WVU Baseball Guts Out 4-3 Win to Sweep UCF

WVU Baseball warded off any chance of a UCF comeback on Sunday, April 27, capping their road series sweep with a 4-3 win.

The Mountaineers (37-5, 16-3 Big 12) erased an early 2-1 deficit with a three run rally in the fifth inning, and their pitching staff took it from there. Reliever-turned-starter Jack Kartsonas lasted 6.2 innings on 111 pitches, striking out five batters and allowing three runs. Ben McDougal needed just 17 pitches to complete a seven-out save, inducing weak contact as he faced the minimum.

Jace Rinehart, who had a hand in all four runs the Mountaineers scored, put West Virginia in front in the first inning with a double down the line, plating Skylar King, who wore a pitch to lead off the game.

The Knights responded with a pair of doubles to tie the game, then jumped ahead in the second with another two-bagger. UCF loaded the bases in the third as Kartsonas continued to settle in, but the veteran righty escaped with a swinging strikeout.

Rinehart put the Mountaineers in front with a two out, two run double in the fifth, then a Sam White single made it 4-2.

The Knights pulled within a run in the sixth, then chased Kartsonas from the game with a two out double in the seventh, but McDougal slammed the door shut to secure the sweep.

Up next WVU Baseball will face Marshall at GoMart Ballpark in Charleston, set for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30. The Mountaineers will serve as the home team at the neutral site this season.