West Virginia had to wait 2 hours and 41 minutes to get things going against Kentucky in game one of the Clemson Regional on Friday.
The wait was worth it in the end, as after trailing 3-0, WVU rallied back, before walking off Kentucky on a sacrifice-fly from Armani Guzman, scoring Brodie Kresser as WVU beat the Wildcats 4-3.
Kresser was charged with two errors in the game before he came up big in the ninth. He hit a leadoff double before scoring the ultimate winning run as the Mountaineers earned their first walk-off win of the season.
West Virginia sent their ace Griffin Kirn to the mound on Friday, and he would escape a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, getting a double play to do so.
Kentucky would not be able to have the same success against Kirn in the second or third innings, before they were able to get to him in the fourth, but mostly because of self-inflicted wounds from the Mountaineers.
It started with a double and a bloop single, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Kentucky’s Patrick Herrera would then pop up a bunt, which Kirn dove for, coming up just short, allowing a run to score. After a double steal on a strikeout, Kirn was then seemingly out of the inning, but a bobbled ball by Brodie Kresser, compounded with an errant throw, put Kentucky in front 3-0 without a ball leaving the infield.
Kentucky threatened again in the fifth, but he did not allow a run to score, stranding two runners on base, throwing 47 pitches between the fourth and fifth innings combined.
West Virginia’s offense answered back, getting some help from Kentucky along the way. The Mountaineers scored two runs after an infield single, and then Logan Sauve reached first to extend the inning on a high throw. A pitch hit Kyle West to load the bases, before Jace Rinehart came up.
Rinehart entered the game with one hit in his last 19 at-bats. He appeared to ground out, but a bad throw by Kentucky second baseman Luke Lawrence allowed two runs to score, as WVU trailed 3-2.
West Virginia then appeared to take a lead as Sam White unloaded on a breaking ball. White bat flipped, thinking he hit a go-ahead home run, but with the harsh wind blowing in from right field, had the ball ended up being caught just in front of the wall, ending the inning.
West Virginia would end up tying the game their next turn at bat, as a leadoff double from Gavin Kelly ended up scoring on a ground out from Kresser, tying things at 3-3 in the sixth.
Kirn would stay in the game into the eighth inning, as his 118th pitch of the game was his last, ending with a strikeout. In came Reese Bassinger, who would get the next two outs, keeping the game at 3-3 going into the bottom of the eighth.
Kirn’s day finished with him throwing 7.1 innings, striking out seven, and allowing three runs, but only one earned.
Kentucky starting pitcher Ben Cleaver was cruising throughout the first part of the game, as he finished six innings, striking out five, also allowing three runs, but only one earned.
Kentucky had the go-ahead run reach in the top of the ninth as another wide throw from Brodie Kresser pulled Grant Hussey off the bag, as he couldn't put the tag on the runner, allowing the runner to reach. That runner advanced to second on a bunt, giving Kentucky a chance to take the lead. Bassinger would strand the runners as a pop out and then a strikeout kept things tied.
Kresser started the bottom of the ninth with a double that landed between the left field foul line and the diving attempt of Kentucky left fielder Cole Hage.
Kresser then advanced to third on a wild pitch, before scoring on the sac-fly.
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