WVU Baseball Aces Final Tune Up Before Big 12 Opener

WVU Baseball won their third game in a row on Tuesday, March 10, breezing past Maryland 10-3 in a bullpen game.

West Virginia (11-3) watched seven straight balls to open the game, Matt Ineich and Gavin Kelly drawing walks. Paul Schoenfeld singled to plate Ineich, then a Matt Graveline groundout made it 2-0. The Mountaineers tripled their lead in the second, Armani Guzman setting the tone with a small ball run as he walked and stole second before coming home on a Tyrus Hall single.

Ineich singled, moving Hall to third, then drew a throw to second on a steal attempt that allowed Hall to race home. Schoenfeld and Graveline picked up an RBI triple and an RBI single, respectively. West Virginia continued to pile on with two runs apiece in the third and fourth innings, Kelly plating a pair with a two-out single before Brock Wills and Guzman each knocked in a runner. Their offense ran cold from there, but the Mountaineers’ bullpen cruised with a 10-0 lead.

Pitching Settles In

Mountaineers’ starter David Hagen pitched a scoreless first inning but struggled to put batters away; head coach Steve Sabins gave Hagen the hook after he led off the second with a nine-pitch at-bat. Carson Estridge and Ian Korn covered three and two innings, respectively, keeping the bullpen from an outsized workload.

Maryland managed to tack on three runs in the ninth inning as Sabins let freshmen Weston Smith and JD Costanzo get their bearings on the mound. The Terrapins loaded the bases with two outs, a Matthew Robaugh error extending the rally, but Bryson Thacker ended the rally and the game after inducing a fielders’ choice.

Up next, WVU Baseball will play their Big 12 road opener, traveling to Waco, Texas for a three game series starting at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 13.