WVU Baseball, Armani Guzman Walk Off Kentucky; Will Host Super Regional

Morgantown, W.Va. — WVU Baseball advanced to the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament with a 6-5 win in 10 innings on Monday, June 1, first baseman Armani Guzman’s series-clinching single just missing the glove of center fielder Jayce Tharnish.

The base hit scored Mountaineers’ (43-15) second baseman Brodie Kresser, who endured a brutal weekend in the field. Kresser managed to find redemption at the last moment, sparking West Virginia’s rally with a leadoff single. Ben Lumsden drew a walk to put the winning run in scoring position.

Despite the late theatrics, the Mountaineers cruised through the first seven innings, amassing a 5-1 lead with steady hitting. It all came crashing down in the eighth, reliever Ian Korn allowing a pair of two-out singles. First baseman Hudson Brown obliterated a 440-foot home run on the following pitch, cutting the lead to one.

Not Done Yet

Second baseman Ethan Hindle cleared the fences five pitches later, the Mountaineers’ lead evaporating like moonshine in the Blue Lot on a fall Saturday. Chansen Cole, who pitched six innings against Binghamton to kick off West Virginia’s regional run, got the Mountaineers out of the inning and recorded five outs in relief.

Cole began to labor in the tenth, and head coach Steve Sabins turned to Dawson Montesa — who threw 122 pitches the previous day — in the middle of an at-bat against Hindle. Montesa walked Hindle before getting out of the jam, and Guzman’s single gave him his second win in as many days.

The win marks West Virginia’s third straight Regional championship, and sets up a Super Regional matchup with Cal Poly — giving the Mountaineers (43-15) a chance to host for the first time in program history.

Mountaineers Cruise Early On

West Virginia took a 1-0 lead in the first inning: Gavin Kelly hit a ground-rule double, took third on a groundout and came home on a dropped third strike.

Starting pitcher Maxx Yehl, who departed with a shoulder injury after two outs on May 30, rebounded for five innings, striking out six batters on 67 pitches and allowing just one run. Yehl allowed two baserunners in the first but froze Hindle to end the frame; the only other blemish to his line came on first baseman Hudson Brown’s fourth inning solo shot.

While the Mountaineers’ bats didn’t put together any of the monstrous rallies that saw them score 40 runs in their first four games of the regional, they chipped away at Kentucky’s pitching staff methodically. Armani Guzman led off the third with a bunt single to no man’s land that left first base uncovered. He stole second on a failed pickoff attempt, then advanced another 90 feet on a groundout to third, waiting for the throw before taking off. A Paul Schoenfeld groundout brought Guzman home.

Guzman doubled, Gavin Kelly walked and Paul Schoenfeld singled in a run to open the fifth. Matthew Graveline doubled home another run, giving the Mountaineers a 4-1 lead — and enough cushion for head coach Steve Sabins to call in Ian Korn from the bullpen. Kelly added insurance with a solo shot in the sixth… insurance they sorely needed as Kentucky raced back to tie the game, setting the stage for Guzman’s heroics.