WVU Baseball Works Combined Shutout, Keeps Season Alive

WVU Baseball kept their season alive on Tuesday, June 16, blanking the Troy Trojans 12-0 in their elimination game matchup in the College World Series.

The Mountaineers’ (47-16) combined shutout came courtesy of Dawson Montesa, postseason revelation Ben McDougal, Carson Estridge and Reese Bassinger, the last of whom kept Troy off the board with two strikeouts and a shallow fly ball after the Trojans loaded the bases with nobody out.

Montesa got the start and completed 5.1 innings on 112 pitches (64 strikes), holding Troy scoreless long enough for West Virginia’s bats to assert themselves despite battling spotty command. McDougal entered with one away in the sixth after Montesa put two aboard, getting the Mountaineers out of the jam before running into his own the following inning, queueing Bassinger’s heroics.

Although West Virginia held a seven-run lead at that point, Bassinger slammed the door shut on any lingering hope of a Trojans’ comeback, needing just 25 pitches to complete two innings and fan five batters.

Gavin Kelly hit a leadoff single in the third, but two quick outs made the rally look dead on arrival. Matthew Graveline doubled to plate Kelly, then scored himself on a wild pitch after the Mountaineers loaded the bases. West Virginia’s clutch hitting continued in the sixth, when Tyrus Hall and Armani Guzman drew two-out walks, setting the stage for a three-run blast from Kelly.

Sean Smith and Ben Lumsden padded the lead with RBI singles; the Mountaineers continued to inch ahead with five runs in the ninth, including a two-run double from Guzman.

WVU Baseball will face North Carolina at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, June 17 in another elimination game for the Mountaineers. The Tar Heels beat them 5-2 on June 14, dropping West Virginia into the losers’ bracket.