LEXINGTON, Ky. (Interstat) — West Virginia Mountaineers scored five runs in the top of the ninth inning to erase a three-run deficit and defeat the Kentucky Wildcats 11-9 on Sunday, May 31, 2026.

The Mountaineers improved to 42-15, while the Wildcats fell to 33-22.

West Virginia seized a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Armani Guzman was hit by a pitch, Logan Kelly walked, Paul Schoenfeld walked, and then Caden Smith was hit by a pitch to force in Guzman. Eli Graveline followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Kelly, and Aiden Kresser singled to bring home Schoenfeld.

Kentucky answered with two unearned runs in the bottom of the first, aided by a pair of West Virginia errors. Jayce Tharnish reached on an error by shortstop Jacob Ineich, and Tyler Bell reached on a fielder’s choice that saw Tharnish advance on a throwing error by third baseman Ryan Hall. A wild pitch moved Tharnish to third, and after a walk loaded the bases, Luke Hindle walked to force in Tharnish. Braxton Van Cleave then singled to score Bell, cutting the lead to 3-2.

In the bottom of the second, Tharnish doubled, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a single by Jake Lawrence, tying the game 3-3.

West Virginia regained the lead in the third. Graveline singled, Kresser singled, and Kade Lumsden singled to drive in Graveline. Hall grounded out to plate Kresser, and Guzman singled to score Lumsden, making it 6-3.

Kentucky chipped away in the bottom of the third. Hindle walked, Van Cleave singled, and Hansen reached on a fielder’s choice to bring home Hindle. The Wildcats cut the deficit to 6-4.

The Wildcats then took the lead in the fourth. Bell led off with a home run, his eighth of the season. Lawrence doubled, Hindle singled to score Lawrence, and Van Cleave singled to drive in Hindle, giving Kentucky a 7-6 advantage.

Kentucky added two more runs in the seventh on solo homers by Tharnish, his sixth, and Bell, his ninth, to stretch the lead to 9-6.

West Virginia mounted its decisive rally in the ninth inning. Kresser reached on a fielding error by third baseman Jack Cloud. Lumsden walked, and Hall singled to load the bases. Guzman walked to force in Kresser, making it 9-7. Kelly followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Lumsden, trimming the margin to 9-8. A balk then allowed Hall to score, tying the game. Schoenfeld capped the outburst with a two-run homer to right field, his fourth of the season, putting the Mountaineers ahead 11-9.

Reliever Ben McDougal was the top star for West Virginia, throwing five innings of scoreless ball while allowing no hits and striking out six, though he was charged with two earned runs. For Kentucky, Bell finished 2 for 5 with two home runs and two RBIs. Tharnish was 3 for 5 with a home run and an RBI. Schoenfeld went 2 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs for the Mountaineers, and Guzman had two hits and two RBIs.

West Virginia pitchers combined to strand 12 Kentucky baserunners, and the Mountaineers’ bullpen worked four innings of one-run ball after the fourth inning.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of West Virginia 7, Kentucky 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave Kentucky a 55.20 percent probability to win. West Virginia had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of plus-1.5.