West Virginia baseball’s Matthew Gravline threw down to third base to try to catch the North Carolina base runner. He had him dead, but Tyrus Hall didn’t catch the ball, sending it into the outfield, allowing a run. Ben Lumsden and Hall set up for a fly ball in foul territory, and the ball dropped to the left of both of them in fair play, setting up another run. Brodie Kresser tried to get a double play at second from first base and threw it wide right, making both Tar Heel runners safe.

On offense, with bases loaded and two outs, Brock Wills, who was pinch-hitting, lined out into a double play down 10-1, ending the inning in the sixth. It was a gut punch. There were multiple opportunities for WVU to score earlier in the game as well. The Mountaineers’ offense tacked on some runs late in the seventh, but the momentum ended when Lumsden watched a third strike for the final out with runners on and a real chance to make it interesting.

Lumsden flew out in the final inning to end the game.

The Mountaineers historic College World Series and season had come, losing 12-7 to the Tar Heels. The gold and blue, who had some errors in the Morgantown Regional and against UNC in the first game, had two in the semifinals and left multiple runners in scoring position.

“I mean, the goal is to win a national title, and we’re close, so it hurts,” Gavin Kelly said.

The one loss to end the season, despite how it looked, shouldn’t overshadow the 63 games that came prior, starting way back on Feb. 13, where WVU blew out Georgia Southern, starting off the season with a win. What WVU accomplished in those 63 games was special and will be hard to replicate.

Since that first win of the season, the Mountaineers swept the higher-ranked Kansas on the road and won 37 games, earning them the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 tournament. WVU worked its way into the Big 12 Championship game, with the help of Division II transfer Chansen Cole, dealing against Arizona State.

Two days later, the Mountaineers players, coaches and donors sat at the GOAT Pub and watched WVU be announced as a regional host. It was the first time since 2019 that postseason baseball would be played in Morgantown.

With just a few days’ notice, Mountaineer Nation and the team answered the call and showed up.

Every WVU game in the Morgantown Regional was sold out, with tickets selling for hundreds of dollars on secondary markets, and there were thousands on the hill, which was nicknamed Randy’s Ridge. The fans showed up no matter the time of day.

The team showed up and won the regional, with a lot of entertaining fireworks. Everyone will remember Paul Schoenfeld’s two-run homer in the ninth to complete an all-time WVU comeback to force a Game 7 against Kentucky. Or when Dawson Montesa pitched a gem against Wake Forest on Sunday, throwing 122 pitches, and turned around to pick up the final two outs against Kentucky. Or how about when Armani Guzman’s single in extra innings sent the Mountaineers to the super regional and the Kendrick Family Ballpark into a frenzy.

There are too many moments to list them all.

After the first and second wins over Kentucky in the regional final, WVU went viral on social media for showing off its tradition of singing “Country Roads” in unison. The videos gained millions of views and even ended up on “NBC Nightly News.” Quickly, the Mountaineers became “America’s Team” in the tournament as the No. 16 seed.

With No. 1 overall seed UCLA losing, WVU hosted its first-ever super regional against Cal Poly. The mainstream status grabbed the attention of ESPN personality and former WVU punter Pat McAfee, who sat behind home plate for a game to watch the spectacle. The Mountaineers routed Cal Poly and were in their first College World Series in program history.

In Game 2, Mountaineers fans set the record for the most fans at a WVU baseball game at Kendrick Family Ballpark, and that didn’t even count the thousands on the hill. 4,675 fans was that record-setting number.

The atmosphere for both regionals was special, which is what ESPN college baseball broadcaster Ben McDonald said during the CWS semifinals.

WVU did it all over again, 970-plus miles away in Omaha, Nebraska, for the College World Series. The Mountaineers rocked the famous Rocco’s Jell-O shot challenge, and Pat McAfee hosted his show live from Omaha just before WVU’s first game. Rich Rodriguez and Randy Mazey were both guests, shining light on the program once again.

WVU beat Troy twice and made the semifinals. Even down 12-1, WVU didn’t roll over and scored six runs in the final couple of innings to make it interesting.

“From being down 12-1 and scratching and clawing and fighting and running out of gas and given literally everything that you have left in the tank is poetic to me,” head coach Steve Sabins said. “Talk about things that represent this state and university. That’s what we’re all about.”

All of that doesn’t get overshadowed by the couple of errors, the runners left on base, or the five runs the Mountaineers were short of to force a second game in the semifinals and a potential national title berth.

Right now, sure, you’ll remember the 12-7 loss, but years down the road, and for these players, they’ll remember all the memories created throughout the season I mentioned above.

“These are some of my best friends for life,” Kelly said. “Just being able to share the field here with them meant a lot. All the hard work that’s been put in to get here is really special, and just blessed to be a part of it.”

So, while you might be upset by the outcome, you can only tip your cap to what the players, Sabins and his staff and the fans accomplished this season.

“Couldn’t be more proud of this group of kids,” Sabins said. “What they were able to do and what they were able to accomplish is nothing short of miraculous… This is the best season in Mountaineer baseball history. They’ve been playing baseball for 135 years, so this group of kids gets to say that after 135 teams that they were the first team to make it to Omaha.”

And anyway, I have a feeling this is just the beginning.

“Steve Sabins has this team moving in the right direction,” McDonald said.