Six-Run Third Inning Helps WVU Baseball Top Penn State 8-4

The Mountaineers entered State College, Pa. equipped with a five-game win streak, Big 12 Player of the Week Austin Davis, and a lineup coming off a hot weekend sweep of the Baylor Bears. WVU Baseball (20-10) faced the Penn State Nittany Lions (12-17) for the first time since 2018, at which time WVU had secured the win on a walk-off 3-2 final at PNC Park.

Although not a walk-off this time, WVU took its third-straight victory over the Big 10 opponent in 8-4 fashion after leaving two-thirds of the box score without a run.

WVU’s offense came out swinging for the fences out of the gate. After a fly-out and groundout from the top of the West Virginia order, a triple from 3-hole junior Victor Scott placed him 90 short feet away from the game’s first run. Sophomore clean-up guy McGwire Holbrook knocked Scott home on a single into center field, and the Mountaineers were off to the races 1-0.

WVU right-handed starter Tyler Strechay dealt the Nittany Lions a four-batter first, and the WVU infield worked the game’s first double play into existence to start dominantly on both sides of the ball.

Penn State’s freshman right-handed pitcher Tommy Molsky got the start and shut down the middle of the Mountaineer order by way of a pair of groundouts and a fly-out.

The bottom of the second also saw the Mountaineer defense play a solid brand of Mazey Ball. After a single from Anthony Steele and the advancement of Billy Gerlott after being hit by a pitch, Derek Cease batted a single next to his name as well, loading the bases with two outs. With the top of the Penn State order up in the form of Jay Harry, Strechay saw a pitch grounded right back to him; a quick throw over to freshman Grant Hussey at first stranded three runners and ended the inning for the scoreless Nittany Lions.

Then… the top of the third inning happened.

The bottom of the Mountaineer order’s redshirt junior Tevin Tucker singled into right field to lead off the inning and Davis followed with a single of his own, sending Tucker to third. Freshman JJ Wetherholt shot a ground ball into the glove of Harry at shortstop for the first out of the inning, but did enough to get Tucker home for the Mountaineers’ second run. Davis would come home next, when Scott hit a double that scored the senior from second base and upped the score to 3-0.

Holbrook, who socked an RBI single on the box score in his previous at-bat, replicated that showing, getting aboard the base path and knocking Scott in for the game’s fourth run. Molsky was pulled after that, officially going 2.1 innings and surrendering five runs on six hits with no strikeouts and 50 pitches thrown; in his place, southpaw Jordan Morales. The pitching change couldn’t stop the Mountaineer momentum, and the middle of the WVU order added two more runs on Morales. The fifth hit of the Mountaineer side came from sophomore Braden Barry, who in turn advanced Holbrook into scoring position. The latter scored on an RBI single from redshirt junior Dayne Leonard, credited to Molsky, to up the WVU score to 6-0. The final run of the inning would score Leonard courtesy of a Hussey double into right field, his 21st RBI of the season. The Mountaineers closed the third inning’s showing with seven runs on nine hits.

Penn State battled back in the home half after a double from Matt Wood and a home run from Cole Bartels that brought both runners home. A 7-2 deficit would stick until the fifth inning, and Strechay would leave the game after a season-high 52 pitches, 40 of which were strikes, the pair of runs on seven hits, two strikeouts, two doubles, and a home run allowed.

The Mountaineers added an eighth run in the fourth inning. Davis singled, his 12th multi-hit game of the season, and was advanced to third after a Wetherholt single. The runners on the corners didn’t last long. Scott’s 32nd RBI of the season transpired from a bunt that got him to first and Davis home. The 8-2 lead allowed Mountaineer fans yet another insight into head coach Randy Mazey’s team’s stellar bunt placement. Scott was a home run away from hitting the cycle, but the Mountaineer offense had exhausted its scoring opportunities for the night.

On the mound, the Mountaineers weren’t messing around. Freshman righty Aidan Major, who relieved Strechay, retired the remaining two-straight batters from the third inning, as well as all three from the fourth. Penn State right-handed reliever Carson Kohls dealt the Mountaineers the same fate, retiring the side in the fifth inning.

WVU’s third pitcher of the night, freshman righty Trent Hodgdon allowed a two-run home run from Josh Spiegel in the fifth inning, plating the game’s final run duo and solidifying what would eventually become an 8-4 final.

The Mountaineer defense kept Penn State’s offense off the board from the sixth inning on, collecting five strikeouts, three groundouts, and a fly-out between Hodgdon and right-handed relievers Zach Ottinger, Noah Short, and Ben Abernathy to shut the Nittany Lions down. Strechay earned the win tonight, while Penn State’s Molsky went home with the loss.

WVU’s bats combined for eight runs on 14 hits; Penn State put up four runs and 11 hits on West Virginia’s six pitchers. The Mountaineers ended the night under the lights at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park with the season’s 21st win. This Big 12-Big 10 match-up will see each other once more in 2022, on Apr. 27 at Monongalia County Ballpark. Before that though, WVU has a hefty conference slate to run through, specifically, welcoming No. 3 Oklahoma State to Morgantown for the weekend series on Friday.

With tonight’s win, WVU has now scored an average of seven runs per game. For the sake of Big 12 comparison, that ranks WVU No. 4 in terms of runs/game. Texas Tech leads the league with 9.7, the Longhorns come in next with 7.9, and TCU slides in slightly higher than WVU with 7.03 per game. The Cowboys come in at No. 5 with 6.65 and will hope to replicate that productivity when they fly to Morgantown this weekend.

The first game of WVU’s third conference series is slated to begin at 6:30 p.m. on Apr. 15. It’s Trivia Night and Ballpark Bingo Night at Wagener Field.