The Mountaineers dropped the first game of the series to LSU, 16-9. They are now in a must-win situation heading into game two of the series. They must win the next two games to advance to the College World Series in Omaha. The pitching staff struggled and allowed multiple grand slams. The lead became insurmountable. The offense scored nine runs, but it did not matter much. The next game will be on Sunday at 6 p.m. at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Read more: Mountaineers’ pitching struggles against LSU.
Recap: Mountaineers’ Pitching Struggles against LSU
The Mountaineers’ ace, Griffin Kirn, started the game for WVU but only lasted four innings until head coach Steve Sabins went to his bullpen. WVU opened the scoring in the second inning. Sam White singled to start the inning and moved to second following a single from Gavin Kelly. Jace Rinehart drove in the run on a ground ball to third base, and WVU took a 1-0 lead.
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The trouble for Kirn started in the fourth inning. He hit back-to-back batters with one out in the inning. Derek Curiel hit a three-run home run to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead. Kirn survived the rest of the inning and came back out in the fifth inning. He only faced one batter in the fifth and allowed a lead-off single. JJ Glasscock relieved him on the mound but only lasted two batters. He walked two batters and was relieved by Cole Fehrman. Fehrman allowed a grand slam to the first batter he faced, Steven Milam. He hit the next hitter and walked the next. That was his final batter faced in the game as he was relieved by Tyler Hutson. Hutson did not get out of the inning easily, either. He allowed three more runs, giving LSU a 10-1 lead.
WVU roared back in the top of the sixth, scoring four runs. They did not go away quietly. Skylar King singled to right center to record two RBIs, and Chase Swain recorded a pinch-hit RBI single. The Mountaineers trailed 10-5 going into the bottom of the inning. Luke Lyman relieved Hutson with one out and men on first and second. He hit his first batter faced on the afternoon and walked in two runs with the bases loaded. He then allowed the Tigers’ second grand slam of the game to Josh Pearson. That gave LSU a 16-5 lead, which was too wide for the Mountaineers to overcome.
Gavin Kelly hit a two-run home run in the top of the seventh to cut into the lead, and Kyle West hit a two-run home run in the top of the ninth. It was too little, too late for the Mountaineers, and they lost the game 16-9.
Key Takeaways
The offense hit the ball well against one of LSU’s aces. They had 11 hits in the contest and scored nine runs, but it was not enough. Sam White went three for five and scored three runs. Gavin Kelly went three for four with two RBIs, a home run, and a walk. They hit the ball well against a tough pitcher in Kade Anderson, but he faced little pressure with a large lead. He pitched seven innings, allowed six earned runs, and struck out seven batters. The wide margin allowed the Tigers to save their bullpen arms for the rest of the series, which does not bode well for WVU.
The pitching staff struggled mightily against the Tigers. Sabins did not give Kirn a long leash as the starter. He only allowed two hits in four innings and was pulled at the first sign of trouble in the fifth inning. He struck out three batters and walked one. The bullpen did not do their job in the contest. Glasscock and Fehrman failed to record an out in the fifth inning and allowed five combined runs to five batters. That was when the wheels fell off for the Mountaineers.
Once the floodgates opened for LSU, they poured it on. Hutson and Lyman were facing a confident bunch of hitters with nothing to lose because of a wide lead. They did not pitch terribly, but the LSU lineup was seeing beach balls at that point in the game. Sabins should have left Kirn in the game longer, but of course, hindsight is 20/20. It could not have been any worse, and it could have given WVU some momentum if Kirn was able to work out of a jam in the fifth inning. They must bring their A-game in the second game if they want to keep their season alive.
