WVU baseball team leads fans in “Take Me Home, Country Roads” sing along (Photo Credit: 11point7 College Baseball / X)
West Virginia University provided one of the most “incredible moments” in baseball: the singing of “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
The Mountaineers baseball team from West Virginia University is trying to earn their first-ever appearance in the College World Series…and they just might do it.
On Monday (June 1), they played University of Kentucky in the Morgantown Regional Round of the NCAA Baseball Championship Tournament. Having already eliminated Binghamton and Wake Forest, it was down to Kentucky and West Virginia, who had played in Game 4 of the series with Kentucky besting the Mountaineers 11-9.
West Virginia didn’t go down without a fight. They came back in Game 6 on May 31 to beat the Wildcats 11-9, forcing a Game 7 for a winner-take-all situation.
After a nail-biting game, WVU’s Armani Guzman hit a walk off single in the 10th inning to send Brodie Kresser home to score the winning run.
For the third straight year, they advance to the Super Regionals. They play against Cal Poly Pomona, and then hopefully, the College World Series in Omaha. The school has never made it past Super Regionals.
The Celebration Included Their Trademark “Take Me Home, Country Roads” Sing Along
As Kressler touched home plate, the announcer yelled, “Cue ‘Country Roads,’” knowing that the song would be blaring through the stadium speakers at any moment to celebrate the victory.
Jensen Lewis, who announces college baseball on ESPN, posted the powerful moment on X and wrote, “I’ve been part of some incredible moments in my baseball life.. Being in the booth for this one tonight ranks with the best ever.”
See his post below and watch the WVU Mountaineers baseball team lead their stadium of 3,500 in the singing of the 1971 John Denver classic.
About a minute into the sing along, hero Guzman had the headset on to speak with the broadcast booth, but he was taking it all in and even singing into the microphone as well.
He later gave a shoutout to his mom, who was filming him from the first row above the dugout.
What a moment for the Mountaineers, and what a moment for all fans to witness! They host Super Regionals, so there might be more “Country Roads” moments beginning on June 5.
“Take Me Home, Country Roads” Has A Long History AT WVU
“Take Me Home, Country Roads” has been intertwined with the identity of West Virginia University almost since the song’s release in 1971. Written by John Denver along with Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert, the song quickly resonated with West Virginians because of its references to the state’s mountains, rivers, and sense of home.
Recognizing its emotional connection to the state, WVU adopted the song as part of its football traditions just a year later.
A landmark moment occurred on September 6, 1980, when John Denver himself performed “Country Roads” before a sold-out crowd during the dedication of the new Mountaineer Field. Thousands of fans sang along, cementing the song’s status as the unofficial anthem of WVU athletics. The performance remains one of the most celebrated moments in school history and helped deepen the emotional bond between the university and the song.
While the song had long been part of pregame festivities, the tradition most associated with WVU today—fans singing it together after victories—developed later.
According to accounts from WVU athletics, then-head coach Rich Rodriguez encouraged the team and crowd to remain in the stadium after wins during the early 2000s and sing the song together. The practice quickly caught on, turning postgame celebrations into a communal ritual where players, coaches, students, and fans sway arm-in-arm and sing about returning home to West Virginia.
To further the song’s connection to the state, “Take Me Home, Country Roads” became an official state anthem for West Virginia in 2014.
