The West Virginia Mountaineers baseball faced off against Arizona in a long, chilly and windy Friday night showdown at Kendrick Family Ballpark, losing in 16 innings for their first Big 12 loss of the season. Read WVU baseball loses 16-inning battle to Arizona.
The Mountaineers (18-2, 1-1 Big 12) fell behind early and while they did eventually tie the game, the Wildcats (17-4, 4-0 Big 12) had the final day and won in 16 innings.
AU took the lead in the top of the second inning as a throwing error allowed them to score two runs. They then doubled their lead in the third inning as an error and infield single made it 4-0.
WVU got one back in the bottom of the fourth as freshman catcher Gavin Kelly singled to left field to score senior right fielder Jace Rinehart.
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The Mountaineers scored two more runs in the sixth as a two-run RBI single by junior catcher Logan Sauve plated redshirt junior third baseman Chase Swain and senior designated hitter Kyle West. West Virginia managed to get the go-ahead run on base in the bottom of the eighth but hit into a double play, confirmed by instant replay.
With two runners on and two outs in the ninth, Sklyar King laced a single to center field to score freshman pinch runner Jorge Valdes to tie the game, though King got himself caught in a foolishly pointless run-down that ended the inning shortly afterwards.
Extras
After a scoreless tenth inning, Arizona loaded the bases in the top of the 11th inning. But sophomore righty Chase Meyer was able to induce a weak grounder to Swain, who simply stepped on the third base bag to send it to the bottom of the inning.
WVU started the bottom of the frame strong, as senior shortstop Brodie Kresser singled to right center before advancing to second base on a wild pitch and moving over to third base on a Sauve groundout. After a strikeout and a walk runners were on first and third.. But this was followed by another strikeout, sending the game to the 12th inning.
Both sides went three up, three down in the 12th inning, and each played one run apiece in the 13th. While West Virginia was able to get Kelly to second base in the bottom of the 14th, two consecutive strikeouts foiled any hopes of scoring.
Mountaineers in the 15th
After keeping the Wildcats from scoring in the top of the 15th, the Mountaineers were back up to bat. Senior first baseman Grant Hussey laced a line drive to center field that should have been caught, but was inexplicably fumbled by the AU center fielder, giving WVU a leadoff runner on second base.
However after a failed bunt and an intentional walk, the next two batters struck out, sending the game to the 16th inning. After allowing two base runners and getting one out Meyer was replaced after five innings pitched, with ?? Luke Lyman coming in. With West Virginia one strike away from getting out of a bases loaded situation, Arizona singled to center field to take a 6-4 lead. WVU then failed to score, falling to 18-2.
Tough Night at the Plate
It wasn’t the best night for the WVU offense, going 10-58 (.172), racking up 10 walks and being hit by a pitch twice, but only hitting one extra-base hit while striking out 29 times. Sauve and King both drove in two runs apiece, with King going 3-8.
The pitching was strong throughout the night however. Starter Griffin Kirn got the start as the redshirt senior right-handed pitcher went 2.2 innings, giving up four hits and four runs, but only one of them was an earned run. After that the bullpen was lights out, pitching the rest of the game without giving up a run.
Replacing Kirn was junior right-hander Robby Porco, who pitched 2.2 innings giving up no runs on four hits and a walk while striking out three batters. Freshman righty Benjamin Hudson was next, pitching 3.1 scoreless and hitless innings, striking out five batters while just walking one. Fellow freshman righty Bryant Yoak replaced him for the last out of the night, getting the one batter he faced out. Jack Kartsonas started extra innings, and the right-handed grad transfer from Kent State cruised through the 10th, before being replaced by Meyer in the 11th.
Meyer then pitched the next 5 innings before being reliever by Meyer, with two of Meyer’s runners coming home to score the go-ahead runs. All in all, the Mountaineers bullpen pitched 13.1 innings while only allowing two runs.
West Virginia and Arizona are set to face off again tomorrow afternoon. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. with streaming available on Big 12 now via ESPN+.
