West Virginia faced Cincinnati pitcher Connor Blue Sunday. Following a strikeout to Matt Ineich and a pop out from Gavin Kelly, Paul Schoenfeld gave WVU their first base runner of the day with a bloop single to center. Sean Smith was retired on a 3-2 pitch to end the inning.
Dawson Montesa took the mound for the Mountaineers and retired the Bearcats in order in the bottom of the first, recording one strikeout.
Strong start for WVU
Armani Guzman led off the top of the second for WVU with, smoking a ball past the first baseman. Maxwell Molessa followed with a single of his own to advance Guzman to third with no outs. Matthew Graveline hit into a double play but was able to score Guzman from third and give WVU a 1-0 lead. A groundout from Wills ended the inning for West Virginia.
Following a groundout from Derrick Pitts to open the bottom of the second, Jack Natili singled to center. Following the single, Enzo Infelise hit into a double play that started with a great snag from third baseman Tyrus Hall, ending the inning with no runs for the Bearcats.
WVU extends lead
Tyrus Hall led off the top of the third for WVU, reaching first base after being hit by a pitch. Hall later stole second base in the enxt at-bat. Matt Ineich reached base after walking on a 3-2 pitch. Kelly advanced the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt. Paul Schoenfeld extended the West Virginia lead with a sacrifice bunt to score Hall, making the score 2-0 WVU.
Sean Smith grounded out to end the inning.
Cal Sefcik walked to open up the bottom of the third for Cincinnati. Christian Mitchelle followed by hitting a ground ball to short stop Ineich to record the out at second. Mitchelle reached first base safely. Montesea retired Charlie Neihaus on strikes and Jackson Smith on a fly out to center to end the inning.
Guzman walked to start the top of the fourth for West Virginia. Following the walk, Molessa smacked a ball that was snagged by Jackson Smith for the first out. Guzman was caught in a rundown for the second out of the inning. Matthew Graveline followed with a single to left and later stole second base. WVU was unable to add to their lead after a groundout from Brock Wills ended the inning.
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Action rolls on
Ryan Tyranski grounded out to open the bottom of the fourth for Cincinnati. Following the ground out, Quinton Coats walked on a 3-2 pitch. Derrick Pitts followed with a walk of his own on four pitches. Natili was the second out recorded in the inning thanks to a fly out to the warning track in center. Infelise went down on strikes to end the inning.
Following a ground out from Hall to open the top of the fifth, Ineich ripped a double to right field. After falling behind 3-2 in the count to Kelly, Cincinnati went to the bullpen to bring in Dominic Mauro. Kelly was retired on a flyout to the corner in right field, Ineich was able to tag and advance to third.
Schoenfeld brought Ineich home with a single to left, extending the WVU lead 3-0. Smith flew out to deep left to end the inning.
Bearcats get on the board
Sefcik walked to open the Cincinnati half of the fifth. After a stolen base from Sefcik, Mitchelle followed with a walk on a 3-2 pitch to put runners at first and second with no outs. Niehaus advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt.
After Montesa fell behind in the count to Smith, WVU made a pitching change and brought in left-handed pitcher Joshua Surigao.
Smith laid down a bunt and reached first base to score Cincinnati’s first run of the day. Tyranski followed with a sacrifice fly to center that scored the runner at third, cutting the lead 3-2. Coats hit a ground ball to second base to end the inning.
The Mountaineers were retired in order in the top of the sixth. Carson Estridge entered the game for WVU in the bottom of the sixth.
Estridge began by striking out Pitts before giving up a double to Natili. Despite the double Estridge was able to retire the next two Bearcats he faced to keep the WVU up by one.
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Mountaineers extend lead but leave runners stranded
Wills singled to center to open the top of the seventh. Following a strike out to Hall, Wills was able to reach second base on a wild pickoff attempt at first. Ineich singled to advance Wills to third with only one out, Ineich later stole second base. Kelly stepped to the plate with runners at second and third and delivered a single to left, scoring two runs and extending the West Virginia lead 5-2.
Following a fly out from Schoenfeld, Sean Smith singled to center. After the single from Smith, the Bearcats went to the bullpen and brought in Dillon Schueler. After a wild pitch that advanced the runners, Schueler walked Guzman on a 3-1 pitch to load the bases.
Unfortunately the Mountaineers were unable to capitalize after a strikeout to Molessa ended the inning and left the runners stranded.
Estridge opened the bottom of the seventh with a strikeout to Mitchelle and pop out to Niehaus. Following the two quick outs, Estridge hit Smith to give Cincinnati a baserunner. The Mountaineers later caught Smith stealing second base to end the inning.
Brendin Oliver took the mound for the Bearcats in the top of the eighth. Oliver’s day was short after a walk to Graveline and hitting Brock Wills with a pitch, the Bearcats went to the bullpen again, this time bringing in Brenden Garula. Garula started with strikeouts to both Hall and Ineich. Garula gave up a two-out single to Kelly to load the bases but got out of the inning with no damage after a groundout from Schoenfeld.
Bullpen meltdown in the eighth
After a single from Tyranski to open the bottom of the eighth, Coach Sabins went to the bullpen to bring in Reese Bassinger.
Bassinger gave up three singles in a row, allowing the Bearcats to score two runs and shrink the lead to just one.
Luke Sefcik came into the game to pinch hit for his brother Cal, grounding out but able to advance the runners to second and third with only one out. Conlan Daniel (who was pinch running for Natili) was able to score after a wild throw to third from Graveline to give the Bearcats a 6-5 lead. Mitchelle singled to center to give the Bearcats insurance, making the score 7-5 in favor of Cincinnati. Niehaus grounded out to end the brutal inning for WVU.
Mountaineers go down in order
The Mountaineers were retired in order in the top of the ninth, ending a frustrating road trip for WVU.
