Sabins: WVU 'Cemented' Best Atmosphere in College Baseball

There's nothing quite like the energy that exists at Kendrick Family Ballpark.

WVU Athletics Communications

Kendrick Family Ballpark was an absolute scene this past weekend as the West Virginia Mountaineers scrapped, clawed, and fought their way to winning the Morgantown Regional.

Steve Sabins received several heroic efforts from the likes of Dawson Montesa, Ben McDougal, Paul Schoenfeld, Ben Lumsden, Maxx Yehl, Ian Korn, Chansen Cole, Armani Guzman, and the list goes on. But the 5,000+ fans in attendance for each game also had their hand in the team's success. They were loud, created pressure, and even made a few mistakes, including the balk in Sunday night's game, which allowed the tying run to cross the plate in the ninth just before Schoenfeld's two-run homer.

“I think it’s been cemented that this is the best college baseball atmosphere in the country," WVU head coach Steve Sabins said after Monday's win over Kentucky. "There’s nowhere that can provide the energy that (compares to) what just happened in Morgantown. The fans were absolutely electric. The place was sold out. There’s more and more people going on that hill every time that we play. And we’re bringing a Super Regional to Morgantown for the first time in program history.”

It's just so wild to think about how just a little over a decade ago the baseball program was on the brink of folding. Oliver Luck, Randy Mazey, and a few others saw the vision and believed something special could be built here, and boy, were they right. It's been a long time since the Mountaineers were truly in the conversation as a national title contender in a major sport, and although baseball doesn't get the same amount of attention as football or men's basketball, the popularity of the team has grown wildly over the last handful of years throughout the state.

They want to see the Mountaineers bring home a national title in something, and they want it badly. You could see the emotion on people's faces when the two big moments from Schoenfeld and Guzman took place. It means so much to them to see WVU do great, regardless of the sport. And now, they'll have a chance to help power them to Omaha later this week when Cal Poly comes to town. Two wins will get the job done.

“The goal, since I’ve been here for 11 years, has been to do things that have never been done in program history, and to be able to do that again this season is certainly special," Sabins said. "Just couldn’t be more excited for the players and the staff that have dedicated their lives to doing this and dedicated their lives to being part of a team.”