No. 24 West Virginia Survives Late Marshall Rally, Wins 9-7

No. 24 West Virginia survived a late inning comeback attempt by the Marshall Thundering Herd to win 9-7 on Tuesday night. 

West Virginia’s young pitchers struggled in the rivalry game, but their offense was able to take the reins on the way to victory.

Marshall center fielder Luke Edwards reached on a hit by pitch, taking second on a pickoff attempt that first baseman Sam White missed. A pair of groundouts brought him around to score, giving the Herd a 1-0 lead in the first. 

Mountaineers’ second baseman JJ Wetherholt doubled to begin the bottom of the frame. He advanced to third on a throwing error before catcher Dayne Leonard singled him home. White singled to put runners at the corners, and third baseman Ellis Garcia got hit by a pitch to load the bases. Left fielder Landon Wallace tripled to make it 4-1. 

Herd first baseman Daniel Carinci walked to start the second, taking third on a pair of wild pitches. A hit by pitch put runners at the corners, and Edwards tripled to close the deficit to 4-3. 

The Mountaineers loaded the bases with two outs in the third but couldn’t capitalize. 

Leonard walked and stole second in the fourth. He traded places with right fielder Caleb McNeely, who doubled to make it 5-3.

Marshall made it 5-4 in the top of the fifth, scoring on a throwing error during a double play attempt. 

He’s not going to catch that one!@Caleb_McNeely with an RBI double to add a run for WVU!#HailWV pic.twitter.com/q0AcUYwYqz

— WVU Baseball (@WVUBaseball) March 29, 2023

West Virginia tacked on two more in the sixth. Center fielder Braden Barry led off with a single, stealing second and advancing to third thanks to a throwing error by catcher Owen Ayers. Leonard walked, and McNeely hit into a double play that scored Barry. White followed that up with his second home run of the season. 

Ayers redeemed himself at the top of the next inning, hitting a single and then scoring from first on a double by shortstop Gio Ferraro to make it 7-5. Wetherholt walked and stole second in the bottom of the frame. Barry hit a sacrifice fly to the warning track in center, and Wetherholt turned on the burners to score from second. 

Marshall plated two runs thanks to a pair of errors in the eighth, pulling within a run. Carlson Reed was able to strand the tying run with a pair of strikeouts. 

With runners at the corners in the bottom of the eighth, Wetherholt baited the Herd into a rundown. The gambit gave shortstop Tevin Tucker time to score from third and make it 9-7.

JJ just scored from second on a sacrifice fly!

These are not normal things this guy is doing!#HailWV | @jj_wetherholt pic.twitter.com/bxnm2bsB2j

— WVU Baseball (@WVUBaseball) March 29, 2023

Reed allowed a leadoff single, bringing the tying run to the plate in the ninth. He rebounded to strike out the side and earn the save.

West Virginia moves to 19-6 on the season. Marshall falls to 11-11. Up next for the Mountaineers is the beginning of conference play, with a series at Kansas State starting Friday at 7pm.

Postgame Reaction