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WVU Baseball Uses Final Four Innings to Overcome Ohio State 7-6

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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – In the second game of a Friday double-header against Ohio State (5-7), the WVU Mountaineers (8-5) attempted to avenge a 10-17 record all-time with the Buckeyes, including a 10-4 loss earlier in the day. For the majority of the game, it seemed as though it wasn’t to be.

WVU went into the latter of the two games already down, having lost three of its last four games and given up a hefty 10 runs earlier in the day. The action at Monongalia County Ballpark wasn’t over yet, though a lethargic first game bled into the first five innings.

Sophomore left-handed pitcher Ben Hampton (2-1) got the start for the Mountaineers. Conversely, sophomore right-handed pitcher Nate Haberthier took the mound for the Buckeyes. The two made quick work of their respective sides, 1-2-3 in the first and third, and four-batter style in the second.

Ohio State started the offensive push in the fourth, after a failed pick-off attempt sent senior Zach Dezenzo to third. Hampton quieted down the remainder of the inning quickly, squashing the Buckeyes’ scoreboard dreams. Haberthier showed up exactly the same in the bottom of the fourth inning, but the WVU bats couldn’t get started.

The WVU infield played a clean game in the fifth, helping Hampton close down the side. WVU, batting the end of its lineup, went down in six pitches, sending the teams to the sixth, still with an untouched scoreboard. Hampton sat his side down in 1-2-3 fashion; the sophomore had only allowed four hits through six innings pitched.

“You know, Hampton was cooking,” Mazey said with a chuckle.

Hampton’s steadfast outing allowed the Mountaineers a collective sigh of relief, and the action in the bottom of the sixth aided.

A single from senior Austin Davis got the Mountaineers on the bath path, and the right fielder promptly stole second. This move placed him in perfect position to score, especially with third baseman JJ Wetherholt on deck. The freshman pelted one over the left field wall in his third at-bat of the game, scoring Davis and boosting the Mountaineers up 2-0. The next batter, senior Victor Scott, singled into right field and stole second, and then third in a span of approximately 45 seconds. His heads-up base running landed him one base further, after he capitalized on a wild pitch and turned a routine single into a run sans additional action. The Mountaineers lead 3-0 against the Buckeyes, but also used the inning to add to their No. 4 and No. 1 rankings, nationally and in conference, in stolen bases.

The top of the seventh inning saw Hampton sit (6.0IP-6H-0R-5K-24BF) and fifth-year righty Chase Smith enter the game. He dealt the Buckeyes back-to-back-to-back singles, loading the bases with one out, and head coach Randy Mazey pulled him in favor of closer, junior Jacob Watters. The righty started his night on the bump with a wild pitch that advanced OSU’s Kade Kern into scoring position. The sophomore would take full advantage when teammate Tyler Pettorini doubled down the left field line. Kern and Mitchell Okuley both scored, dashing the Mountaineer lead to 3-2. With two outs, West Virginia could have quelled the bleeding, but instead, courtesy of a bobbled pick-up from second baseman Mikey Kluska off a single from OSU’s Marcus Ernst, Pettorini went home, tying the ballgame.

WVU regained its momentum in the bottom of the seventh. Freshman Tyler Cox lead off the inning with a nondescript walk. All he needed was to get on base. He stole second in between pitches to redshirt junior Dayne Leonard. Leonard also walked, and both advanced courtesy of a wild pitch to Braden Barry. Cox wasn’t quite done stealing bases, although it wasn’t going to end as well as the previous attempts. He stole home, adding the second out of the inning. Redshirt junior Tevin Tucker, who had moved aside to let him try to add his steal to the scoreboard, proceeded to smack a ball down the middle and into the outfield, scoring Leonard for a 4-3 WVU lead.

WVU’s solid fielding took a break in the eighth. An error from Tucker allowed Drew Reckart first base, and he headed home two batters later. Teammate Brent Todys doubled into right center, scoring Reckart and Okuley, his second run of the game. A questionable murmur seemed to spread through Monongalia County Ballpark at this point, and it grew after OSU sat down the side in the bottom of the inning. Could WVU pull out its sixth comeback victory?

The Buckeyes headed to the top of the ninth up 5-4 and in prime position to take both games from West Virginia today. That wasn’t to be.

WVU fifth-year righty Trey Braithwaite dealt Ohio State a quick inning, but it wasn’t before Pettorini scored on a wild pitch, the same move that WVU had tried and failed. The Buckeyes had succeeded, and appeared to be succeeding enough to close out today with a pair of handed wins. Then, the bottom of the ninth happened.

Cox remained a constant success in his next at-bat, reaching on a fielder’s choice. He advanced on a balk from OSU’s righty TJ Brock, and the WVU lineup got him to third with a single from Leonard. Smith came in to pinch run for Leonard, and stole second to move the Mountaineers further around the base path. Tensions were high. The Mountaineers had two outs and runners on the corners. At the plate: sophomore Nathan Blasick, pinch hitting for Tucker. It would prove to be a good move.

Blasick gunned a ball to right field, only a single for him, but it went to the warning track, scoring both Smith and Cox, tying the ballgame at six. The stolen bases weren’t ending quite yet. Mazey switched Ben Abernathy in for Blasick, and the sophomore stole both second and third in another heads-up call from the Mountaineer coaches. It was one which would pay off when senior Austin Davis stepped to the plate. One runner, 90 feet away from the Mountaineer win. Davis worked the count full. In the final pitch before extra innings, the WVU veteran connected and cracked the ball into center field. Abernathy trotted in from third, winning the game 7-6.

“You know, sometimes a team kind of takes an identity,” Mazey said after the win. “Wouldn’t that be cool if our identity was winning the game in the ninth inning? That doesn’t make it real easy on anyone, especially the old people in the dugout, but when a team starts believing they can win games late, that’s a pretty fun team to coach.”

With the win, WVU moves to 9-5. Mountaineer closer Beau Lowery got the win at home, adding to his 3-0 record this season with 0.1 innings pitched. OSU’s Brock went back to the hotel with the loss after dealing 2.2 innings which included four hits, four runs, and four Ks.

The Mountaineers and Buckeyes will close the series on Sunday in Morgantown on Mar. 13 at 1 p.m.

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