GRANVILLE – Paul Schoenfeld’s throw from the outfield flew through the air as if it had been shot out of a cannon. It sailed over the cutoff man and headed straight for the West Virginia dugout.
Somehow the ball bounced off the padding on the outside of the dugout fence and remained in play, which is where WVU first baseman Armani Guzman corralled it and relayed it to teammate Gavin Kelly at the plate just in time for Kelly to make one heck of a tag on Kentucky’s Carsen Hansen to end the fifth inning.
You could attend another 1,000 games inside Kendrick Family Ballpark and probably never see another play like that.
Unfortunately, the moment just also happened to symbolize West Virginia’s 11-9 loss against Kentucky in the NCAA tournament on Saturday night.
It was an amazing play that required great athleticism and pinpoint accuracy and timing, but it only happened because of a really bad throw.
Make no doubt, Kentucky’s victory over the Mountaineers (40-15) had a bit of everything. It had intrigue, drama and storylines galore. It even had ballpark security getting in the middle of a, ahem, heated discussion between a WVU fan and a Kentucky fan.
It had everything but good baseball being played.
“We didn’t play our best game,” WVU head coach Steve Sabins said afterward. “We weren’t really clean on defense and we gave away a ton of free passes. We just didn’t play a really good ballgame. The effort and the intensity was there, but overall it was a sloppy game.”
The momentum switched back and forth, as if it was a tennis ball getting pummelled on both sides of the net. Not a single fan among the 4,256 in attendance and the hundreds more sitting on the hill outside the stadium headed for the parking lot early.
“There were a lot of ups and downs,” said Kelly, who had two home runs and three RBIs for the Mountaineers. “It just speaks volumes about our offense and we’re a resilient group of guys and gritty.”
Certainly there was some good on display by both teams, but there was definitely more bad and ugly that either preceded or followed the good.
West Virginia fans could argue – minus two critical errors and stranding nine runners on base – that the Mountaineers should be playing in today’s regional final with a 9-8 comeback victory. Kentucky fans could counter that the Wildcats (33-21) probably should have won 14-9.
And they would both be right. That’s the type of game this was.
In short, it just may have been the most exciting and awful game played at the same time.
First, we go with the good. Guzman’s play was terrific. Schoenfeld threw a rope from center field in the first inning that got Hudson Brown out at third. Ian Korn kept WVU’s head above water on the mound in relief. Kelly hit two monster home runs and Tyrus Hall had three RBIs.
The problem: Most of that happened only after or during all hell breaking loose. Schoenfeld’s throw came in the midst of Kentucky opening the game with a four spot in the first inning, so that could have been a lot worse.
When Guzman made his play, Kentucky had the bases loaded and Owen Jenkins’ single had already plated two runs to give the Wildcats an 8-6 lead.
WVU ace Maxx Yehl, the No. 1 reason the Mountaineers entered the game as the favorite, didn’t even get out of the first inning. He threw just 36 pitches, before signaling to the dugout for the trainer and coming out of the game.
At this point, you just pray Yehl is OK and doesn’t need surgery again. He had Tommy John surgery in 2024 and missed all of last season.
“Maxx left the game with an injury,” Sabins confirmed. “We don’t know exactly what it is. I don’t even know if Maxx has been checked out yet.”
Both of WVU’s errors were charged to second baseman Brodie Kresser and they both led to Kentucky runs.
This was a night when West Virginia played very un-West Virginia like. Just about every worst-case scenario you could think of happened at the absolute worst time, and it may cost the Mountaineers a shot at winning a NCAA regional for a third season.
“That’s why you play these games and there is such a human factor in all of this,” Sabins said. “I don’t know if frustrating is the right word. I’m obsessed with winning and performing well, so that part hurts.
“Our strengths weren’t on display today, but we did some really cool stuff that we haven’t done. We’ll turn the page and get it going Sunday.”
