Fundamentals Fail WVU Baseball Despite Uncharacteristic Comeback

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – WVU Baseball scored nine or more runs in 23 of their 55 games so far in the 2026 season. Saturday, May 30 marked their first loss in such a game, an 11-9 decision against Kentucky that put the Mountaineers’ season on the brink.

“I think we made big pitches in big moments, and they got big hits in big moments,” Mountaineers head coach Steve Sabins said in his postgame press conference. “But in general, it wasn’t our cleanest game, that’s for sure… We didn’t play our best game, we weren’t really clean on defense. We gave away a ton of free passes, just didn’t play a really good ball game, but obviously the effort and the intensity was there.”

Improvise and Adapt

Effort and intensity was there, indeed. West Virginia allowed four runs in the first inning, staff ace Maxx Yehl going down with an injury after just two outs recorded. They trailed 6-0 after two innings but managed to roar all the way back, tying the game on two separate occasions. 

“For our team to bounce back and be able to tie that game, come back, just showed real resiliency,” Sabins said. “These guys just keep playing, and we just keep going, keep playing. Couldn’t be more impressed with the grit and the resiliency that the team showed… We had guys in big moments, answered a call, and I couldn’t be more proud of that.”

Even without their usual fundamentals, Sabins praised the way his team found a way to stay in the game.

“I don’t know if frustrating is the right word. I think I approach this kind of like problem solving,” Sabins said. “When things come up, you look at how you solve the problem. How do you put kids in situations to be successful?… our strengths weren’t on display today, but then we did some really cool stuff that we haven’t done [usually].”

Seizing Momentum

One major contribution came from hybrid starter/reliever Ian Korn, who pitched 3.2 innings in immediate relief of Yehl. While the Mountaineers’ coaching staff have plugged and played Korn in a variety of situations this season, Sabins said that his role against Kentucky presented a new challenge: stepping up for the usually-steady Yehl, the Big 12’s Pitcher of the Year.

“Korn came in and stabilized the game. He has been great in all different kinds of roles. So really impressive what he did. Just in that moment, right, you’re down six. It’s the biggest game of the season. You get called into the game,” Sabins said. 

“Maxx’s shortest outing’s probably five innings this whole year. So as a bullpen arm you’re not expecting that, certainly. The one thing that you can count on is Maxx Yehl being great. That’s what he’s been all season. And so, for Korn to be able to step into that role and really stabilize the game, for us to come storming back was pretty, pretty impressive.”

Korn settled the Mountaineers down on the mound; at the plate, third baseman Tyrus Hall helped start rallies from his spot in the Mountaineers’ nine-hole, getting on base three times as the lineup turned over. Hall’s leadoff walk in the third led to West Virginia’s first run; he also hit two doubles, including one in the seventh that tied the game 8-8.

“I was just trying to be on time for the heater and just go do damage, especially at the bottom of the lineup,” Hall said. “I think you usually get more fastballs, so I was just trying to be ready to go.”

Successful Counterpunches

Catcher Gavin Kelly added a pair of home runs and three RBI, steadily cutting into the Wildcats’ lead. After going 3-for-14 in four games to begin the Mountaineers’ postseason, well below his .379 season average, the star catcher said he felt like he could see the ball better.

“The past couple at-bats and games prior, wasn’t seeing the ball great and wasn’t on time with the heater in some at-bats,” Kelly said. “We got punched in the mouth and responded, [but] the outcome wasn’t in our favor.”

First baseman Armani Guzman scored the tying run on both occasions, drawing an errant throw on a stolen base in the fifth inning before scoring on Hall’s double in the seventh. Sabins described Guzman as the Mountaineers’ spark plug.

West Virginia’s Armani Guzman prepares for a pitch during an 11-9 loss to Kentucky in the 2026 NCAA Regional in Morgantown, W.Va. (WVSN photo by Kelsie LeRose)

“Great defender, great hitter, unbelievable baserunner. He’s just fun to be around, because he’s one of those guys that sometimes you’ve gotta pull the reins back a little bit. As a coach, that’s what you love,” Sabins said. “You want guys that you have to say ‘maybe not right now is the time to steal third,’ but he’s hunting when he’s on the field. He’s always looking for the out, looking for the extra base. He’s finding ways to win, he’s thinking through the game.”

After erasing a six-run deficit and tying the game twice, responding wasn’t the Mountaineers’ issue: instead, they couldn’t come away with the go-ahead run. While they brought the tying run to the plate with no outs in the ninth, West Virginia eventually ran out of runway, a Brodie Kresser double play all but ending their chance of another Houdini act.

Season on the Line

Sabins alluded to how the team will need to empty the tank in order to keep their season alive: they’ll need to win two games Sunday and a decisive fifth game Monday in order to advance. As such, the Mountaineers’ coaching staff will look for contributors anywhere they can find them.

“It’s very difficult to line up for the future, because the worst case scenario would be thinking that you had somebody in the bullpen that could help you win the game when your season’s over,” Sabins said. 

“So I think it’s really more about the next man up. And as you win games, you’re gonna have to have some heroic performances, and that was the message to the team at the end of the game, essentially. If you haven’t had the ball a ton, or you’ve been dying to pitch more or to be in the biggest games of the season, like your time’s coming. Like get ready for it.”

WVU will face Wake Forest with their season on the line at 12 p.m. on Sunday, May 31. The winner of that game will advance to face Kentucky in the second leg of a doubleheader that evening.

Find more coverage of the WVU baseball program at WV Sports Now.