Kevin Griffin wasn’t about to skip town early.
A Martinsburg native who played baseball at West Virginia University in 2010 and 2011, Griffin still resides in the Eastern Panhandle. Last Saturday, Griffin, his wife Megan and three of their kids made their way to Granville for Game 2 of the Mountaineers’ Super Regional series against Cal Poly.
West Virginia was in cruise control and led 17-1, but fans had been warned a storm was on the horizon.
“We checked the radar, and I said at 2:50, we’re going to pack up, head to the car and see this thing out,” Griffin said. “It wasn’t 30 seconds after we got in the car that the storm came. So we grabbed a bite to eat at Cheddar’s and came back when play restarted.”
Following a delay of 1 hour and 37 minutes, WVU wrapped up the 16-run victory over the Mustangs, allowing the Mountaineers to secure their first appearance in the College World Series, where a matchup with Troy awaits at 2 p.m. (EST) Friday.
Before Griffin embarked on the trip back to Berkeley County, he took a moment to soak in an unforgettable experience, having just witnessed Bridgeport native Ben McDougal, who began his college career at Potomac State, record the final three outs to secure the spot in Omaha.
“I’m standing down the right field line and I realize in the moment that McDougal is pitching, and I’m like, ‘this kid took the exact same path I did.’ He’s a West Virginia kid, went to Potomac State, and now he’s performing on the biggest stage,” Griffin said. “I got emotional. My kids asked me if I was OK, and said they’d never seen me cry before. A lot of thoughts and memories of when I was that age, how much baseball consumed my life and how much time we poured into it. We had crap facilities, but we had a group of guys that gave it everything we had.”
A large contingent of Griffin’s former WVU teammates were also on hand Friday and/or Saturday to take in history.
Included in that group are Bridgeport native and resident Jeremy Gum, Elkview native and Pittsburgh resident Grant Buckner and Mark Dvoroznak, who hails from Westlake, Ohio and now lives in Philadelphia. Vince Belnome, one of the most accomplished hitters in the history of WVU baseball, was also present, though he wrapped up his college career one year prior to Griffin’s arrival in Morgantown.
“I had chills the entire weekend,” Dvoroznak said.
“My immediate reaction was relief, simply because being a WVU fan my entire life in all sports has conditioned me to never be comfortable with a lead,” Gum said. “Even though the game was in hand for quite a while, there was still a pretty big wave of emotion once it went final.”
Living nearby and following the program closely, Gum fairly regularly attends games at Kendrick Family Ballpark and his parents are season-ticket holders.
Gum also attended Potomac State out of high school and went on to be an impact player at West Virginia in 2010 and 2011. He was hit by a pitch 23 times in the latter of those two years, which still stands as a single-season school record.
Buckner, a standout at Herbert Hoover High School, is also etched into the record books at WVU. His 10-RBI effort against Notre Dame on May 8, 2010, stands a single-game program best, a contest in which he also slugged three home runs — one of six times in program history a player has hit at least three homers in a game.
“The perception that we were some rag tag team because our facilities were just isn’t accurate,” Buckner said. “My senior year, I won the conference batting title, but I changed pants in the parking lot. We legitimately didn’t have a locker room, but between the lines, we had some good players. Fifteen years later, it doesn’t even seem like the same world that we’re living in. The word program could make it seem similar, but it doesn’t even seem similar. To show up 4 hours before a game and there’s already 1,000 people sitting on a hillside, it felt like the big leagues. I couldn’t be happier to see it. There’s not an ounce of remorse.”
Dvoroznak and Buckner both played for the Mountaineers from 2008-11. WVU finished 35-21 in 2008 and 37-18 the next year, before hovering around .500 each of the next two campaigns at 27-30 and 28-27.
“We had some really good teams and we were always an arm or two away from having some really successful teams,” Dvoroznak said. “A couple years, we were in the upper 30s in wins. Most years, we were in the top two in a lot of offensive categories in the Big East.”
Oddly enough, the one losing season across those four years included perhaps the top lasting memory.
Playing host to Villanova in its final regular season contest, West Virginia needed a win and a Notre Dame loss to Louisville to finish eighth in the Big East and qualify for the conference tournament.
The Wildcats led 2-0 in the bottom of the ninth inning and WVU was down to its last out before Griffin belted a three-run home run off the Hawley Field ticket booth beyond the left field wall. The 3-2 win, coupled with the Cardinals defeating the Irish later that day, allowed WVU to prolong its season.
“Season was on the line, if we lose, we go home, and if we win, we get into the Big East Tournament. It’s what you dream about as a kid especially for your home state team,” Griffin said. “It’s something I’ll never forget, and of course the party that pursued after the game, too.”
Five years later, the Mountaineers began playing at what was then known as Monongalia County Ballpark, injecting much-needed life into a program that there had been talks of disbanding only a few years earlier.
“When we went Saturday, my wife looked at me said, ‘I think you were just born a little bit too early.’ It’s night and day,” said Griffin, who was teammates with current WVU head coach Steve Sabins when both played summer baseball for the Winchester Royals. “It’s tremendous what can be done when a university decides they’re going to go all in. To see what can happen and how much support you can get from the state has been awesome.”
“If you have a good team in West Virginia, the support is like no other,” Buckner said. “This is proof, and even though we’re a “northern” school, it’s clear you can win here.”
Gum can hardly believe the amenities provided to current WVU players, something that has undoubtedly enhanced recruiting and helped lead to four straight NCAA Tournament berths.
Included in those luxuries is the Dvoroznak Family Strength and Performance Center, an indication of the family’s modern day interest in the program.
“The Biomechanics and Performance Center is ridiculous. From both a hitting and pitching perspective, the technology in that place, accompanied by the people analyzing it and teaching it is second to none,” Gum said. “Then the standard things that a lot of people may take for granted — clubhouse, locker room, spacious dugout, a top-tier park in which to play amongst a variety of things I never even considered during my career. When I played, we were very fortunate to be able to use the [football team’s indoor practice facility] during the winter and had four drop down batting cages. Being able to use that football facility allowed us a lot of opportunities in the winter months.”
Dvoroznak plans to be in Omaha on Friday with a group of ex-teammates that includes former closer and Bridgeport native Chris Enourato.
Griffin is tied up coaching youth baseball, but could be in the Midwest by Sunday for what would be West Virginia’s second game in the CWS. If so, he’d travel to Omaha with brother-in-law Justin McDavid, an impact player at WVU in 2010 and 2011.
Whether watching in person or from afar, seeing West Virginia play on the biggest stage in college baseball will create more lasting memories.
“People should be proud and are proud,” Griffin said. “You don’t ever see an at bat given away. You don’t ever see a pitcher down 3-0 in a count giving up on that at bat. It’s a credit to the players and a lot of that comes from coach Sabins’ mindset.”