WVU Baseball Crushes Binghamton After Slow Start to Regional

WVU Baseball overcame a slow start to crush the Binghamton Bearcats on Friday, May 29, winning their first game in the Morgantown Regional of the NCA Tournament 10-1.

Binghamton drew first blood with a leadoff double in the second from Zach Kent. Kent took third on a wild pitch, then beat the throw to the plate on a grounder to third baseman Tyrus Hall. Mountaineers’ head coach Steve Sabins challenged the play unsuccessfully. Bearcats starter Conner Griffin kept West Virginia’s baserunners in check with frequent throws to first, picking off Ben Lumsden in the third to help quash a Mountaineers rally.

West Virginia surged in front in the fourth inning, however, Sean Smith wearing a pitch to lead off the inning. Matthew Graveline got revenge on the next pitch, pummeling it to center field to give West Virginia a 2-1 lead. Armani Guzman nearly left the yard himself during the next at-bat, the ball falling into center fielder Matt Bolton’s glove on the warning track; Bolton lost control as he collided with the wall, allowing Guzman to cruise into second base.

Mountaineers Set Cruise Control

Guzman stole third and Brodie Kresser walked to put runners at the corners, chasing Griffin from the game in favor of right-hander Jackson Mitchell. The pitching change did nothing to help the Bearcats, as Lumsden obliterated his first home run of the season 110 miles per hour to right field, extending the lead to 5-1 with an emphatic bat flip.

West Virginia piled on with five more runs in the sixth inning, sending all nine batters to the plate: Gavin Kelly and Armani Guzman notched two- and three-run doubles, respectively, a pair of hit batters getting Binghamton reliever Jake Dally into further trouble. Mountaineers’ starter Chansen Cole, meanwhile, completed six innings of one-run ball on 94 pitches, striking out ten batters.

David Hagen churned through the final three innings, striking out three batters and preserving the rest of the Mountaineers’ bullpen for the series to come.

WVU Baseball will face Kentucky in the winners bracket at 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, sending left-hander and Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Maxx Yehl (2.16 ERA, 79.1 innings pitched and 95 strikeouts) to the mound. The Wildcats survived Wake Forest 6-5, scoring the go-ahead run with two outs and two strikes in the ninth inning.