WVU Baseball Drops Scrimmage 6-0 to MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks

The Mountaineers lost their scrimmage 6-0 in seven innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks of MLB on Monday, Feb. 27.

The Diamondbacks’ principal owner, Ken Kendrick, graduated from West Virginia with a BBA. Kendrick met with the Mountaineers ahead of the scrimmage as they took a tour of Arizona’s stadium.

Arizona lefty Blake Walston, a 2019 first round pick, struck out the side to begin the scrimmage. 

Diamondbacks third baseman Deyvison De Los Santos homered off Mountaineers true freshman Gavin Van Kempen to open the scoring.

First baseman Ivan Melendez—who played for the Texas Longhorns and tormented West Virginia in 2022 with a trio of home runs in a series in Morgantown—got the start for Arizona. The Mountaineers got the last laugh, however, as Melendez struck out to end the first.

A great night so far playing against the pros!#HailWV pic.twitter.com/Qggn2TkJ7F

— WVU Baseball (@WVUBaseball) February 28, 2023

Small ball killed West Virginia in the second as the Diamondbacks took a 6-0 lead, each run scoring via single or groundout. Melendez again grounded out, this time against junior right-hander Carlson Reed, to end the inning.

The Mountaineers got their first baserunners of the evening in the fourth inning. Catcher Dayne Leonard drew a walk, and third baseman Ellis Garcia doubled to put two runners in scoring position, but Arizona escaped with a strikeout.

West Virginia redshirt freshman David Hagaman entered in the fourth inning and pitched three scoreless innings to end the scrimmage as both teams began to sub out their starters. 

Hagaman pitched around traffic on the base paths multiple times, stranding a double in the fifth and escaping a bases loaded situation in the sixth. He also added three strikeouts, two looking.

Thanks for making the trek out west, @WVUBaseball! Y’all are welcome here anytime. 🤝 pic.twitter.com/qK7Wev2rzm

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) February 28, 2023

The Mountaineers remain 4-3 on the season. They’ll take the field next against William and Mary on Friday, March 3 as they embark on a three game Virginia road trip. Left-hander Ben Hampton will look for his first win of the season. He’s left with the lead in each of his first two starts, but the bullpen hasn’t been able to back him up.