WVU rallies late, holds off Clemson
WVU athletics
CLEMSON, S.C — West Virginia’s flair for the dramatic got the Mountaineers back to a regional final for a second consecutive season following a 9-6 victory against Clemson on Saturday night inside Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
Armani Guzman hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to beat Kentucky in the opening round. Against the Tigers (45-17), it was Sam White’s turn to come up big in the clutch.
White’s double in the top of the ninth sparked a four-run inning that gave the Mountaineers a 9-5 lead. WVU relief pitchers Chase Meyer and Ben McDougal got through a sketchy bottom of the ninth. Clemson scored one, but McDougal struck out Jack Crighton with the bases loaded to end the game.
“We had so many great individual performances,” WVU head coach Steve Sabins said. “So many people came together to make that game possible… started really great on offense… ended up trailing the game by the seventh inning and came back and put together a really nice ninth inning.”
WVU (43-14) is one win away from clinching a berth into the super regionals for a second consecutive season, a format the Mountaineers know well, having won the Tucson, Ariz. Regional last season as the No. 3 seed.
White finished 3 for 5 and drove in two runs.
WVU took an early 3-0 lead after Skylar King was hit in the first at-bat of the game, which set the tone. WVU remained aggressive at the plate, as right fielder Jace Rinehart would hit his 21st double and record his 51st RBI on the season, leading the team in both categories.
Clemson’s star pitcher Aidan Knaak would start to settle back in, retiring the Mountaineers in order in two consecutive innings.
The Mountaineers would strike gold again, in the top of the fifth. Logan Sauve singled into right field to get Brodie Kresser home from second base.
West Virginia’s ace Jack Kartsonas was dealing. Through 5 ⅓ innings, Kartsonas struck out seven, only allowing three hits and two earned runs. The Tigers’ Cam Cannaella, a possible future first- round pick, hit a two-run home run to left field in his third at-bat to narrow the deficit and end the night for Kartsonas.
Trouble came in a hurry as soon as Kartsonas left the mound. Carson Estridge, usually a trustworthy arm out of the bullpen, only got off seven pitches before he was relieved by Reese Bassinger.
Jace Rinehart was substituted out of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning.
“Jace is good,” said Sabins. “We had some different lineup options going on and when we had the lead (4-0), it slipped away really quickly… We were just playing some defensive replacements.”
Bassinger’s first pitch in relief was taken out to right center field by Crighton and Cannarella would run around the bases to score from second. Jacob Jarrell would fly out deep enough to left field to score Collin Priest. The momentum flipped to the home crowd as it was tied up, going into the seventh inning.
In the bottom of the seventh, Cannarella continued to have a huge night. After his previous two-run home run in the fifth, Cannarella hit an RBI double off the wall to put Clemson ahead 5-4.
Meyer, fresh out of the bullpen, came in and did his job by not allowing any more runs. West Virginia converted a double play to end the inning and strand the bases loaded.
In the top of the eighth, Guzman, who was 2 for 4 with two RBIs, hit an RBI double to tie the game up once again.
The Mountaineers broke the tie in the top of the ninth inning. White gave the Mountaineers the lead with his clutch double. Ben Lumsden would add an insurance run with his RBI single to make the score 7-5. Guzman and King were each hit by a pitch that would walk two more runners home.
Four Clemson batters would reach base after Meyer retired the first two batters in the ninth. A single, two walks and a hit batter made it 9-6 and put the potential tying run on base and the winning run at the plate. Sabins then called on McDougal who struck out Crighton to end the game and earn the save.
“All these guys came to West Virginia to play these games in the biggest crowds with the best venues in the country,” Sabins said. “most of them, their games elevated in these kinds of environments.”
WVU was to play the winner of Sunday’s Clemson-Kentucky game, which was slated to begin at noon, in the winner’s bracket of the regional, at 6 p.m. The Mountaineers must still be beaten twice not to advance so a loss on Sunday night would force a winner-take-all game Monday.