Ben McDougal's Stellar Pitching Sets Up West Virginia's Season-Saving Comeback
By Michael Minnich on June 01, 2026
Before getting into the details of what Ben McDougal did on Sunday, a prelude.
The Bridgeport native had come on in relief in the ninth inning of Saturday's 11-9 loss to Kentucky, a defeat that put the Mountaineers' season one loss away from ending.
McDougal gave up a hit in 2/3 of an inning.
But a little bit later in the night, after McDougal had literally been the center of attention of cameras broadcasting his exploits nationally, that's when Morgantown boys basketball coach Dave Tallman and his son Tre spotted the former Tribe ace.
"True story," Tallman tweeted on Sunday night. "Tre and I were walking out of the stadium by the bullpen last night after the loss....as we're leaving, there's one kid in (the) bullpen cleaning up trash and picking up baseballs. Guess who? McDougal. #DeserveToWin"
Deserve to win? Yeah, that's Ben McDougal.
The senior lefty, limited to 4 2/3 innings in the regular season by injuries, exceeded that in one magical night, pitching the final five innings of the Mountaineers' come-from-behind 11-9 win over Kentucky to force a winner-take-all game with those same Wildcats on Monday night at 6 p.m.
"He could have potentially been a medical redshirt," WVU coach Steve Sabins said. "But McDougal said, 'No, I want the ball. I'm able to do this now.'
"I said, 'Man, it's going to be tough because in order to build up, there's going to be small appearances throughout here. We're winning and the team is pitching well and so for you to get an opportunity, it's going to be probably relatively slim.'
"And Ben said, 'I want to go. I think I can help this team.' And so we put it in Ben's hands for what he thought was the best thing for his career."
McDougal struck out four batters during the season and none since May 5. He fanned six on this night.
He'd only thrown 148 pitches before Sunday. On Sunday, he tossed 84 to earn his first win of the season -- and the year's biggest.
He knew he could do it, he'd proven that last year when he took the ball three times in the NCAA Tournament in relief against Clemson, Kentucky and eventual national champion LSU, not allowing an earned run in three combined innings of work and punching out four LSU batters in his final outing of the year.
"It's just been a process," McDougal said. "I stuck to the same process I had all the time last year that I found success with."
Even though he gave up two solo home runs in the seventh, he was still out there for the bottom of the ninth after West Virginia scored five runs in the top of the frame to flip a 9-6 deficit into an 11-9 lead.
"I said, 'I'm ready to go.' I was in the same situation last year. I think they knew I could do it this year, too," McDougal said.
"Special game," Sabins said. "One of the best games I've ever been a part of."
A win on Monday would allow the Mountaineers, as the highest remaining seed in their bracket, to host the best-of-3 Super Regionals next week with the program's first-ever trip to the College World Series on the line.
"All the stars aligned," Sabins said. "It's a godsend that that guy was on the mound for that game for this state."
