Kentucky falls to West Virginia 13-12 in Clemson Regional Final

Kentucky’s season came to an end on Sunday night as it fell to No. 2 seed West Virginia 13-12 in the Clemson Regional Final. The ‘Cats finish the season with a 31-26 record, clinching a 30-win season for the fourth consecutive year.

A solo home run from Devin Burkes in the top of the eighth inning gave Kentucky a 12-7 advantage, but West Virginia scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to steal the win.

Nick Mingione’s program lost seven of its nine offensive players, its entire starting rotation and multiple bullpen pieces from the 2024 Men’s College World Series team. The goal this season was always to make an NCAA Tournament Regional, and winning a game was a plus. The future is bright for a returning core of shortstop Tyler Bell, utility piece Ryan Schwartz, left-handed pitcher Ben Cleaver and first baseman Hudson Brown.

“We’ve recruited really good players,” Mingione said following Kentucky’s win over USC Upstate on Saturday. “You cannot win the Kentucky Derby with a donkey. It will not happen. Really it goes beyond recruiting. What I should say is we’ve evaluated properly. That has to happen first. Our evaluation of talent has been done really well.”

Kentucky followed up its 16-run performance against Clemson in the first game with 12 runs on 13 hits Sunday night. Seven of Kentucky’s nine offensive starters recorded a hit, with five recording two hits. Senior left fielder Cole Hage (2-4, 3 RBI), redshirt freshman DH Hudson Brown (2-3, HR, 3 RBI) and senior catcher Devin Burkes (2-3, HR, 3 RBI) led the way, but it however was not enough.

On to the offseason.

Kentucky responds to early West Virginia run

Just as it did in the early game against Clemson, Kentucky fell into an early deficit against West Virginia Saturday night.

Senior right-hander Scott Rouse got the start for the ‘Cats and allowed a solo home run to West Virginia’s second batter of the game Logan Sauve, giving the Mountaineers an early 1-0 lead.

That lead didn’t last long however, as Kentucky’s offense plated four runs in the top of the second inning. It marked the third time on Saturday that it had scored at least four runs in an inning (five in third inning, six in fourth inning against Clemson).

Patrick Herrera drew a one-out walk, and then advanced to second on a failed pickoff attempt by West Virginia right-hander Robby Porco. Porco then walked Ryan Schwartz and Hudson Brown to load the bases, effectively ending his outing.

He was replaced by senior right-hander Reese Bassinger, who immediately surrendered a two-run single to left field to Devin Burkes. Burkes, who entered Saturday with just two hits in his prior 39 at-bats, had now driven in RBIs in both games on Saturday.

Luke Lawrence followed Burkes by beating out an infield single, bringing Cole Hage up to bat with the bases loaded. Hage delivered with a two-run single of his own up the middle, bringing home both Brown and Burkes. Suddenly, it was 4-1 Wildcats.

Herrera and McCoy add to Wildcat lead

Rouse sat the Mountaineers down in order in the both the second and third innings, throwing just 11 total pitches in the span. This allowed Kentucky to tack on some insurance runs in both the third and fourth innings.

Carson Hansen continued his hot streak at the plate with a chopping single up the middle to open the third inning, and he was immediately brought home by a Patrick Herrera RBI-double smacked down the left field line. Herrera recorded his first extra-base hit since May 10 (Oklahoma).

Luke Lawrence and Cole Hage then led off the fourth inning with back-to-back singles, putting runners on the corners with no outs. James McCoy continued his late season contributions for the ‘Cats and drove home Lawrence with an RBI sac-fly to deep center field, making it 6-1 Kentucky.

Unlike the previous game however, that lead would not hold for the ‘Cats.

Mountaineers storm back to take lead

Following two stellar innings for Scott Rouse, he quickly allowed West Virginia to load the bases in the fourth. Rouse allowed back-to-back hits and plunked DH Sam White, bringing up second baseman Gavin Kelly. Kelly hit what would have been a double play ball right to Kentucky shortstop Tyler Bell, but Bell booted the ball and allowed a run to score.

This kicked off a bad run of luck for the ‘Cats.

Rouse then allowed a two-run single to WVU first baseman Ben Lumsden, effectively ending his day. He was replaced by left-hander Jackson Nove, who also struggled in a major way. He plunked the first batter he faced and then gave up a two-run single to third baseman Armani Guzman, which tied the game at six.

Nove was then replaced with right-hander Simon Gregersen, who allowed the seventh and go-ahead run to score on an RBI-groundout hit by catcher Logan Sauve. Kentucky’s 6-1 lead had suddenly turned into a 7-6 deficit.

Resilient ‘Cats fight back to regain lead

West Virginia’s lead however would be brief, as the resilient ‘Cats would fight back in the top of the fifth with two more runs.

Patrick Herrera drew a leadoff walk and Ryan Schwartz reached on an infield single, putting runners on first and second for the red-hot Hudson Brown. Brown delivered with an RBI-single up the middle to tie the game, but that wouldn’t be the end of his offensive output for the night.

Devin Burkes and Luke Lawrence were then plunked to load the bases, giving Cole Hage a chance to give Kentucky the lead once again. He drew a 3-1 walk, earning the lead back in a modest way.

Gregersen turned in a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the fifth, bringing the ‘Cats back up to the plate in the sixth. Their big offensive day continued as Carson Hansen led off the frame with a single and took second on a passed ball.

With Hansen dancing on second base, the redshirt freshman Hudson Brown delivered again. He roped a no-doubt two-run home run over the right field fence to give Kentucky an 11-7 lead. Brown only found his way into the lineup on Saturday following Tyler Bell‘s absence, but has made the absolute most of it.

On the two-run blast, he drove in his seventh and eighth RBI of the Regional.

Wildcats lose five-run lead in eighth inning

Devin Burkes extended Kentucky’s lead to five with a solo home run in the top of the eighth, but that cushion would ultimately not be enough.

The bottom of the eighth inning was yet another all systems failure for the Wildcat pitching staff, as they allowed West Virginia to score six runs to take a late lead. Right-hander Tommy Skelding walked DH Sam White with the bases loaded, right-hander Nile Adcock allowed a two-run single to second baseman Gavin Kelly, right-hander James McCoy allowed a two-run single to first baseman Ben Lumsden and left-hander Hayden Smith allowed a go-ahead RBI-single to third baseman Armani Guzman.

Every single relief pitcher that Kentucky used in the eighth inning allowed a run, and it was now 13-12 West Virginia. All six of their runs in the eighth were scored with two outs in the inning.

The Wildcats were unable to muster a run in the top of the ninth to tie it, falling 13-12.

What’s next for Kentucky?

With the loss, Kentucky’s 2025 season has concluded.