Entering the seventh inning, West Virginia was in the midst of a pitcher's duel. The Mountaineers led 2-1, but that was until a five-run seventh helped lift WVU to an 11-1 win over Queens on Sunday, earning them the series win.
West Virginia sent Gavin Van Kempen to the mound on Sunday, after game two, Robby Porco couldn't make it out of the first inning. Outside of a solo home run in the second, Van Kempen was dominant for the Mountaineers.
He tossed 5.0 innings, giving up one run on two hits, walking three, while striking out five.
Queens starter Adrian Quezada matched Van Kempen pitch for pitch almost. He too gave his team 5.0 innings, but allowed two runs, both coming in the fifth, while he struck out two and walked two.
The first of those two runs came courtesy of the long ball from the Mountaineers. Grant Hussey connected on a solo home run to tie the game at 1-1, before Sam White scored Brodie Kresser on an RBI single later in the inning to give West Virginia a 2-1 lead.
After the Mountaineers took the lead, Van Kempen would deliver his strongest inning of the night. He allowed a leadoff walk, but then went strikeout, strikeout, strikeout, to end the inning, also ending his day.
West Virginia went to the bullpen for an inning at a time. Reese Bassinger was first to pitch in the sixth, giving up no runs and one hit. Bryant Yoak followed in the seventh, before Joe Fredericks followed in the eighth, as neither gave up a hit in their two innings of work.
West Virginia's offense, which was coming off their highest scoring output of the season on Saturday, only had four hits through the first six innings, but the offense was able to breakout in the seventh.
Hussey and Kresser started the inning with singles, before Logan Sauve walked to load the bases. White would then reach on an error to score Hussey before Jace Rinehart doubled to clear the bases and give WVU a 6-1 lead. WVU added one more run as Gavin Kelly plated one more on a sacrifice-fly, as the Mountaineers were in front 7-1.
West Virginia's offense couldn't be slowed down in the late innings, as Kresser hit a home run in the eighth, before the Mountaineers grabbed three more runs in the ninth.
The Mountaineers scored three runs on one hit, as they scored a run on a walk, and then two more scored on a single from Hussey.
Hussey finished the afternoon going 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Kresser went 2-for-5 with three runs scored as well.
West Virginia totaled nine hits and nine walks at the plate on the afternoon, with Hussey and Kresser combining for five of those hits.
Aidan Smith notched the final three outs of the game on the mound for the Mountaineers, recording two strikeouts in the final frame of the game. WVU's pitching staff finished the game with 12 strikeouts.
West Virginia improves to 11-0 on the season with the win, keeping up their undefeated start. Game four of the series is set for Monday.
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