The No. 13 West Virginia Mountaineers baseball team won the one game they were able to play over the weekend, defeating the Oklahoma State Cowboys 8-6 at O’Brate Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Due to fires and winds in the area, the Friday and Saturday games were postponed to a doubleheader then cancelled. Read WVU baseball takes lone game against Oklahoma State.
West Virginia (16-1) and Oklahoma State (9-8) battled back and fourth all game, but ultimately a seventh-inning go-ahead homer from senior right fielder Jace Rinehart and a nearly four-inning save from sophomore right-handed pitcher Chase Meyer got the job done for the Mountaineers.
Game Recap
After a scoreless inning, WVU struck first in the top of the second when freshman designated hitter Gavin Kelly homered to right center. Senior left fielder Kyle West followed this up with a homer of his own, as his right field shot scored redshirt junior third baseman Chase Swain to make it 3-0.
READ: WVU RIFLE WINS ANOTHER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
The Cowboys answered in the bottom of the frame with a solo homer of their own to make it 3-1.
WVU starter Griffin Kirn gave up a two-run homer followed by a solo shot in the bottom of the fourth inning, and the redshirt senior left-hander was removed for Gavin Kempen, who got some game action after missing out on a start.
The Mountaineers tied it back up at 4-4 in the fifth, as junior second baseman Sam White walked with the bases loaded, with West coming home to score. However OSU answered with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the frame to go up 5-4. WVU tied it up once again in the sixth, with West singling to center field to drive in Kelly, but OSU answered again in the bottom of the sixth with a solo homer to take a 6-5 lead.
White then tied up the game in the seventh with a sac fly, plating senior shortstop Brodie Kresser. With one out in the top of the seventh, Rinehart homered to right field, scoring junior catcher Logan Sauve as West Virginia took an 8-6 lead.
From there on out Meyer secured the win for the Mountaineers, as he was flawless in a 3 ⅔ innings, no hits, no runs, one walk and nine strikeouts performance.
Hitting Performance
At the plate the West Virginia offense showed up once again, going 12-35 (.342) with four walks, and three extra-base hits, all homers. West drove in three runs, going 2-3 with a homer and scoring twice. White and Rinehart also drove in two runs themselves, while Kelly went 2-4 with two runs and a homer.
The West Virginia bullpen was stellar, as they allowed only two hits and two runs as Meyer put in one of the most clutch showings of the WVU season so far. All in all the Mountaineers pitching staff gave up six runs on eight hits and six walks, notching an eye-popping 19 strikeouts.
Of note, neither team stole a single base during the game, with the only attempt of the game being from White in the first inning.
The Mountaineers will now return home, as they are set to face James Madison twice at Kendrick Family Ballpark this week, at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday and 2 p.m. on Wednesday. Streaming is available on ESPN+.
