West Virginia drops final game of opening weekend to Georgia Tech in extras

Atlanta, GA – The third and final game for the Mountaineers in the Atlanta Challenge did not start the way they would have liked courtesy to a two-run home run from catcher Kyle McCann. McCann’s homer was a laser over the right center field wall displaying great exit velocity. The Yellow Jackets held a 2-0 lead after one inning of play.

Georgia Tech right fielder Collin Hill got the 2nd inning started off with a ground rule double that just sneaked inside the left field foul line before getting stuck in the outfield padding. Austin Wilhite grounded out to first base moving the runner to third for designated hitter Michael Guldberg who sent a soft flare just over the pitchers head tacking on the third run of the game.

The Mountaineers got off to an eerily similar slow start on the offensive side and went down on strikes seven times in the first four innings, only registering one hit. Georgia Tech pitcher Connor Thomas worked quickly and did not give the Mountaineers much time to get comfortable in the box.

West Virginia starting pitcher Kade Strowd started to find his rhythm in the middle innings, piecing together back-to-back 1-2-3 scoreless frames, keeping Georgia Tech in check, but he ran into some trouble in the bottom of the fifth and was relieved by lefty Zach Reid. Reid was able to keep any running from crossing the plate which closed the book on starting pitcher, Kade Strowd.

Strowd’s line: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 K, 0 BB

The 6th inning spelled trouble for Reid when he hit leadoff hitter Tristen English on the first pitch then catcher Kyle McCann sent a screaming shot under the glove of first baseman Marquis Inman, putting runners at the corners with no outs. True freshman Gabe Kurtzhals came into relieve for Reid following the hit by McCann. Third baseman Oscar Serratos grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, that also scored the runner from third. Kurtzhals ended the inning by notching his first career strikeout against right fielder Collin Hill.

Andrew Zitel got things rolling in the 7th inning with a one out walk followed by a pinch hit single from T.J. Lake to right field. Kevin Brophy then pinched hit for Austin Davis and hit a weak grounder to the left side of the field, but a throwing error by the third baseman allowed Brophy to be safe at first, then Zitel got caught in a run down between third and home and scored due to a throwing error by catcher Kyle McCann. Two runs scored on the play, cutting the lead in half. Tyler Doanes kept the momentum going by shooting an RBI double to right center scoring Brophy.

Yellow Jackets starting pitcher Connor Thomas pitched a gem through 7 innings striking out 10 and allowing five hits and three runs (all unearned). Mountaineers first baseman Marquis Inman went yard in the top of the eighth for his first long ball of the season, which tied the game up 4-4.

Sam Kessler came on strong in relief in the 8th and threw two scoreless innings, which led to extra innings with a tied 4-4 ball game.

Both teams were in a pitchers dual in the late/extra innings until the Mountaineers made some noise in the 11th with some help from Georgia Tech’s third baseman who recorded two errors in the inning which put two runners in scoring position with one out. Brandon White didn’t come close to anything he swung at and would strikeout becoming the 2nd out of the inning.

The Mountaineers went back to the bullpen in the bottom of the 11th and turned to true freshman Beau Lowery, taking over for Sam Kessler who had three clean innings and pounded the strike zone throwing 31 strikes on 39 pitches. Lowery struggled in his second outing of the season, giving up three hits and the game winning hit.

Collin Hall got the momentum rolling with a one out double and a base hit from Austin Wilhite. Head coach Randy Mazey opted to walk the pinch hitter to load the bases and Nick Wilhite hit a seeing-eye grounder through the left side of the infield to walk off the win for Georgia Tech 5-4 in the 11th inning.

The Mountaineers drop to 1-2 on the season and will take on Georgia Southern in a three game set next weekend.