Both teams struggle to score in early innings
Matt Ineich led off the game for the Mountaineers and singled off Texas Tech’s starting pitcher Jackson Burns. Burns responded by striking out Gavin Kelly in the next at-bat. Paul Schoenfeld hit towards the left field gap but was robbed of a hit thanks to a great catch by left fielder Logan Hughes. Sean Smith reached first base on a catchers interference call, but the inning came to an end after a fly out from Armani Guzman.
Maxx Yehl got the start for WVU in Saturday’s matchup. Yehl retired Kyeler Thompson on a ground out, then followed with a strikeout to Caden Ferraro. Linkin Garcia got the first hit of the day for the Red Raiders with a single to right field. Yehl closed out the bottom of the first with a strikeout to Hughes.
Burns retired the Mountaineers in order, including two strikeouts in the top of the second. After retiring the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the second, Yehl walked Robin Villeneuve on five pitches to give TTU a baserunner with two outs. Matthew Robaugh made an incredible play between first and second base, snagging a ground ball that was blasted from Tracer Lopez to throw Lopez out at first to end the inning.
Burns retired the Mountaineers in order for the second straight inning. After a ground out from Coleman Ryan, Thompson reached first base thanks to a high throw from third basemen Tyrus Hall. The Mountaineers kept Texas Tech off the board by striking out Farraro and retiring Garcia on a groundout.
Yehl dominates, but WVU struggles to cash in
Following a groundout from Schoenfeld, Smith hustled and beat a throw to first base to give the Mountaineers a baserunner with one out. Unfortunately Guzman grounded to the second baseman, throwing Smith out at second, Guzman reached first base to keep the inning alive. Graveline hit a line drive that was caught by first baseman Villeneuve for the final out of the inning.
After giving up a lead-off hit to Hughes, Yehl retired the next three Red Raiders in order, including another strikeout for Yehl.
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After a strikeout from Brock Wills, Robaugh doubled to right field just passed the diving right fielder Jesse Rusinek.
A ground out from Hall and a line out from Ineich ended the inning with no runs for WVU.
Lopez opened the bottom of the fifth with a single just out of the reach of Robaugh. Ryan advanced Lopez on a sacrifice bunt to first.
WVU escaped the inning with a strikeout to Thompson and a ground out to Ferraro.
Kelly opened the top of the sixth with a single to right field. Following a fly out from Schoenfeld, Kelly was caught attempting to steal second base during Smith’s at-bat. Smith hit a fly ball to right field and was able to reach second after Rusinek misplayed the ball in the outfield. Guzman flew out to center to end the inning.
After a lead-off single from Garcia, Hughes grounded into a double play for the first two outs of the inning. West Virginia wrapped up the inning with a fly out from Matt Quintanar.
Burns once again retired the Mountaineers in order in the top of the seventh.
Both teams score in the seventh
The Red Raiders opened the scoring in the bottom of the seventh. Rusinek opened the inning with a single to left and ended up stealing second base during the following at-bat. Following. a strikeout to Villeneuve, Lopez singled to center to put runners at first and third with one out.
Ryan stepped to the plate and singled to shallow right to score Rusinek and give the Red Raiders a 1-0 lead. Lopez was caught stealing after a wild pitch was gathered by catcher Gavin Kelly for the second out of the inning. Yehl struck out Thompson to end the inning.
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The Mountaineers responded in the top of the eighth with a run of their own. Following groundouts from Hall and Ineich, Kelly blasted a solo home run to left field to tie the game 1-1.
The Red Raiders went to the bullpen and brought in pitcher Logan Bevis. Bevis retired Schoenfeld on a ground out to end the inning.
Red Raiders retake the lead and cruise to 4-1 victory
Texas Tech regained the lead in the bottom of the eighth. After a fly out from Ferraro, Garcia was able to reach first base on an infield single with no one covering first base. Hughes followed with a single up the middle to put runners at first and second with one out.
WVU made a pitching change after Yehl threw 113 pitches, bringing in Reese Bassinger. Bassinger only faced two batters before the Mountaineers went back to the bullpen, allowing a single from Quintanar to score a run and give TTU a 2-1 lead. Rusinek followed with another single to give Texas Tech a 3-1 lead.
WVU turned to Ian Korn to close out the inning. Korn walked Villeneuve to load the bases with only one out. Lopez grounded to second, WVU recorded the out at second but were unable to beat Lopez to first, allowing another run to score for Texas Tech for a 4-1 advantage. Ryan flew out to right to end the inning.
After a ground out to Smith to lead-off the ninth, Guzman doubled down the right field line. Guzman advanced to third thanks to a groundout from Graveline. Bevis struck out Zahir Barjam (pinch hitting for Wills) to end the game and secure the 4-1 victory for Texas Tech.
TTU’s win sets up a rubber match for the series Sunday.
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