Surprise, AZ — No. 2 West Virginia survived a hostile environment against a star-studded No. 3 Arizona State offense on Friday as it advanced to the Big 12 championship following a 7-3 victory on Friday. Read more: No. 2 WVU survives against No. 3 ASU, advances to the championship.
One of the most complete games WVU played all year, starter Chansen Cole pitched well. Relievers Reese Bassinger and Dawson Montesa also pitched well in high-leverage moments.
Hitting wise, Sean Smith led the way again with three hits and a double.
WVU strikes first
Cole took the mound for the Mountaineers and quickly took care of the Big 12 Player of the Year Landon Hairston with a quick ground out. The sophomore righty followed that up with another ground out and a line out, all in just four pitches.
Carl Carlon took the mound for the Sun Devils and also pitched a 1-2-3 inning. The junior lefty got Gavin Kelly to go down on strikes in just three pitches.
Similar to the first, Cole continued to fire away on all cylinders in the second. He started the inning with a three-pitch strikeout.
Despite getting behind in the count to Austen Roellig, he forced him to ground out. Cole followed that with his second punch out of the inning.
Smith continued to stay hot in the tournament with a leadoff double in the bottom of the second. After Matthew Graveline popped up a bunt to Carlon, he got the second out of the inning after striking out Armani Guzman.
Related: No. 1 Kansas advances to the Big 12 championship after 9-2 semifinal win
However, despite going down 1-2 in the count, Brodie Kresser hit a line drive over the third baseman Austen Roellig’s head to score Smith from second base.
Cole came out in the third and continued right where he left off. He recorded another punch out, and only allowed one base runner after plunking PJ Moutzouridis in the back.
On the other hand, Carlon bounced back from giving up a run in the previous inning with a relatively easy third. Aside from an infield single from Kelly that just missed the glove of Carlon, the southpaw recorded two punch outs and a ground out.
ASU fires back
Nu’u Contrades led off the top of the fourth with a triple towards right center field. He nearly had an inside-the-park home run but was cut short by the third base coach.
However, that proved to be the right move as Dean Toigo hit a 457-foot blast to deep right center field on the next at-bat. Cole managed to fire back and get three outs in a row to somewhat quiet the overwhelming ASU crowd, but not before the Sun Devils took a 2-1 lead.
That got the ASU fans, who filled most of the seats in Surprise Stadium, even more exuberant. That excitement turned into emphatic boo’s after Kresser worked a nine-pitch walk which the fans did not agree with home plate umpire Chris Coskey on the call.
But Carlon bounced back and forced a quick three-pitch punch out, which brought out another wave of cheers from the crowd.
Cole shook off the home run from the previous inning and recorded two strikeouts. Through five innings, the triple and home run were his only blemishes. Head Coach Steve Sabins had this to say about Cole’s performance in his post game press conference.
“He’s nasty, he’s one of the best guys in this league, one of the best guys in the country,” Sabins said. “Just his consistency is remarkable, and he’s one of the most consistent personalities I have ever coached. He just keeps getting better. His future is incredibly bright, and it doesn’t matter who he goes up against.”
Carlon continued right where he left off and controlled the fifth inning comfortably. He capped off the frame by punching out Kelly off a nasty off-speed pitch.
WVU pitching struggles in the sixth
Cole was replaced by Joshua Surigao in the top of the sixth inning at just 67 pitches. Surigao got Hairston out in just three pitches, while seeming to have a few choice words to him afterwards.
Surigao walked Contrades in the next at-bat, which prompted Contrades to say something back to Surigao. After the southpaw threw towards Toigo’s head, a mound visit was issued by head coach Steve Sabins.
After it seemed like Surigao calmed down, unlike the ASU crowd who was booing him the whole time, he came back and struck out Toigo.
Related: Mountaineer fans showing out at the Big 12 tournament
Carson Estridge replaced him afterwards but as Surigao walked off to a chorus of boos, he raised his hands in a pumping motion, seemingly egging on the ASU fans.
However, Estridge would only last 11 pitches as he threw eight balls in a row before being replaced by Bassinger. During that eight-ball stretch he also threw a wild pitch that scored Contrades all the way from second.
It seemed like the ASU crowd really got the better of the senior right hander as he was visibly frustrated.
Bassinger managed to quiet the crowd with a quick punch out to get out of the inning.
WVU responds in a big way
After forcing Paul Shoenfeld to pop out, Carlon was replaced by Finn Edwards. Carlon finished his night going 5.1 with six strikeouts and just one earned run.
Edwards immediately allowed back-to-back singles from Smith and Graveline. Armani Guzmani followed with a single of his own that scored Smith from second.
After both runners moved up a base after a wild pitch, Kresser hit a ground ball to shortstop Moutzouridis which he committed a throwing error that allowed both runners to score.
Following the lead change, the Mountaineer fans immediately made their presence known across the stadium. The ASU crowd let out a few disdains as new pitcher Sean Fitzpatrick came in for relief.
The senior southpaw came in and used his experience to get back-to-back punch outs to escape the inning down just one. That allowed the ASU fans to erupt in multiple chants of “A-S-U” during the commercial break.
Bassinger managed to keep the one-run lead intact after pitching a clean 1-2-3 inning in the top of the seventh.
Colin Linder replaced Fitzpatrick in the bottom half of the frame and allowed just a walk. He got help from catcher Brody Briggs after he successfully threw out Schoenfeld attempting to steal second.
After walking Hairston and then getting him out on a fielder’s choice groundout, Ben McDougal replaced Bassinger. He forced a pop out to center field, but Schoenfeld committed a rare error that allowed runners to reach first and second with one out.
Montesa replaced McDougal and recorded the final two outs to preserve WVU’s lead heading into the bottom of the eighth.
Kansas awaits
West Virginia tacked on another run after a throwing error from the centerfielder following a single by Kresser scored Guzman from first. Tyrus Hall pushed another run across after hitting an RBI single. Hall later scored after a throwing error.
Those extra runs would be all WVU needed as Montesa shut down the Sun Devils in the ninth to advance WVU to the Big 12 championship.
No. 2 West Virginia has just No. 1 Kansas standing in its way of the program’s first Big 12 championship. The game is set for 4:30 p.m. MT/7:30 p.m. ET.
Make sure to come back to wvsportsnation.com for an immediate recap of the game.
