West Virginia Rallies Past Kentucky 11-9 With Record 5-Run 9th, Forcing Regional Final
Updated
Updated · KSR · Jun 1
West Virginia Rallies Past Kentucky 11-9 With Record 5-Run 9th, Forcing Regional Final
4 articles · Updated · KSR · Jun 1
Five ninth-inning runs lifted West Virginia to an 11-9 win over Kentucky, sending the Morgantown Regional to a winner-take-all championship game Monday.
Kentucky's collapse came after a 9-6 lead entering the ninth: an error, two walks, a bases-loaded walk, a sacrifice fly, a balk and Paul Schoenfeld's two-run homer flipped the game.
Kentucky's pitching problems ran throughout the night, issuing 10 walks, hitting two batters and throwing 201 pitches, while West Virginia capitalized on nearly every mistake.
Ben McDougal steadied the Mountaineers over the final five innings, allowing three hits, no walks and six strikeouts as West Virginia stayed alive despite Kentucky's 13-hit attack.
The teams will meet for a third time at 6 p.m. ET Monday, with the regional title and a super regional hosting chance at stake after overall No. 1 seed UCLA was eliminated.
Was West Virginia’s improbable comeback a story of heroism, or a cautionary tale of Kentucky's complete ninth-inning meltdown?
Can one pitcher’s career-defining game propel a team to host its first-ever Super Regional, or will exhaustion catch up to the Mountaineers?