Score Predictions for No. 1 West Virginia vs. No. 3 Kentucky

West Virginia and Kentucky are getting used to this whole playing each other in an NCAA regional thing. Tonight's matchup will mark the third time in four years they have met on a regional weekend, and the Wildcats will be looking for payback after blowing a huge lead to WVU a year ago, which led to their elimination.

Here is how we see this one playing out.

Schuyler Callihan: Kentucky 5, West Virginia 4

Kentucky is playing with house money right now, and after taking down Wake Forest, their confidence received a huge boost. I'm not saying this game isn't winnable or that the Mountaineers can't bounce back and win the regional. It's just really hard to go perfect in a regional, and this Kentucky team can put some serious stress on a pitching staff and defense with their aggressive style, which is similar to WVU's.

Maxx Yehl will pitch well enough to win, but the bullpen gets tagged for a couple of runs, and WVU's offense fails to string together enough QUABs to pull off a comeback.

Plus, pretty much everything that West Virginia could have wanted it to on Friday. Kentucky pulled the upset, so they don't have to face Wake's plethora of power arms and bats. WVU was able to save the bullpen thanks to the work of Chansen Cole and David Hagen, and if you want to look ahead, UCLA shockingly lost to Saint Mary's. You all know how this works by now, right? When it looks like all of the stars are starting to align for West Virginia to do something special, they find a way to stub their toe, regardless of sport.

Allow me to reiterate, I still believe West Virginia can come out of this regional. The pressure is more on the Mountaineers tonight because of the expectations.

West Virginia 5, Kentucky 2

West Virginia and Kentucky are opportunistic teams that capitalize on opponents' mistakes.

Kentucky, while a strong program, benefited from some favorable consideration after finishing 13-17 in league play and making a quick exit from the conference tournament. Of course, the Wildcats are members of the SEC, where losses to conference opponents tend to be viewed more favorably by the selection committee, even with a relatively weak nonconference schedule. That doesn't mean Kentucky isn't a good team, far from it, but there were certainly other teams with legitimate arguments for inclusion. I digress.

Kentucky recorded five hits in the 6-5 win in the opening round against Wake Forest, making the most of five Demon Deacon wild pitches. It's a caution tale for the Mountaineers, who need to keep up the high defensive effort to stay unblemished in the regional.

The Mountaineers will have Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Maxx Yehl on the mound. Yehl will likely keep the Wildcat bats at bay, but WVU will need to continues its offensive prowess it displayed against Binghamton to remain in the winner's bracket.

West Virginia beat Kentucky twice last year in the Clemson bracket and the Wildcats are undoubtedly eager to get their revenge. Nonetheless, with one game down in front of the home fans, the pressure has been eased and the Mountaineers will continue to make a statement they were overlooked with the overall 16 seed. West Virginia advances, 5-2.

Joey Bray: West Virginia 6, Kentucky 4

Interestingly enough, this matchup will mark the third time in the last four years that the Mountaineers will take on the Wildcats in a regional. West Virginia fell 10-0 to Kentucky in 2023, but bounced back last year to beat them twice in the Clemson regional.

This time around, the Mountaineers are the much hotter team coming into the contest. The Wildcats squeaked out a 6-5 victory over Wake Forest yesterday after fighting their way into regional play.

It's hard not to have confidence in the Mountaineers, given who will be on the bump for them in Maxx Yehl. Kendrick Family ballpark put forth one of the most electric crowds in the history of the venue yesterday, and today should be no different. I will take the Mountaineers to win a close one and move on to the regional final.

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