Kentucky Faces Winner-Take-All on Monday Night

MORGANTOWN, W.V. – Three outs from its third regional championship in four seasons Kentucky saw host West Virginia mount an improbable comeback with a five-run ninth inning to claim an 11-9 victory and send the Morgantown Regional to a winner-take-all Monday night.

The Wildcats now are 33-22 overall. Monday night’s game has been scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.

In yet another instant classic between the flagship schools of neighboring states where four tournament meetings the past two seasons have been decided by one or two runs, the Mountaineers capped the four-hour affair with a ninth that sent Kendrick Family Ballpark into pandemonium.

The ending almost made all the madness before it forgotten.

WVU scored three in the first inning before UK came back with two of its own. The WVU lead became 6-4 after three innings before a three-run fourth gave the Cats an edge it held into the ninth.

UK held a 9-6 lead with three outs to go after Jayce Tharnish and Tyler Bell hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth, Bell’s second of the night. But an error to open the ninth helped give WVU the hope it needed that ultimately led to tying the game. Paul Schoenfeld then deposited a game-winning two-run home run off the building in right field to cap the scoring.

NOTES

• Kentucky is 33-22 on the season.
• UK Coach Nick Mingione is in his 10th season at the helm and now owns a 326-214 career record.
  • Mingione is the second-winningest coach in school history.
  • Mingione is 17-11 in the NCAA Tournament.
    • He is 15-5 in the regional round.
  • Mingione is 2-3 vs. West Virginia.

• This is UK’s fourth consecutive trip to the regional finals.
  • Mingione is 5-for-5 in doing so in his tenure.
• UK scored three runs in the fourth inning. It is the 54th time this season the Cats have scored three or more runs in an inning.
• IF Luke Lawrence went 2-5 with a run, an RBI and a double.
  • He has reached safely in 56 of his past 58 games.
  • He has 25 multi-hit games this season and 46 career.
• IF Tyler Bell went 2-for-5 with 3 R, 2 RBI and 2 HR.
  • He is the first player to homer from both sides of the plate since Nick Lopez in 2024.
• OF Jayce Tharnish went 3-for-5 with three runs, an RBI, 2B and HR..
  • He has a hit in 28 of his past 30 games.
  • He has reached safely in 32 consecutive games.
  • He has 26 multi-hit games this season.
• OF Braxton Van Cleave went 3-for-5 with two RBI.
  • He has six RBI in three NCAA Tournament games.
  • He has hits in 17 of his last 18 games.
• IF Hudson Brown went 1-2 with a run, two RBI, 2 HBP and a walk.
  • He delivered a clutch two-run 8^th inning single.
• IF Ethan Hindle went 1-for-3 with two runs, two RBI and two BB.
  • It is his 18^th multi-RBI game of the season.

ON DECK

UK will face West Virginia at 6 p.m. ET on Monday.