Sometimes, the best teams need a performance from an unlikely hero in a time of need on the baseball diamond. The West Virginia Mountaineers (44-14) are no exception, with clutch performances from Ben Lumsden and Armani Guzman, among others, throughout the Clemson Regional. Read more unlikely heroes: Mountaineers who stepped up when it mattered most below.
Perfect Timing
WVU did not lose a single game in the regional round for the second season in a row, but this year was as gut-wrenching and stressful as the game of baseball can get at this level. The Mountaineers came from behind in both games against Kentucky and went back-and-forth with the host team, Clemson. This improbable path to a berth in the Super Regional round would not have been complete without clutch performances, especially timely bursts from players who are hardly in the spotlight.
Starting with Armani Guzman, he was the main catalyst for reigniting the bats for a West Virginia squad that lost its offensive groove late in the regular season. In game one against Kentucky, Guzman went 2-3 with an RBI and hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning. Fast forward to the game against Clemson, the sophomore collected two more RBI and drew a hit-by-pitch in for a second consecutive game.
Related: WVU Clinches Bid to Super Regional with Win Over Kentucky
Most impressive of all, Guzman went 4-5 in the final game against the Wildcats, including an RBI single to take the 13-12 lead in the eighth, an advantage WVU would not surrender. The utility man finished the weekend with eight total hits and tallied six RBI, ultimately earning himself the honor of being named the Clemson Regional Most Outstanding Player. Guzman is a great example of coming up clutch at the perfect time, as the difference-maker for the Mountaineers in the Regional round was an underclassman who only started half the season.
Another standout from the weekend was Ben Lumsden, a Mountaineer who played significantly less than most others who saw action down in South Carolina. Batting a measly .156 on the season does not matter when you can step up to the plate when asked. After a quiet game in the first outing versus UK, Lumsden hit a timely RBI single in the top of the ninth inning against Clemson to extend the lead and make it a 7-5 difference in favor of WVU. The junior outfielder saved his best performance for the final game, as Lumsden went 2-5 and recorded four RBI, two of those runs coming off a single earlier in the 8th inning before Guzman gave the Mountaineers the go-ahead run.
Moral of the Story
Simply put, a team’s star players are not always the “X-factor” in a big win. WVU found that out firsthand, with Head Coach Steve Sabins putting trust into the likes of Guzman and Lumsden when the season is hanging in the balance.
Gutsy moves by the skipper paid off in spades, as the Mountaineers might be sitting at home if not for the clutch performances from players who have ridden the bench at times throughout the season. For example, Lumsden appeared in 38 games but only started in four of those contests. In short, sometimes it is the unlikely hero that spearheads a winning effort when all seems lost. Keep an eye on players that flew under the radar this season for the Mountaineers, they might surprise some people.
Unlikely Heroes: Mountaineers Who Stepped Up When It Mattered Most
GO BEN And ARMANI!