WVU Baseball Claims Series Over ASU as Cole, Perez Labor

WVU Baseball took the game and their series with No. 22 Arizona State on Sunday, March 29, winning 9-5 as starter Chansen Cole and closer David Perez combined for a complete game.

Cole struggled with command early, allowing a leadoff home run, plunking three batters and needing a mound visit in the first inning alone. The No. 17 Mountaineers (19-5, 7-2 Big 12) turned a double play behind him, limiting the damage to one run and 22 pitches thrown. Cole worked through traffic but managed to complete 5.1 innings of one-run ball, head coach Steve Sabins turning to Perez with two on and one out in the sixth.

West Virginia led 4-1 at that point, Sean Smith breaking through with a grand slam in the top of the frame that put him at seven RBI in the past two days. Matt Graveline stole home in the eighth, continuing the Mountaineers’ daring base running success, and West Virginia added three more runs in the ninth, an RBI double from Paul Schoenfeld and a two-run single off the bat of Brock Wills.

The Sun Devils tagged Perez for four runs in all, a wild pitch in the seventh and a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth as the freshman reliever labored for 58 pitches and 3.2 innings, blasting past his career high of 2.1 frames. Having entered with a three-run lead, Perez earned a safe for his efforts.

WVU Baseball will continue their Grand Canyon State road trip during midweek play, facing Arizona at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31. They scheduled the one-off before the Wildcats joined the Big 12, so it counts as an out-of-conference matchup.