss at West Virginia Wesleyan three days later, but the Jackets took a 12-game winning streak into the WVC tournament.

After losing 13-5 to Shepherd in the tournament opener, State - facing elimination each time out - won four straight to take the title, outscoring the competition 41-6 in those four games.

"It took a while to figure it all out, but that streak started when we made all those changes," Bailey said. "I call it seat-of-the-pants psychology - you go with what your gut tells you to do until it works, and then you look like a genius. Or if it doesn't work, you go with something else.

Back in early April, West Virginia State was limping along with a 16-10 record - successful for most programs, but not the kind of winning percentage the Yellow Jackets had come to expect.

But since April 5, State has won 20 of its last 22 games, outscoring its opposition 279-77 in that span - an average winning margin of more than nine runs a game.

The Jackets have ridden that hot streak to another West Virginia Conference tournament championship and another berth in the NCAA Division II North Atlantic Region tournament, which will begin Thursday at a site to be announced Sunday night.

What prompted the turnaround? Veteran State coach Cal Bailey isn't sure, but he has an idea.

"Who knows how it happens? Just chemistry, I guess," Bailey said. "I'm not smart enough to know why it works, but you keep tinkering with things until you find the right combination."

Thirteen different State players have started at least 10 games, but it wasn't until early April that Bailey stumbled upon that winning combination.

And it took a few blessings in disguise to find it.

"We had some injuries that forced us to make some changes, and for the most part those changes worked out for us," Bailey said.

For instance, Mike DeLeeuw opened the season at third base but moved to first base when an injury limited his mobility. That opened up a spot at third base, so Chad Chambers was shifted to fill that void.

When Chambers pulled a hamstring, Bailey put Joey Jobst at third, and he played so well there that Chambers was moved to second base upon his return.

When another injury slowed DeLeeuw, he was switched to designated hitter, the spot held by slugging freshman Bo Darby. Since Bailey knew he needed Darby's bat in the lineup, he switched the Logan product to right field. First base, meanwhile, was filled by Ryne Holestine.

Bailey's tinkering came to full fruition on that April 5, during a doubleheader at Bluefield State. After losing the opener, the Jackets came out in the nightcap and rolled to a 28-0 win.

The roll hasn't stopped since then. Sure, there was a 5-4 loss at West Virginia Wesleyan three days later, but the Jackets took a 12-game winning streak into the WVC tournament.

After losing 13-5 to Shepherd in the tournament opener, State - facing elimination each time out - won four straight to take the title, outscoring the competition 41-6 in those four games.

"It took a while to figure it all out, but that streak started when we made all those changes," Bailey said. "I call it seat-of-the-pants psychology - you go with what your gut tells you to do until it works, and then you look like a genius. Or if it doesn't work, you go with something else.

"But if a team plays well together and gets rolling, you stick with it."

One thing's for sure - the revamped lineup has worked for State. When the regional starts Thursday, the lineup will look like this (listing batting average, home runs and RBIs):

Briefly

State (36-12) is ranked No. 2 in the North Atlantic Region, behind only West Chester State (41-12) of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. ... Two other WVC teams will be in the regional field: No. 3 Concord (35-13) and No. 4 Pitt Johnstown (35-17-1). The other qualifiers, both from the PSAC, are Shippensburg (34-23) and Kutztown (30-24), which edged West Chester in the PSAC title game. ... Bailey said the site and pairings for the regional should be announced Sunday. West Chester did not submit a bid to the NCAA to be the host school, and updated NCAA regulations require that the host field have lights for night games, so State's home park is out. Bailey believes the regional will be awarded to Point Stadium in Johnstown, Pa., site of last week's WVC tournament.

To contact staff writer Nick Scala, use e-mail or call 348-7947.