WVU Baseball Blows 4-Run Lead, Loses 10-9 to Pitt on Walk-Off

The No. 12 ranked WVU baseball team held a 9-5 lead in the ninth inning of their Tuesday, May 6 loss to the rival Pitt Panthers. Pitt scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth to steal victory from the jaws of defeat.

Head coach Steve Sabins moved Armani Guzman from right field into the infield to give the Mountaineers an extra defender to set up a play at the plate with runners at the corners and one out in a tie game. While Guzman switched to an infielders’ glove, he couldn’t corral a ball hit by Gavin Miller and it trickled away, giving pinch runner Anthony LaSala time to race home as the winning run. The loss marks West Virginia’s first to Pitt since 2022.

The Mountaineers (39-8, 18-4 Big 12) took a 3-0 lead in the first inning after Kyle West walked and Jace Rinehart doubled, putting two runners in scoring position. Sam White singled home a run, then Rinehart scored on a fielders’ choice, sliding around the tag attempt from Pitt catcher Sebastian Pisacreta. Spencer Barnett drew a walk to load the bases, then a Brodie Kresser groundout plated another run.

Kyle West skied a two strike, two out homer the opposite way in the second inning, pushing the lead to 4-0. The Panthers loaded the bases in the third, with first baseman Luke Cantwell walking in a run before a two-run single from Ryan Zuckerman. Mountaineers’ head coach Steve Sabins went to reliever Tyler Hutson mid at-bat with two on and no outs, and the senior right-hander retired the side to preserve the lead.

The Mountaineers loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth after two walks and a single. West skied a pop fly but the Panthers’ defense lost it in a gust of wind, allowing a run to cross; White made it 6-3 via sacrifice after hitting a foul ball with sufficient depth.

Panthers Push Back

Pitt immediately closed the gap on a two-run homer from Pisacreta, the extra run coming after another fly ball got caught in the wind, dropping between a pair of Mountaineers’ fielders. The Panthers appeared to come up with the tying run in the seventh on a fly ball down the left field line from Caden Dulin. Initially signaled as fair and a home run, a video review overturned the call. Pittsburgh subsequently loaded the bases, but Sabins turned to Carson Estridge, who escaped the frame with a pair of strikeouts.

Rinehart singled home two insurance runs in the eighth, putting the Mountaineers ahead 8-5. Hussey added insurance with a sacrifice bunt in the top of the ninth, and the Mountaineers ended up needing it. Jayden Melendez lifted a three-run homer over the wall in left-center in the ninth inning, closing the Panthers within a run.

A fielders’ choice tied the game as Keeton Burroughs beat out a double play attempt, setting up Miller for the winning at-bat.

Up next, WVU Baseball will travel to face Kansas State, with that series set to begin at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 9.