No. 24 West Virginia (7-1) won 12-4 in game one of a three-game series against the Kennesaw State Owls on Friday. At KSU’s brand new baseball complex, Mickey Dunn Stadium, it was the Mountaineers that were led by their No. 1 starter Dawson Montesa.
Montesa led the way with 11 strikeouts in a seven inning masterclass. After allowing just one run in his outing, he recorded his second win of the year. Read more: No. 24 WVU opens series against Kennesaw State with a 12-4 win.
Pitchers dominate early
Georgia Tech transfer Cooper McMullen trotted out in his third start of the season for the Owls and recorded a quick three-up, three-down inning. Amani Guzman managed to hit a rocket, but landed right in the first baseman Charlie Jones’ glove to record the third out of the first inning.
Related: Can WVU Rifle hit the bullseye with another NCAA title?
Dawson Montesa also started the game for the Mountaineers in his third start of the season. Similar to McMullen, the Adelphi transfer recorded a perfect frame. However, he managed to strike out the side.
WVU couldn’t get anything going in the second as McMullen retired the side in order. After Montesa allowed a one-out single, he bounced back and struck out Jones. Michael Graveline also managed to throw out Wesley Alig after he attempted to steal second on the strikeout.
WVU’s bats wake up
Brock Wills belted a leadoff solo home run in the third to help awaken the Mountaineer bats. After Brodie Kresser and Tyrus Hall both forced walks, Matt Ineich hit a line drive right to McMullen to load the bases. That allowed sophomore Gavin Kelly to belt a double down the line to score two.
The next at-bat, Guzman added two more runs to the board with a single. After another RBI single from Paul Schoenfeld, McMullen was pulled after not recording an out in the third.
The Owl’s new pitcher, Davis Harper, came in and managed to weather the storm and not allow another WVU runner to cross. AT the same time, WVU hurt themselves on the base paths after two runners were caught stealing.
The Owls responded with a three-up, three-down inning that ended with another strikeout from Montesa.
Montesa pitches a gem
Both pitchers returned to dominant form, but it was Montesa who really started to shine in the middle innings. After WVU did not get much action in the fourth inning, Montesa kept his shutout alive in the bottom of the frame. He added two more strikeouts to his total.
Despite a double from Wills, West Virginia had another scoreless inning in the fifth. The same could be said for Montesa and WVU’s defense as he pitched another perfect frame. Similar to the previous inning, he recorded two more strikeouts.
Related: WVU Baseball returns to the road, set for weekend at Kennesaw State
The offense came back alive in the sixth for WVU after a leadoff single from Hall and a double from Ineich. Graveline scored Hall off a sacrifice fly and Schoenfeld scored two more via a single that found the right field grass.
Once again, Montesa pitched a perfect inning after opening the inning with another K. He followed that with a groundout and a flyout to allow the Mountaineers to go up 8-0 heading into the seventh.
After WVU couldn’t get anything going, the Owls finally got on the board after Jackson Bradfield launched a solo-shot out of the right field fence. Montesa managed to escape out of the inning with just that one run given up.
Strong finish for WVU
The Mountaineers had another strong offensive showing in the eighth inning. After Ineich led off with a single, he managed to reach third after stealing second and reaching third on a wild pitch. Ben Lumsden scored him after ripping a double in the right centerfield gap.
Schoenfeld hit a double of his own that scored another WVU run. After a wild pitch scored Maxwell Molessa, freshman Matthew Robaugh singled in Schoenfeld to give WVU its fourth run of the inning. That notched Robaugh his first RBI of his collegiate career.
Related: Mountaineers use a strong third quarter to win on the road at UCF
Bryson Hoff replaced Montesa in the eighth inning, but after giving up an immediate double and single he was replaced by Mac Stiffler. The 6’7 RHP gave up a three-run homerun in against his first batter of the game. After that he managed to record the final out of the inning.
Stifler was able to close out the game with little issue after recording three more strikeouts to WVU’s total.
What’s next
West Virginia and Kennesaw State will face off again on Saturday at 2 p.m. RHP Chansen Cole is projected to make his third start of the season for the Mountaineers. As for the Owls, RHP Ty Bayer will also most likely make his fourth appearance of the season. He will look to get his season on track after already allowing 10 runs so far.
