West Virginia was vying for the season sweep of in-state foe Marshall on Wednesday night in Charleston, W.Va.
The Mountaineers would have multiple leads, but an error in the ninth inning ended up costing WVU as Marshall walked off with a 7-6 win, handing WVU their second midweek loss in as many weeks.
West Virginia started the scoring in the first inning as Skylar King singled, before Kyle West doubled to drive King in, putting WVU in front 1-0 just two batters into the game. That lead doubled later in the inning as West scored on an error from Marshall shortstop Maika Niu, whose low throw allowed Jace Rinehart to reach and West to score.
West Virginia gave the ball to Gavin Van Kempen to start the game after he did not make it out of the first inning this past weekend against UCF.
Van Kempen struggled again, giving up a home run in the bottom of the first as the score stood 2-1 in favor of the Mountaineers. Sam White doubled for West Virginia in the third inning, allowing Logan Sauve, who also doubled, to score, extending WVU's lead to 3-1.
West Virginia would turn to Mac Stiffler on the mound after the first inning, and he tossed two scoreless frames before running into trouble in the fourth.
A hit-by-pitch, double, and then a home run from Jackson Golden put the Herd ahead 4-3, as Stiffler's night would end shortly after. Stiffler went 2.2 innings, allowing three runs on two hits, while walking four batters in the process.
Trailing by one, the Mountaineers answered right back as West, a former University of Charleston standout, homered back in the city of Charleston, tying the game at 4-4, his fifth blast of the season.
West Virginia took the lead back in the sixth inning as Grant Hussey singled to score a run, before Brodie Kresser added another run on an RBI groundout, putting the Mountaineers in front 6-4.
That lead did not last long, though, as Marshall scored two runs in the bottom of the inning. Golden struck again for the Herd, scoring two runs on a single, tying the game at 6-6.
Following Stiffler, WVU used a plethora of arms to try and slow down Marshall's offense. WVU used five other pitchers after Stiffler, as none gave up a run until Chase Meyer in the ninth.
Meyer would get two quick outs before he allowed a walk and a single, putting runners on first and second with two outs. The game seemed destined for extra innings as a weak ground ball had WVU third baseman Chase Swain charge in on the ball, before he made a bad throw that allowed the winning run to score.
The Mountaineers suffer their second midweek loss in two weeks after they fell to Penn State last week.
West Virginia is now 37-6 on the season, and they face Texas Tech for a three-game series this weekend.
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