The Mountaineers won three consecutive games in their region to advance to the next round. They came back and won a nail-biter over Kentucky, 13-12. They beat Kentucky twice and Clemson in the Clemson Regional after struggling in the final part of the regular season and Big 12 tournament. WVU has advanced to a super regional for the second season in a row.
They have an outside chance to host the next round if Little Rock can beat LSU twice to win their region. The eight highest seeds of the regional winners will host a three-game series on June 6-8 to determine which teams will compete in the College World Series. Read more: WVU clinches bid to super regional with win over Kentucky.
Recap: WVU Clinches Bid to Super Regional with Win Over Kentucky
Logan Sauve started the scoring for WVU with a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning. Robby Porco started for the Mountaineers but only lasted 1.1 innings after giving up three earned runs in the top of the second. Reese Bassinger replaced him and allowed another run to make the score 4-1.
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Bassinger continued into the third inning and allowed a single and a double to give Kentucky another run. That brought the score to 5-1 in favor of the Wildcats. He allowed another run in the top of the fourth on a sacrifice fly. WVU trailed 6-1 going into the bottom of the fourth but posted a six-run inning to take the lead.
Kyle West singled to center with one out in the bottom of the fourth, and Jace Rinehart followed it with an infield single. Sam White was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Gavin Kelly. Kelly grounded into a fielder’s choice but picked up an RBI. Ben Lumsden singled to center to score two more runs and move Kelly to third. After a pitching change for the Wildcats, Brodie Kresser was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Armani Guzman drove two runners home with a single to center to continue his electric play throughout regional play. Sauve recorded the final RBI of the inning on a fielder’s choice to make it 7-6 in favor of WVU.
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Bassinger’s final batter faced came in the top of the fifth when he allowed a single, which drove in a run and tied the game at 7. Ben McDougal replaced him but struggled with his control. He hit his first two batters faced and walked in a run to give the Wildcats an 8-7 lead. He was relieved by Carson Estridge, who struck out two batters to finish the inning.
Estridge allowed two more runs in the sixth inning on a two-run home run from Hudson Brown. He walked the next batter and was relieved by JJ Glasscock. Lumsden committed an error at first base to allow another run across home plate, which gave Kentucky an 11-7 lead.
Cole Fehrman pitched the seventh inning and did not allow a run, and Benjamin Hudson took the mound in the top of the eighth. He gave up a solo home run to Devin Burkes, which gave Kentucky a 12-7 lead.
Armani Guzman led off the bottom of the eighth with a single and scored with two outs after a couple of walks. Kelly drove in two more runs with a single to shallow left-center to cut the lead to two runs. White and Kelly advanced a base on a wild pitch, which set up the game-tying single for Lumsden. Guzman was the hero again tonight when he came up for the second time in the inning. He singled to right center to score another run, which gave WVU a 13-12 lead. Griffin Kirn came in for the top of the ninth inning and only allowed one baserunner before securing the final out of the game.
Key Takeaways
Armani Guzman had a four-hit night to lead the Mountaineers to another victory from the bottom of the order. It should not be understated how pivotal a decision it was from head coach Steve Sabins to start Guzman in the first game of regional play. He went eight for 12 in three games and recorded six RBIs, batting ninth for WVU. He also scored two runs. Lumsden had a stellar night, going two for five with some timely hits. He recorded four RBIs and scored one run. Jorge Valdes also pinch-ran for him in the eighth inning and scored a run. Gavin Kelly also played a huge role on Sunday, recording three RBIs and scoring twice. Two of his RBIs came with two outs. WVU had 12 hits in the contest and seven walks.
The pitching staff did not perform to their best abilities tonight, but it was their third game in three days. Pitching is the most important aspect of the postseason, and every team ran into trouble due to the condensed schedule. They did throw a lot of strikes, however. They had 132 strikes to Kentucky’s 90 and struck out 14 batters. WVU walked 10 batters and allowed 13 hits, which is not ideal. It was a team effort, though, and they came out victorious. The Mountaineers used eight different pitchers tonight, and they will get a much-needed rest before the next round starts on June 6.
