While I ran onto the field trying to get the same photo angles and hopefully-viral moments like every other journalist in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s Super Regional triumph, I got goosebumps.
135 years in the making.
What WVU Baseball has turned into for its school, its fans, and its state is nothing short of unbelievable. Look anywhere on social media, everyone other than Pitt fans and teams who got bumped by the Mountaineers are simply enamored. For good reason, too. Read more: WVU Baseball has captured the heart of America.
This year’s squad and the program it represents, in my opinion, is as American as apple pie. All it’s missing is a sandlot field at this point. It’s a team of hard-working, humble (looking at you, Mr. Turnquist, ace pitcher from Cal Poly), and talented kids. It goes beyond a paycheck and having your face slapped on the side of a promotional menu item. This team is West Virginia through and through.
The national spotlight
People can see the vision, and they’ve fallen in love.
If you had NBC Nightly News on this week, you saw the scene from Kendrick Family Ballpark after WVU won the Regional title against Kentucky in their “good news” segment.
If you went on X/Twitter, you probably saw one of the Ole Miss fan accounts has praising the Mountaineer faithful for helping create a generational atmosphere.
ESPN put its neck on the line, testing copyright waters to let THE song ring out. I’d say the broadcast crew made the right call on that one.
Pat McAfee took a break from his own show to sit with Rich Rodriguez, among the fans, pounding beverages at noon on a Friday.
I even saw Cal Poly fans stick around to sing Country Roads on Saturday, arms wrapped around WVU fans whose team just eliminated theirs. Is this the twilight zone?
More than a storyline
Not only is it a captivating story, it’s also one of the most fun baseball teams you’ll ever see play.
They’re having a blast out there, even when the games are tough. It’s simply amplified when putting on a 5-homer, 17-1 drubbing in front of a record-breaking 4,675 fans inside the park, along with however many thousand on Randy’s Ridge. And that’s after an extensive weather delay that put a real damper on things until the sun returned.
Related: Consistent onslaught propels Mountaineers to Super Regional title, Omaha
That’s the type of reward a team gets when it’s actively rewriting the record books and sending the program to its first College World Series.
But when you look at the performances that got the Mountaineers to their literal moment in the sun on Saturday — hoisting the Super Regional trophy after an extended dogpile celebration — they’re just as important.
It’s the outings when Maxx Yehl would throw 100+ pitches in a complete game. Or how about when Brodie Kresser slugged a walk-off, 10th inning grand slam against Columbia in March? Maybe the one when Gavin Kelly, Sean Smith, and Armani Guzman combined for nine hits on the road against a nasty Arizona State team?
Those are just some of the moments that, in part, paid off when Ben McDougal threw the final strike against the Mustangs Saturday. This team has talent, heart, and grit. Fans around the country, whether they don the old gold and blue or not, know it.
And I’d venture to say they love it.
But there’s more work to do, of course.
Job’s not done
The hopes of completing the final ascension to national glory start Friday in Omaha, Nebraska. Truth be told, typing “Omaha” and using it in a positive manner instead of “WVU falls short of Omaha again” feels so wrong, yet so right. It’s no longer a fairytale… it’s reality.
WVU has a date with Troy to kick off the double-elimination celebration of baseball at Charles Schwab Field. The College World Series runs from June 12 to June 21-22, and we’ll be there for it.
Staff writer Brendan Statler will be in the Cornhusker State to bring you insight from the tourney. Other contributors set to be on location include publisher John Fredericks and staff writer Quinn Robie (pulling double duty with student media).
While I wish I could be there, it’s going to be one wild ride regardless. There may be sadness if WVU falls short, but the fact the Mountaineers are going is worth a cheer, maybe a beer, and a fan screaming “let’s go Mountaineers.”
If you wondered why I told you I had goosebumps while dashing to the field Saturday, now you know.
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The West Virginia Mountaineers are a great example of showing what hard work, and never giving up, will accomplish. Dedication still has a place in success.