No. 12 WVU Baseball’s (27-11, 12-7) series opener against Cincinnati was halted in the bottom of the 12th inning on Friday night due to heavy rain. The teams pick up where they left off on Saturday at 3 p.m. with the score tied 5-5. Saturday’s originally scheduled game is still set for 4 p.m. Read more: WVU and UC knotted at 5-5, game one resumes Saturday.
WVU pitcher Reese Bassinger was in the middle of a five-inning relief effort that started in the eighth.
As for Cincinnati, the game was called with batter Charlie Niehaus facing a 3-2 count with one out.
WVU rides early lead
Gavin Kelly smoked a two-run home run in the second at-bat of the game for the Mountaineers. The dead-center blast was Kelly’s sixth home run of the season, traveling 400 feet.
Nathan Taylor, the Bearcats’ leading pitcher, recovered with a double play and a flyout to escape the top half of the first inning.
Korn took that early 2-0 lead and executed a perfect 1-2-3 inning.
Both pitchers posted a scoreless frame in the second inning. Korn tossed another clean inning while adding his first two strikeouts of the night.
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With the help of catcher Jack Natili throwing out Paul Schoenfeld on an attempted steal to second, Taylor recorded another scoreless inning in the third.
Despite allowing a two-out double to Niehaus, Korn finished his third scoreless inning with a strikeout. That was his second of the inning and fourth through three innings.
Taylor continued his scoreless streak in the fourth, adding two more strikeouts. His inning-ending punchout of Matthew Graveline was his sixth of the game.
Korn responded with another efficient inning, turning a double play and recording his fifth strikeout.
Similar to the previous inning, Taylor finished the fifth with two strikeouts and no runs across.
Bearcats take the lead
After allowing just two hits in the first four innings, Korn surrenders back-to-back singles in the bottom of the fifth. Cal Sefcik followed with a double to score Cincinnati’s first run of the night.
Christian Mitchelle scored in the tying run in the next at-bat with a sacrifice fly.
Carson Estridge replaced Korn and allowed two more runs before getting the final out of the fifth. Quinton Coats nearly hit a two-run homerun but was caught short of the track by centerfielder Paul Schoenfeld.
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WVU went down in order in the sixth, continuing to struggle against Taylor. He opened the inning by striking out Sean Smith for another punchout. Estridge bounced back and recorded a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom half of the sixth.
Taylor ended his near-flawless start with his sixth scoreless frame in a row. He worked around an one-out single from Graveline to record the final two outs of the seventh with two lineouts.
Estridge tossed a clean inning in the seventh, allowing just one baserunner via a walk.
WVU ties it late
Adam Buczkowski replaced Taylor in the eighth and immediately gave up a leadoff single from Kelly. Buczkowski quickly responded and recorded back-to-back outs.
After a single from Ryan Maggy that advanced Kelly to second, Ben Lumsden came in as a pinch hitter and hit a game-tying two RBI double.
However, Bassinger came in relief for Estridge in the eighth and gave up a solo homerun to Ryan Tyranski.
Dominic Mauro was handed the ninth inning for the Bearcats in an attempt to close it out. However, after Matt Ineich forced a walk, back-to-back singles from Kelly and Schoenfeld scored in the tying run.
Bassinger remained on the mound in the bottom of the ninth struck out the side in the order to take it into extra innings.
Extra innings
West Virginia had two runners on to start the inning, but three straight outs squandered any scoring chances in the top of the 10th inning. Bassinger allowed just one runner in the bottom half of the inning.
Relief pitcher Adam Brouwer came in the 11th and retired the WVU hitters in order. Bassinger stayed in for 11th and worked around an infield single and a hit batter.
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After Brouwer got through the top of the 12th unscathed, Bassinger recorded the first out of the bottom half before the game stopped due to heavy rain.
The game was later suspended and will resume at 3 p.m. Saturday.
What’s next
Game two of the series takes place Saturday as well, with the first pitch scheduled for shortly after completion of game one. It will be a busy day at UC Baseball Stadium, as it’s also hosting “Bark in the Park” and “Kids Run the Bases”.
As for play on the field, Dawson Montesa will be taking the mound for the Mountaineers. The right-hander has struggled at times this season as he currently holds a 3-5 record with a 6.16 ERA.
RHP Logan Knight is expected to make the start for the Bearcats. The North Dakota State transfer boasts a 4-3 record with a 5.40 ERA.
