Furious Comeback Marks a Coming Of Age for WVU Baseball

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – WVU Baseball trailed 9-6 entering the ninth inning against Kentucky on Sunday, May 31, the last of 18 innings they played that day — and potentially the last inning of their 2026 season. The Mountaineers weren’t ready to call it quits, however, storming ahead with a five-run rally that kept their season alive for another day.

Playing in front of a pulsing home crowd that gained another decibel for every ball taken, every run scratched across, Mountaineers head coach Steve Sabins said he felt a moment of clarity.

“In those moments of high stress or high anxiety or high noise, I’m usually clearer, is the truth. Usually things slow down for me. And so in those moments, I usually get to appreciate the crowd and that kind of stuff, just because you’re thinking through the game,” Sabins said.

“Look What’s Been Built at West Virginia”

“I remember just looking up and you’re seeing the sky, a beautiful sky. You have people on the hill. There’s guys with their shirts off, waving them, and it’s a little bit quieter for me… The game and the fans, that stuff’s super special because it is built. Like, it doesn’t happen, the kids build that by how they perform… So for me, it’s just like looking out over the sky, being like, ‘look what’s been built at West Virginia.’ So, pretty magical.”

Sabins also took stock of the players who made that moment possible. Four straight NCAA Tournament appearances and the greatest stretch in the program’s modern history culminating in a chance to host an NCAA Regional in front of their home crowd, a chance to make their third straight Super Regional with a win on Monday.

“Throughout that game you’re kind of having some thoughts about kids, and you’re having emotions about what they’re doing, how they’re competing, and you’re playing to win the game,” Sabins said. “But you’re also playing for young guys to be able to take on adversity, and keep moving forward and turn the scoreboard off, and that’s really the most fulfilling thing.”

Multiple Mountaineers answered adversity’s call throughout the doubleheader. Dawson Montesa got West Virginia to that point in the first place, pitching 7.1 innings in the first game to give his team a chance to keep advancing. Center fielder Paul Schoenfeld and left-handed reliever Ben McDougal play hero in the nightcap.

Schoenfeld’s Shoulder

Schoenfeld started despite getting shaken up at the end of the first game as he dove to make a play on the ball. He hit the game-winning home run in the ninth, lofting a flyball to right that the wind carried over the wall.

Schoenfeld said he didn’t have any doubt about playing the second game, wanting to repay the sacrifices his teammates made on his behalf over the last three months of the season.

“These boys are doing so much for me, and the last thing I want to do is have a little banged up shoulder keep me out of the lineup,” Schoenfeld said.

Sabins, too, looked at the big picture.

“You just had a whole bunch of people playing for each other, and playing for something bigger than themselves, and I’ve got two heroes next to me, because they just seized their opportunity,” Sabins said.  “Guys are running on fumes, and you have people making jokes at inopportune times because they’re delirious and dehydrated, and everything in between.”

“I Think I Can Help This Team”

McDougal took the ball in the fifth inning, the fourth Mountaineers pitcher to enter as Sabins emptied the clip with an exhausted bullpen.

The senior left-hander nearly doubled his innings count for the season on Sunday: he entered play with 6.1 frames to his name after missing time with an injury that could’ve qualified him for a medical redshirt and another season of college baseball.

Instead of staying under the qualifying innings limit, McDougal decided to play selfless. He wanted the ball.

“Ben said, I want to go, I think I can help this team. And so we put it in basically Ben’s hands, what he thought was the best thing for his career,” Sabins said. “This is Ben’s last season playing. And so the fact that all the stars align, it’s a godsend that that guy was on that mound for that game, for the state.”

McDougal gave up two home runs in the seventh inning, a moment that could have spiraled, but stayed on course and kept his team within reach.

“We’ve seen McDougal throw strikes and compete, and with that atmosphere, it usually comes down to throw strikes and compete, and you give yourself a chance,” Sabins said. “So he even gave up some home runs, but it’s just whoever can control their heart rate, and that’s what he did.”

Trusting the Climb

Sabins used a number of analogies in describing the sacrifices his players and staff make for WVU Baseball — people he would lay down in traffic for, the camaraderie akin to soldiers at war huddled in a bunker.

No matter what happens in the Regional Final on Monday, Sunday night showed how far the Mountaineers have come since Randy Mazey took the job in June 2012 and gave a glimpse of how much farther they could climb with Sabins, his hand-picked successor, at the helm.

“It’s just the buy-in,” Sabins said, “and you’re really proud of [it]. BecauseI think when you talk to guys and you have belief in what we’re capable of, which I certainly do, for them to have the same kind of belief.

WVU will take on Kentucky at 6 p.m. on Monday, June 1 with home field advantage in the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament on the line.

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