WVU Baseball Sweeps Battle of Mountaineers with 18-5 Win Over Appalachian State

West Virginia baseball hung 18 on Appalachian State for the second straight day on Wednesday, winning 18-5 to leave no doubt about which set of Mountaineers is superior.

West Virginia got off to a fast start, putting up four runs in the first inning.

Center fielder Braden Barry doubled and second baseman JJ Wetherholt singled to put runners at the corners. Dayne Leonard lined out to right, scoring Barry, and right fielder Caleb McNeely singled Wetherholt home. McNeely stole second and third before dashing home on a wild pitch, and true freshman first baseman Ellis Garcia hit the first home run of his collegiate career. 

Appalachian State’s leadoff runner made it on via error in the second, eventually coming around to score unearned.

West Virginia starter Gavin Van Kempen left the game in the third inning after Appalachian State tagged him for three more runs, going ahead 5-4. Senior left-hander Jake Carr entered with two outs in the third and pitched four scoreless innings, allowing West Virginia’s offense to get their bearings. 

West Virginia drew back-to-back walks to lead off the fourth, but nearly blew the scoring chance with two quick outs. Leonard slapped a single the opposite way to knot the game 5-5.

Catcher Logan Suave opened the sixth with a double, and Barry tripled to put West Virginia up 6-5.

Morgantown’s Mountaineers scored three insurance runs the next inning. With two runners on, left fielder Landon Wallace scored one run with a double, then shortstop Tevin Tucker brought home another with a fielder’s choice. Wallace stole home to cap off the inning and make it 9-5.

Leonard walked in the eighth, and Garcia doubled him home. West Virginia continued to pile on in the ninth. Grant Hussey and Kevin Dowdell worked bases-loaded walks, sandwiched by two-run doubles by Leonard and true freshman Skylar King. A wild pitch with runners in scoring position and another groundout RBI by Tucker stretched the lead to 18-5. 

West Virginia moves to 12-4 on the season. They’ll continue play in North Carolina this weekend, starting a three game series with UNC Greensboro at 4 pm on Friday.