WVU Baseball Falters at Finish of 16 Inning Marathon

It took 16 innings to bring them down, but WVU Baseball suffered their first loss of conference play in the early hours of Saturday, March 22, losing 6-4 to the Arizona Wildcats in a game that lasted more than five and a half hours – the longest home game in program history.

Mountaineers (18-2, 1-1 Big 12) starter Griffin Kirn managed just 2.2 innings as Arizona charged him for four runs on 73 pitches. Despite the quick hook, West Virginia’s bullpen stepped up for more than 12 consecutive scoreless innings. Chase Meyer, who entered Friday night having pitched 13.2 innings across six appearances, contributed five innings in relief, shutting the Wildcats down until just before the bitter end.

Arizona took a 4-0 lead early, taking advantage of Kirn’s struggles, but the Mountaineers worked their way back into the game against the Wildcats’ bullpen. Logan Sauve hit a two out, two run single in the sixth inning to close the deficit to 4-3, then Skylar King tied things up with two outs in the ninth on an RBI single.

West Virginia put a runner on third in the 11th and 13th innings but couldn’t advance them the final 90 feet. Grant Hussey reached second via error to lead off the 15th inning, but a bunt attempt went nowhere. Two strikeouts ended the threat.

The Wildcats loaded the bases with one out in the 16th inning. Luke Lyman racked up a strikeout in relief of Meyer, then saw Arizona second baseman Richie Morales work the count full before ripping the go-ahead single up the middle.

The Mountaineers went down in order in the bottom of the frame, unable to scrape together another comeback attempt after the marathon in baseball form.

WVU Baseball will host the Wildcats at 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 22 in an attempt to even the series.