It is do-or-die time for the West Virginia baseball team.
The No. 16-ranked Mountaineers dropped into the elimination round Sunday by falling to North Carolina, 5-2, in their first trip to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
North Carolina (52-12-1) opened a CWS with two straight wins for the first time in eight appearances since 2006 and need one more victory to reach the best-of-three finals next weekend. They are off until Wednesday, when they will meet the winner of a Tuesday elimination game between the Mountaineers (46-16) and Troy.
The Tar Heels scored three unearned runs against Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Maxx Yehl (9-3) to break a 2-2 tie in the seventh inning.
If the Mountaineers want to continue singing John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” after victories, they must win three consecutive elimination games beginning at 2 p.m. Tuesday against Troy, which hopes to send them home singing the blues.
To reach the championship series, either WVU or Troy must beat North Carolina twice.
West Virginia defeated Troy, 7-2, to open the World Series on June 12.
Troy stayed alive by defeating Mississippi, 12-8, in the elimination game Sunday.
“It’s just an incredible baseball game,” Troy coach Skylar Meade told media in Omaha. “I can say it jokingly now. We had to get on the guys after the first inning. I did not think we were ready to go.
“I hope there were not any hot mics. I might get in trouble for that. But you must do what you must do to produce results.”
Errors proved costly against North Carolina. But WVU coach Steve Sabins said his team is resilient, and he is confident they will bounce back.
“I don’t think this team is fazed by much,” Sabins said to reporters in Omaha. “They really like playing baseball. They like being together. So, we get to do that.
“Basically, the mindset is we get to rest, recover, go have a nice practice and then we get to play ball again. Obviously, we just want to keep playing together as long as possible.”
Sabins said his team has gotten rid of much pressure.
“They believe that they are capable of being the best in the country,” Sabins said.
He has not decided who will start at pitcher against Troy.
“We have great arms” Sabins said. “(Carson) Estridge has thrown a ton for us. (Dawson) Montesa has thrown a ton for us. (Ben) McDougal threw five innings for the regional.
“We have great options. We have guys that have not thrown a ton in the last two weeks, just because usually pitching staffs this time of year shrink down to maybe eight guys.”
Junior utility player Armani Guzman said after the loss that the team is playing with a lot of confidence and is never out of games.
“We will practice tomorrow, do what we have to do tomorrow,” Guzman said. “And then when it comes to Troy, we’re just going to win a pitch when it comes that time.”
Guzman is hitting .314, has scored 62 runs and turned 21 of his 71 hits into doubles. He has 43 RBIs.
Central Catholic graduate Gavin Kelly is hitting .375, with 66 runs scored, 90 hits, 21 doubles, 17 home runs and 57 RBIs.