CLEMSON, S.C. – For the second straight season, the West Virginia University baseball team have advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals as the Mountaineers defeated Kentucky, 13-12, Sunday evening in the Clemson Regional Final at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
 
The Mountaineers swept through the regional and improve to 44-14 on the season, extending its program record for wins. West Virginia will advance to next week's super regionals, either at No. 6 LSU or at home against Little Rock. Game 7 between the Tigers and Trojans will take place on Monday.
 
In a wild back-and-forth affair on Sunday against Kentucky, the Mountaineers had two six-run innings, including in the eighth to take the lead. Redshirt senior Griffin Kirn, two days after throwing 7.1 innings against the Wildcats in the opener, closed out the win to earn his first save of the season.
 
Sophomore Armani Guzman was named the Regional MVP after going 8-for-12 on the weekend with six RBI, including four hits and three RBI on Sunday night. Junior Ben Lumsden had two hits and four RBI, freshman Gavin Kelly drove in three runs, and junior Logan Sauve hit a home run and had a pair of RBI.
 
Guzman, Kirn, Sauve, and senior Brodie Kresser all earned spots on the Regional All-Tournament Team.
 
The Mountaineers used eight pitchers on the night with freshman Benjamin Hudson earning his third win of the season. Kirn had a scoreless inning in the ninth which included his 100^th strikeout of the year. Junior Cole Fehrman also had a strong outing with three strikeouts in a scoreless seventh inning.
 
Sauve got the Mountaineers on the board in the first with his eighth home run of the season. It is the third straight year that Sauve has hit a home run in regional play.
 
Kentucky came back to score four in the second, one in the third, and one in the fourth to take a 6-1 lead.
 
In the bottom of the fourth, the Mountaineers put up six runs. Kelly drove in a run with a fielder's choice before Lumsden knocked in two with a single. Guzman then singled home two more to tie the game preceding a run-scoring groundout by Sauve to put WVU on top.
 
The lead did not last as the Wildcats scored two in the fifth, three in the sixth, and one in the eighth to go up 12-7.
 
The Mountaineers did not quit and like they have done all weekend rallied with two outs in the eighth, scoring six runs. A bases-loaded walk to junior Sam White pushed across the first run before Kelly knocked in two with a single. Lumsden followed with a two-run single to tie the game before Guzman singled to put WVU on top by a run.
 
In the bottom of the ninth, the Wildcats had a one-out single but that was all as Kirn induced a flyout that landed in the glove of center fielder Skylar King to secure the regional title.
 
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