No. 24 West Virginia Drops Series Finale to Xavier 8-3

West Virginia baseball fell 8-3 to the Xavier Musketeers in their series finale on Sunday.

Starter Grant Siegel struck out the side in the first. He only lasted 1.1 innings, though, as free passes came back to haunt him fast. The Mountaineers outhit the Musketeers 7-5, but Xavier made their hits count with three home runs. 

Center fielder Braden Barry drew a full-count walk and promptly stole second in the bottom of the frame. Designated hitter Dayne Leonard singled him home to open a 1-0 lead. 

Siegel hit two batters then issued a walk to load the bases with no outs in the second. He worked a strikeout looking, then gave up a grand slam to second baseman Jared Cushing to make it 4-1. 

The Mountaineers loaded the bases in the bottom of the second with the top of the order coming up. A pair of strikeouts left them empty-handed.

Leonard singled and first baseman Sam White walked to begin the third. Third baseman Ellis Garcia dropped a single perfectly between the infield and outfield to make it 4-2. 

Xavier extended their lead in the next inning when left fielder Andrew Walker hit a two-run, two-out homer to right. 

Leonard hit another single to score Wetherholt in the bottom of the fourth. Right fielder Caleb McNeely barely missed a home run, flying out to the warning track and ending the inning. 

Xavier bunted home another run in the sixth to go up 7-3. Cushing hit his second home run of the game (and third of the series) to make it 8-3 in the eighth. 

Garcia drew a two-out walk in the ninth, but the Mountaineers couldn’t muster anything else.

West Virginia moves to 18-6 on the season. Up next is a home game against Marshall starting at 6:30pm Tuesday.

Postgame Reaction