Two HR Day from Hussey Boosts WVU Baseball over Youngstown State 9-3

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After taking last night’s first game 6-4 over Youngstown State, the Mountaineers entered today’s double-header feeling confident. The team (11-8) came back from down 4-1 to capture the victory, and the Penguins (9-12) were held scoreless from the fourth inning on.

Today, WVU was determined not to have to battle back for a single pitch.

WVU sophomore left-handed ace Ben Hampton dealt the Penguins a quick, four-batter first inning to begin this morning’s action; only exhausting 13 pitches on the top of Youngstown State’s lineup. On offense, the Mountaineers came out swinging.

Freshman third baseman JJ Wetherholt reached on a fielder’s choice to kick off the Mountaineer base path action. Junior center fielder Victor Scott doubled into right to advance Wetherholt to third. WVU clean-up guy, freshman Grant Hussey allowed right-handed pitcher Chad Coles to deal a wild pitch; it hit the backstop and Wetherholt darted home for the first Mountaineer score. Hussey’s at-bat concluded with a walk, and he advanced to second on a throwing error. Meanwhile, on the latter bases, Scott was taking full advantage of the chaos. He came in easily from third for the second score.

The second inning saw Hampton and Coles swap 1-2-3 innings, and Hampton added another minimum showing in the fourth as well.

It took until the fourth inning for the Penguins to get on the scoreboard. When they did, it was senior Lucas Nasonti who sent a hard-hit double down the right field line and into the corner. Two batters later, teammate Braeden O’Shaughnessy dropped a quick blooper into shallow right field, sending Nasonti home to make the score 2-1.

The Mountaineers added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth, courtesy of a Hussey right field bomb that brought Scott home from first. Down 4-1, the Penguins’ sixth inning strategy included Nasonti, who caught a ball and flew it yard over the left field wall. The score advancement was quickly quelled by Hampton, and the Mountaineers took to the offensive again.

The bottom of the sixth saw Mountaineer freshman Braden Barry hit a clutch triple into right field. Sophomore Mikey Kluska singled on a sac bunt and tallied his 11th RBI of the season when Barry scored. A 5-2 lead wasn’t enough of a cushion.

Hussey’s next at-bat, he added a sixth home run on the season that bounced on the right field concourse. It also scored Scott from first once more to produce a dominant 7-2 Mountaineer lead. Pinch hitting for McGwire Holbrook, freshman Evan Smith walked to get on the base path, and quickly got an opportunity to touch them all courtesy of a triple off the bat of redshirt senior catcher Vince Ippoliti. Ippoliti came home himself after pinch hitter Tyler Cox flew out to center field. The Mountaineers would maintain their nine runs the rest of the game, but the eighth saw the Penguins add one, final run to the board.

Nasonti walked and teammate Chase Franken followed that at-bat with a ball smacked into right center field. Nasonti touched home plate for the third time this game, but it wasn’t enough, as his team fell 9-3 after six scoreless innings.

With the win, West Virginia moves to 12-8 and readies for Game 2 of the double-header. This morning’s starter, Hampton, gets the win on the mound, and Penguin pitcher Coles earned the loss. WVU ended the game with nine runs on eight hits, while Youngstown State rallied together its trio of runs on seven hits.

The final game of this weekend series will have its first pitch at approximately 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+ and live at Monongalia County Ballpark. West Virginia’s junior righty Jacob Watters is expected on the mound, and the Penguins will send junior righty Matt Brosky out for his sixth appearance.