PREVIEW: Kentucky opens Clemson Regional play against West Virginia

For the second time in three seasons, Kentucky and West Virginia will face off in an NCAA Tournament Regional game on Friday. The ‘Cats won the first meeting 10-0 back in 2023 (Lexington Regional).

These programs had much different seasons, as the Mountaineers won the Big 12 Regular Season Championship for just the third time since 1996 while Kentucky finished SEC play 13-17 and filed into the NCAA Tournament as the 13th and final team from the conference.

Friday’s game is extremely important for both team’s Omaha dreams, as just one team that lost in the opening game of the Regional has gone on to win the Regional in the past two seasons (2023 Southern Miss).

The loser of Friday’s Regional opener between Kentucky and West Virginia will meet the loser of Clemson/USC Upstate in an elimination game on Saturday at noon. The winner will meet the winner of Clemson/USC Upstate on Saturday at 6:00 pm EST.

No. 2 West Virginia Mountaineers (41-14)

West Virginia is the No. 2 seed in the Clemson Regional, securing its 16th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. It was a strong season for first year head coach Steve Sabins, as the Mountaineers headed to the 2025 Big 12 Conference Tournament with a 40-13 (19-9 record). They were crowned Big 12 Regular Season Champions and earned the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, but fell in the semifinals to No. 4 seed Arizona.

The Mountaineers had four players selected to All-Big 12 Teams, including junior catcher Logan Sauve (First Team), senior left-handed pitcher Griffin Kirn (First Team), senior outfielder Kyle West (Second Team) and senior right-handed pitcher Jack Kartsonas (Second Team). WVU opened Big 12 play 18-4, but stumbled into the postseason having lost six of its last seven regular season games.

Kirn, who transferred from Quincy University for his final season of college baseball, will likely start for West Virginia on Friday. In 15 starts this season, the left-hander boasts a 5-2 record with a 3.32 ERA in 86 2/3 innings pitched. In his last start, Kirn threw a complete game with nine strikeouts in West Virginia’s 10-3 win over Cincinnati in the First Round of the Big 12 Tournament.

“I’ve been taking it week by week and day by day,” Kirn said on Monday . “There’s no doubt playing in Omaha would be awesome. Having that experience would be really cool. But if you start thinking big picture, you can get outside of yourself and worrying about outside factors. So you take it day by day and worrying about the job you have to do.”

As a team, West Virginia hit for a .298 team batting average (55th in NCAA) with a 4.28 team ERA (21st in NCAA) this season. They don’t hit many home runs, as they’ve belted just 54 this season. All-Big 12 selection outfielder Kyle West is their lone player with double-digit home runs (10), and he also leads his team in batting average (.354).

Six offensive players are hitting over .300 (with at least 130 at-bats this season), including junior DH Sam White (.353), senior outfielder USC Upstate transfer Jace Rinehart (.324), junior third baseman Chase Swain (.313), junior outfielder Skylar King (.310) and freshman second baseman Gavin Kelly (.301).

Heading into Tournament play, the Mountaineers are No. 28 in the RPI Rankings with a 5-8 Q1 record, a 11-3 Q2 record, a 14-3 Q3 record and an 11-0 Q4 record. With the 99th ranked strength of schedule, West Virginia went 17-7 in 24 home games, 23-5 in 28 road games and 1-2 in 3 neutral games. They are 3-1 in their last four Regional opening matchups.

No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats (29-24)

This weekend will mark uncharted territory for Nick Mingione at Kentucky, as he’s hosted a Regional in his previous three tournament appearances. The program is playing its first road Regional game since 2014 and is a No. 3 seed in a Regional for the first time since 2008 (Ann Arbor).

Kentucky had an unfortunate end to the regular season, as it was swept by Vanderbilt and fell to Oklahoma in the First Round of the SEC Tournament. It never appeared as if the ‘Cats were in danger of missing the Tournament though until the morning of the Selection Show, when they dropped completely out of both D1Baseball and Baseball America’s Field of 64 Projections.

It however was revealed following the Selection Show that Kentucky was not even in the “Last Four In,” but was safely in the field.

As a team, the ‘Cats hit for a .268 team batting average (213th in NCAA) with a 4.51 team ERA (33rd in NCAA) this season. Offense has been frustrating at time for Nick Mingione’s team, but they do boast what is likely the best starting rotation in the entire Regional.

Sophomore left-hander Ben Cleaver, who has been the Sunday starter all season long, will likely start against the Mountaineers on Friday. Cleaver, who has emerged as one of the SEC’s brightest young arms this season, boasts a 3.39 ERA with 87 strikeouts in 77 innings pitched this season. The ‘Cats will need a big outing from the “Slim Reaper” if they want to open Regional play with a win.

After a lot of shuffling this season, senior outfielder Cole Hage leads the team in batting average (.317) and home runs (12). He’s followed by freshman shortstop Tyler Bell (.306 AVG, 10 home runs), junior second baseman Luke Lawrence (.299 AVG, 35 RBI) and red-hot junior first baseman/right fielder James McCoy (.288 AVG). McCoy is riding a six-game hitting streak and has totaled at least one base knock in eight of his last nine games.

Senior third baseman Patrick Herrera will look to get back to form this weekend, as he is just 5-33 at the plate since his three-hit, five RBI game against Louisville on April 22. Freshman utility player Ryan Schwartz will also likely return to the lineup for the ‘Cats this weekend, as he’s been out since he took a wild pitch to the helmet in May 15’s loss to Vanderbilt.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Kentucky leads 12-2

Probable Starters

Friday, May 30, 2025 (Doug Kingsmore Stadium – 12:00 p.m. EST) ESPNU
UK: LHP Ben Cleaver (6-3, 3.39 ERA, 77.0 IP) vs WVU: LHP Griffin Kirn (5-2, 3.32 ERA, 86.2 IP)

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