WVU Baseball Rolls Past Cougars in Coal Rush Game

WVU Baseball won their third Big 12 game in a row on Thursday, March 18, defeating the BYU Cougars 7-4 in Morgantown.

The Mountaineers (14-4, 4-1 Big 12) leapt out to a 4-0 lead in the second inning beginning with an Armani Guzman walk. The speedy __ swiped second before trotting home on a Matt Graveline double; Tyrus Hall battled through a ten pitch at-bat, flipping a single up thr middle to plate Graveline, then a wild pitch and a Paul Schoenfeld single brought two more runs home.

The Cougars struck back in the fifth, Ridge Erickson stinging West Virginia starter Dawson Montesa for a two-out home run. Matt Ineich singled home Hall in the sixth, a fielding error assisting the rally, and a Gavin Kelly home run pushed the lead to 7-1.

Montesa allowed another solo shot in his seventh and final inning, finishing his day with seven strikeouts and 101 pitches thrown. Sophomore reliever Bryant Yoak ran into trouble in the ninth, allowing a pair of runs and bringing David Perez to the mound with a save situation in play. Perez fanned two batters to seal the win.

WVU Baseball will attempt to take the series with BYU at 2 p.m. on Friday, March 20.