OMAHA, Neb. — The end arrived on Wednesday as West Virginia lost to North Carolina 12-7 in the semifinal stage of the Men’s College World Series. One of the final four teams left playing, the Mountaineers again gave up two runs to the Tar Heels in the first inning and were down 12-1 before they began to rally in the seventh inning, got closer in the eighth and tried to make a miracle happen in the ninth. Instead, the Tar Heels are off to the championship series for the first time in 19 years. They beat WVU twice here after sweeping the 2024 Chapel Hill Super Regional. They’re 10-2 in the series, though these were the first games that weren’t played in Chapel Hill.
Chansen Cole took the loss, allowing four runs in 2.1 innings. Matthew Graveline was 4-for-4 and reached base all five times he went to the plate. He ended the season with a 15-game hitting streak. Gavin Kelly was 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs, and he tied the school record with his 19th home run of the season and the sixth of the NCAA postseason. Armani Guzman was 2-for-4 and scored twice and finished with an 11-game hitting streak that covered the entire NCAA postseason…