MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — One day after being shutout for the first time this season, 13th-ranked West Virginia was on the verge of consecutive losses for the first time in a month and second time this season.
The Mountaineers began to battle back from an eight-run deficit in the sixth inning by scoring twice and added three more runs in the seventh to tighten the second game of a series with UCF at Kendrick Family Ballpark.
That helped set the stage for the home team to complete a rally, and it did exactly that in the ninth inning when Matthew Graveline sent a 2-0 fastball from UCF relief pitcher Kevin Schoneboom into centerfield for a walk-off two-run single, lifting the Mountaineers to an 11-10 victory that evens the series with the Knights.
“So many things didn’t go our way and so many opportunities to basically shut that thing down and get ready for tomorrow, and I don’t think anybody did,” West Virginia coach Steve Sabins said.
Moments before Graveline ripped the solid single to center, UCF (19-9, 9-2) elected to intentionally walk Ben Lumsden. It came after Schoneboom had struck out Zahir Barjam with two in scoring position and one out.
“I was ready for Lumsden to get the job done,” Graveline said. “When I saw them put him on, I was like, ‘OK, I’ll do it instead.’
“I’m always ready. When you’re on deck, you have to be ready to get the job done. My mindset flipped pretty quick.”
FINAL: West Virginia 11, UCF 10
Matthew Graveline 2-run walk-off single caps a 4-run 9th for WVU, which trailed 10-2 at one point.
WVU (21-6, 8-3) evens 3-game series.
UCF falls to 19-9 overall and 9-2 in Big 12. pic.twitter.com/LSrdnXxqEJ
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) April 4, 2026
Graveline watched a first-pitch slider for a ball. The count then went to 2-0 after Schoneboom missed high with a fastball.
“Can’t walk in the tying run. I got a pretty good pitch to hit and put a good swing on it,” Graveline said.
Were it not for a Knights’ defensive miscue earlier in the ninth, Graveline never may have had the opportunity for his heroics.
Armani Guzman began the ninth with a single, while Gavin Kelly and Paul Schoenfeld followed by drawing walks.
After Sean Smith struck out, UCF reliever Evan Jones appeared set to record the second out of the inning when Matt Ineich sent a well-struck ball to right field that was dropped by Andrew Williamson. Instead of a sacrifice fly to score only Guzman, Kelly also scored, and more importantly, the Mountaineers (21-6, 8-3) had two in scoring position with one out trailing by a run.
“There were a lot of breaks. You don’t come back without some breaks,” Sabins said. “I was doing a lot of praying in the third box during that ninth inning and it felt like just about everyone was answered. Before that pitch, that outfielder had been moved positionally. The relief pitcher ushered him to a different spot. Then he runs and gets a pretty good jump on it. The wind is blowing that way and slowly slicing. He gets leather on it, but drops it.”
“We caught a break in that moment,” Guzman said. “Things hadn’t gone our way and that was huge.”
Schoneboom spelled Jones at that point and immediately struck out Barjam before Lumsden was given the free pass and Graveline made that a costly decision.
A two-out error in the first inning allowed Smith to reach and brought Guzman in with the game’s first run, but WVU failed to double its lead in the second despite getting Barjam to third base with one out after his leadoff double.
The Knights solved Mountaineer starting pitcher Maxx Yehl in the fourth, an inning that began with consecutive doubles from Williamson and John Smith III and later featured singles from Zak Skinner and Landon Moran, the latter of which left the visitors on top, 3-1.
Smith’s solo home run in the fourth made it a one-run game, but the Knights stayed on Yehl and their first three batters reached in the fifth, forcing Sabins to pull the southpaw.
Reliever Reese Bassinger was greeted by a two-run single from Smith III to make it 5-2, and Moran added his second-run scoring single of the contest for a four-run lead.
Yehl had logged at least five inning in each of his previous five outings, during which time he allowed a total of five runs and struck out 40.
“They’re playing confident and fearless,” Sabins said of UCF. “Yehl has been Superman for us and today he was more human.”
The Knights scored four more times in the sixth off relief pitcher Mac Stiffler, who was replaced by Bryson Thacker after retiring one of the five batters he faced.
UCF appeared to be in complete control, but Ineich hit a two-run home run to left in the sixth that made it 10-4, and in the seventh, Guzman drove in a run with a single and Kelly brought in two with a double, bringing WVU to within three runs.
The Mountaineers brought the tying run to the plate with two outs in the eighth, but Matthew Robaugh bounced into a fielder’s choice.
Jones, who threw 11 pitches over a scoreless ninth Friday, couldn’t finish this one out.
Nor could Schoneboom, who threw 19 pitches over 1.1 scoreless innings in the series opener.
“I saw his pitches and what he did yesterday,” Graveline said, “and that put me in a better spot to see him today.”
The teams combined for 29 hits (15 for UCF, 14 for WVU). Cayden Gaskin, Smith III and DeAmez Ross had three apiece for the Knights, while Guzman led the Mountaineers with three.
Graveline was 2-for-2 off the bench.
“He’s had a pretty serious flu since Arizona,” Sabins said. “He’s been battling it. Fever at night, sweats, feels terrible. The craziest story is before the game our athletic trainer said to me, I just talked to Graveline and I don’t think he’s going to come to the field today. He went from not coming to the field to having two hits.”
Carson Estridge, the last of WVU’s six pitchers used, recorded the win after throwing 1.2 scoreless innings.
Jones was charged with the loss.
The rubber match of the three-game series is set for noon Sunday.