Kentucky falls to West Virginia 4-3 in opening game of Clemson Regional

Following a near three-hour rain delay, No. 3 seed Kentucky fell to No. 2 seed West Virginia 4-3 in the opening game of the Clemson Regional on Friday. They’ve led first in five consecutive games, but have gone on to lose all five of those games.

With the loss, Kentucky will now be playing the loser of Friday night’s No. 1 Clemson/No. 4 USC Upstate matchup in the loser’s bracket of the Clemson Regional. That game is scheduled for 12:00 pm EST on Saturday.

The ‘Cats jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning, but were outscored 4-0 over the final five innings. Kentucky totaled just five hits in the loss, courtesy of five different batters. Its lone RBI came via a Kyuss Gargett bunt, with its other two runs coming on an error made by West Virginia shortstop Brodie Kresser.

Sophomore left-hander pitcher Ben Cleaver pitched six innings, where he allowed three runs on six hits with five strikeouts. He was followed by senior right-hander Simon Gregersen, who pitched two consecutive 1-2-3 innings before allowing a leadoff double in the ninth.

Senior left-hander Jackson Nove entered in the ninth and allowed the walk-off RBI sac-fly to West Virginia’s Armani Guzman, handing the Mountaineers the win.

Unfortunate start for Kentucky

The game was originally set to begin at noon, but a two hour and 47 minute weather delay pushed the start time back a bit. Things finally got underway at 2:47, with Tyler Bell kicking things off by drawing a 10-pitch walk. He however fouled a ball off his kneecap earlier in the at-bat, something that would affect his mobility for the rest of the game.

Luke Lawrence was then plunked and James McCoy singled to load the bases with just one out, bringing up a returning Ryan Schwartz. Schwartz had been out of action since he took a wild pitch to the helmet in May 15th’s loss to Vanderbilt.

Schwartz however fell victim to Kentucky’s recent bad luck with the double play, as he grounded into one to end a promising first inning for the Wildcat offense. Dating back to the SEC Tournament First Round matchup with Oklahoma, Kentucky players had grounded into a double play in four of its prior 10 innings.

‘Cats jump ahead in fourth inning

Kentucky’s Ben Cleaver and West Virginia’s Griffin Kirn dominated early, as both pitchers held their opposing teams scoreless through three innings. The Mountaineers threatened with runners on the corners and two outs in the bottom of the third, but Cleaver forced a groundout to get out of the jam.

The top of the fourth started off unceremoniously with a James McCoy groundout, but Ryan Schwartz got things going with a one-out double off the center field fence. He just missed his second home run of the season. Patrick Herrera then broke out of his recent slump with a bloop single to left field, putting runners on the corners for Kyuss Gargett.

On the first pitch of the at-bat, Gargett attempted a squeeze bunt but popped it straight up into the air. WVU’s Kirn attempted to make a diving grab to record the second out of the inning, but it fell out of his glove and allowed Schwartz to score safely from third.

CATS LEAD!

We'll take it!@RyanSchwartz25 double off the wall, @PatrickcHerrera single, @KyussG2 bunt for single for RBI.

📺 ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/navuxAZEh1

— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) May 30, 2025

Following a Carson Hansen strikeout, Kentucky now had runners on first and second with two outs. Devin Burkes, who had been struggling over the last month of the season, had an opportunity to pad the Wildcat lead a bit. He hit a chopping groundball to West Virginia shortstop Brodie Kresser which should have ended the inning, but Kresser bobbled it and made an errant throw to first. Herrera and Gargett were able to score, extending Kentucky’s lead to three.

After a stretch of bad luck for the Wildcats (the Vanderbilt series and grounding into three double plays against Oklahoma), they finally caught a break here.

WVU gets their runs back in the fifth

An error gave Kentucky two runs in the top of the fourth, and an error would end up giving West Virginia its first two runs in the bottom of the fifth.

Cleaver forced two quick outs in the frame, and looked to have forced the third out on a grounder to third base hit by WVU catcher Logan Sauve. Patrick Herrera however made a high throw which brought first baseman James McCoy off the bag, allowing the runner to be safe.

The bases were then loaded with two outs in the inning, pitting Cleaver against USC Upstate transfer right fielder Jace Rinehart. It once again appeared that Kentucky was going to get out of the inning unharmed after it forced a grounder to second, but Luke Lawrence made another errant throw over the head of McCoy which allowed two runs to score.

Sometimes you just gotta take what the defense gives you!

B5 | Wildcats 3, Mountaineers 2 pic.twitter.com/eIlqugw0PF

— WVU Baseball (@WVUBaseball) May 30, 2025

The Mountaineers then rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth via an RBI-groundout from shortstop Brodie Kresser. Just like that, Kentucky’s three-run advantage was gone.

Mountaineers steal the win

Kentucky once again faltered in late-game situations, as it failed to put a runner on base from the end of the fifth inning to the beginning of the ninth inning.

Kyuss Gargett reached on an error and Tyler Bell was intentionally walked to put two runners on with two outs, but Luke Lawrence struck out to end the frame.

This brought West Virginia back to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with a chance to hand Kentucky its third walk-off loss in its last five games. The frame started off perfect for the Mountaineers, as shortstop Brodie Kresser doubled down the left field line to open the frame.

Left-hander Jackson Nove relieved Gregersen and threw a pitch in the dirt, allowing the runner to reach third. He then allowed the walkout RBI sac-fly to Armani Guzman, handing the Mountaineers the win.

What’s next for Kentucky?

With the loss, Kentucky will now be playing the loser of Friday night’s No. 1 Clemson/No. 4 USC Upstate matchup in the loser’s bracket of the Clemson Regional. That game is scheduled for 12:00 pm EST on Saturday.