When West Virginia's lineup was announced on Friday ahead of their opening game against Kentucky, two new names were penciled in.
Armani Guzman was playing third base, and Ben Lumsden was playing first base. In the end, head coach Steve Sabins pushed all the right buttons for the Mountaineers this weekend as they swept through the Clemson Regional and advanced to the Super Regionals.
During West Virginia's six-run eighth inning against Kentucky on Sunday, the Mountaineers had both guys come up with clutch two-out hits, as they played crucial roles for WVU all weekend long.
"I mean, it's a lot, it's sick, but I think more than just myself, just to the team, it shows that we all have it. I was a guy who didn't play the last month and a half, and I'm here in this position. So I think it's a big confidence boost to each guy, knowing that," Guzman said.
Guzman finished the weekend with eight hits in 12 at-bats, while he drove in six runs, including three on Sunday. The runs he drove in came at crucial times as well, being the game-winning run on Friday, the tying run on Saturday, and the eventual game-winning run again on Sunday.
"I just try to be an athlete. I mean, [Sabins] talks about it all the time. His job is to place us where he thinks we best fit, and my job is to play the game. So that's all I do," Guzman said.
Lumsden had started only one game before this weekend, coming all the way back in February. He started the regional 0-for-7 at the plate, before he had an RBI single on Saturday, and then had two hits and four RBIs on Sunday.
"Shout out Benjamin Lumsden, that guy hasn't played all year. He struggled, and look at him with the four [RBIs]. Just the confidence that we have in each other is huge, and I think it just goes to show," Guzman said.
In WVU's close-out win over Kentucky, the duo went a combined 6-for-10 with six RBIs and two runs scored.
"People stepped up massively in the biggest spots, in the biggest moments, and they just kept playing hard regardless of score or situation," Sabins said.
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