Playing in their first Super Regional in school history, West Virginia had a tall task ahead of them facing No. 4 overall seed North Carolina.
For West Virginia though, after heading into the ninth inning with a lead, things ended in heartbreak, as Vance Honeycutt launched a walkoff two-run home run and North Carolina won game one, 8-6.
For WVU's first Super Regional game in program history, it lived up to the hype. A back-and-forth affair, with Derek Clark trying to be the story for the majority of the game, ended in Clark and the Mountaineers walking off the field, while the Tar Heels were exuberant at home plate.
Clark entered the ninth inning having thrown 133 pitches. He went out there trying to close out the game. On his 134th pitch, the game would be tied, as Luke Stevenson hit a game-tying home run to dead center.
Clark's day ended with 144 pitches being thrown, and in came Aidan Major with one out and a runner on first. Major retired the first batter he faced, before Honeycutt did Honeycutt things.
A 3-1 pitch from Major was crushed by Honeycutt, as WVU now has to win on back-to-back days to advance to the College World Series.
The Mountaineers got a big lift from Kyle West, who had one hit over his last 32 at-bats.
West got the Mountaineers on the board in the third inning, blasting a home run to the wall in his first plate appearance of the evening. UNC responded right back though, as WVU starter Derek Clark ran into trouble.
He got a quick first out, before walking UNC’s nine hitter Colby Wilkerson. That turned their lineup over to Vance Honeycutt who ripped a ball that ricocheted off JJ Wetherholt’s glove at shortstop before the bases were loaded on a walk.
North Carolina made Clark and company pay, as Parks Harber doubled, scoring two, and an error allowed the bases to clear. Harber would later score on a single as UNC took a 4-1 lead.
The lead didn’t stay at three runs for long though, as Brodie Kresser reached on a fielder’s choice, before West doubled to the gap. Kresser was zooming around the bases, but the throw beat him by ton, but his acrobatic slide allowed him to get his hand in and put WVU down two.
In the sixth, Sam White reached on an error for WVU, before Reed Chumley hit his 16th home run of the season, tying the game at 4-4.
Grant Hussey singled, marking the end of the line for UNC starter Shea Sprague.
West ended up adding one more to Sprague’s total, as West hit his second home run of the game, giving WVU a 6-4 lead.
WVU would struggle offensively the rest of the game, as they had runners on second and third with one out, but a strikeout from Chumley and a groundout from Hussey ended the inning.
Clark's night finished as he allowed seven runs, seven hits, striking out eight, and walking three.
West finished going 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double, and four RBIs.
Game two is set for Saturday at 8:00 p.m. from Boshamer Stadium.
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