MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team begins NCAA Regional play on Friday, May 30, as it takes on Kentucky from Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina. First pitch is set for noon.
 
The Mountaineers earned the No. 2 seed in the region while the Wildcats are the No. 3 seed. Host and No. 11 national seed Clemson will take on No. 4 seed USC Upstate on Friday at 6 p.m. It is the only regional to feature multiple team that made Super Regionals in 2024 as Clemson, WVU, and Kentucky all reached supers with the Wildcats made it to Omaha for the first time in program history.
 
The game between West Virginia and Kentucky will air on ESPNU with Eric Frede and Lance Cormier on the call. It can also be heard on the Mountaineers Sports Network with Andrew Caridi and Jake Weghorst on all radio affiliates as well as the Varsity Network, WVU Gameday App, and WVUSports.com.  

The Mountaineers enter the regional with a 41-14 overall record and sat atop the Big 12 standings with a 19-9 mark, winning their second Big 12 title in three years and first outright championship.  It is the 17^th regional appearance in program history and first under first-year head coach Steve Sabins. It is the fifth in the last eight seasons having also reached in 2017, 2019, 2023, and 2024. It is also the first time the Mountaineers have made three consecutive regional appearances since 1961-64.

Junior catcher Logan Sauve and redshirt senior pitcher Griffin Kirn were both named to the All-Big 12 first team while senior outfielder Kyle West and graduate pitcher Jack Kartsonas earned spots on the second team. Gavin Kelly was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman team while four others – sophomore Chase Meyer, senior Reese Bassinger, junior Sam White, and senior Jace Rinehart – all earned honorable mention status.
 
West leads the Mountaineers with a .354 batting average and 10 home runs while Rinehart has a team-high 50 RBI and 20 doubles. White is hitting .353 on the season with 41 RBI, 40 runs scored, and four home runs.
 
On the mound, Kirn leads the team with 92 strikeouts in 86.2 innings to go along with a 5-2 record and 3.32 ERA. Kartsonas is 6-3 with a 2.90 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 59.0 innings. Bassinger has been the top reliever for WVU with a 6-1 record, 3.88 ERA, and 38 strikeouts in a team-high 26 appearances.
 
Kentucky enters regional play with a 29-24 overall record and a 13-17 mark in SEC play. Infielder Tyler Bell was UK's only All-SEC representative, earning a spot on the All-Freshman team after hitting .306 with 10 home runs and a team-high 46 RBI.
 
Ben Cleaver leads the Wildcats with a 3.39 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 77.0 innings across 14 starts. Jackson Nove has been the top arm out of the bullpen with a 4.06 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 37.2 innings.
 
The winner of Friday's game will advance in the winner's bracket and will play on Saturday at 6 p.m. while the loser will play at noon on Saturday.
 
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