West Virginia (8-3) dropped its second straight game after losing 7-4 to Columbia in the first of a three-game series at Kendrick Family Ballpark. Read more: No. 23 West Virginia falls 7-4 to Columbia in series opener.
Starting pitcher Dawson Montesa did not have his best stuff on Friday, as the Lions were able to put together a five-run inning in the second. That early damage was all the Ivy League school needed to complete the opening series upset.
As for WVU’s offense, its hot start to the season halted, managing just five hits as a team on Friday.
Columbia strikes early
Montesa began his fourth start with WVU with no hits allowed in the first inning. Despite a leadoff walk, the Adelphi transfer struck out Owen Estabrook to get the final out of the opening frame.
As for Columbia, Alex Sotiropoulos got his third appearance of the season underway with a scoreless inning as well. He also managed to work around a one-out double from Gavin Kelly.
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Going into the second inning, Montesa had more trouble with his command. The Lions struck first with a leadoff double, and then two batters later, another double by Ben Fishel scored two. Following a single and Montesa’s second charged walk of the inning, Columbia slashed back-to-back RBI singles. That allowed three more runs to come across the board.
However, Columbia tried to get a little too greedy on the second single, which resulted in the runner being gunned down at home after a textbook from WVU’s defense.
The Mountaineers weren’t able to respond in the bottom half of the inning after going down in order.
Pitching steps up
Montesa bounced back in the third after striking out the first two batters of the inning. He completed the perfect inning with a routine groundout to third baseman Tyrus Hall.
While the Mountaineers managed to get two runners on in the bottom half of the inning, Sotiropoulos pitched another scoreless frame.
The fourth inning was all but the same as both pitchers pitched 1-2-3 innings.
WVU battles back
Ian Korn replaced Montesa at the start of the fifth inning and opened his outing with a quick out. However, after giving up two walks, Columbia’s Anthony Temesvary singled in another run for the Lions. Korn managed to record the final out on the next batter.
After falling to a 6-0 deficit, the Mountaineers started to make some noise in the batter’s box. After Sean Smith forced a leadoff walk, Brodie Kresser moved him to third following a double. The following at-bat, Hall cashed in the first run of the game with a groundout to third base.
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Matt Ineich managed to keep the offense rolling after reaching on a throwing error by Columbia’s shortstop Jack Kail. That scored WVU’s second run of the inning. Kelly attempted to blow it open even more with a near home run that ended in the centerfielder’s glove for the final out.
In Korn’s second inning, he managed to make quick work of the Lions after allowing a lone single before getting the third out.
WVU added another run to the board at the bottom of the inning after a wild pitch allowed Amani Guzman to score. Guzman was able to take advantage of a leadoff walk and put the Mountaineers just three runs away from the lead.
Korn completed his third inning out of the bullpen almost the same as the previous. He allowed one single, but quickly erased any doubt of a Columbia run with a strikeout for the third out.
Kresser opened the bottom of the seventh with a walk. Two batters later, Ineich slashed a single through the right-centerfield gap. That allowed Kresser to advance to third and for Kelly to score him in off a deep sacrifice fly.
Just not enough for WVU
After three solid innings, Korm was replaced by Reese Bassinger at the start of the eighth inning. The fifth-year senior made quick work of the Lions and completed a perfect frame.
However, the Mountaineers weren’t able to cut into the deficit after going down in order.
Bassinger could not repeat his scoreless frame in the ninth as the Lions were able to push across another run off a double from Jackson Brewer. Bassinger fired back and recorded the final three outs in a row.
With WVU down three runs, Brock Wills attempted to get the offense rolling with a leadoff triple. However, Kresser and Hall both went down on strikes. In the final at-bat of the game, Ineich grounded out to first to stand Wills at third.
What’s next
West Virginia aim to bounce back on Saturday in game two of the series. RHP Chansen Cole gets the start for WVU, and RHP Thomas Santana for Columbia.
Cole aims to improve on his fantastic start to the season, as he currently garners a 2-0 record and a 1.38 ERA.
