The Mountaineers beat the Bearcats 10-3 in Arlington on Thursday. WVU received a bye in the first round after winning the regular season title in the Big 12. That moved the Mountaineers to 41-13, which gives them the most wins in a single season in school history. WVU will now face the fourth seed Arizona, on Friday at 4 p.m. in the semifinals. The other games in the bracket are not settled when writing, but Kansas plays Oklahoma State, and TCU plays Houston. Read more: WVU advances to semifinals after complete game from Kirn.
Recap: WVU Advances to Semifinals After Kirn’s Complete Game
The Mountaineers took the field with Griffin Kirn on the bump, and he never gave up the ball. It was his first complete game of his career and could not have come at a better time. He got in a little bit of trouble early in the game. Kerrington Cross walked to reach base in the first inning. Catcher Jack Natili knocked the run home with a double down the left-field line. The Bearcats took a one-run lead in the top of the first inning.
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Neither team scored in the next two innings, and WVU got hot in the fourth. Kyle West led off the inning with a solo home run, his 10th of the season. That home run opened the floodgates for the Mountaineers in the fourth. They loaded the bases before Spencer Barnett registered an infield single to make it 2-1. Grant Hussey followed that with another single to score a run. Brodie Kresser hit a sacrifice fly to center to score the fourth run. West walked with the bases loaded for the Mountaineers’ fifth run. WVU took a 5-1 lead into the top of the fifth inning.
Cincinnati got two runs back in the top of the fifth. Cross recorded an RBI while grounding into a double play. Natili hit a solo home run to cut the deficit to two runs. The Mountaineers took care of business in the final stretch of the game and never let the Bearcats get closer than two runs. They scored three more in the sixth inning and two in the seventh to give them a 10-3 lead, which was the final score of the game.
Key Takeaways
Griffin Kirn gets the game ball, and it is not a question. He pitched a complete game and saved WVU from having to dip into their bullpen. That is vital in this tournament, which is single-elimination. If they continue to win, they must play three games in three days after receiving a first-round bye. He threw 129 pitches, walked one batter, and struck out nine. He only allowed three runs, which was not a problem thanks to his offense exploding in the fourth inning. Kirn’s stellar start sets the team up well against Arizona tomorrow.
The offense came alive after struggling against Kansas in the final series of the regular season. Kyle West continues to stay scorching hot. He leads the team in OPS and should remain there after a great game against Cincinnati. He went one for three with a home run, a walk, and two RBIs. Gavin Kelly went two for four with two singles. He scored three runs, one after hustling to first following a strikeout to a pitch in the dirt. This game should give Mountaineer fans a lot to look forward to this postseason. It is a stark difference between the team that was swept and shut out twice a week ago.
