Leading by four in the 8th inning on Saturday night from Tucson, West Virginia starting pitcher Tyler Switalski was out of gas. With two runners on and Grand Canyon's best hitter coming to the plate, Mazey took out his left-hander who had been masterful all evening.
Hambleton Oliver came in to pitch, and on the second pitch he threw, GCU Tyler Wilson seemed to have made it a one-run ballgame. Instead, the ball was caught by Ben Lumsden right in front of the wall.
In the ninth inning, WVU would load the bases as they led by only three and Mazey made a trip to visit Oliver on the mound. Following his mound visit, Oliver recorded the second out on a pop-out, before Mazey made a change to give the ball to Carson Estridge.
Estridge needed just one pitch, stranding the bases loaded and giving WVU a 5-2 win, as it puts the Mountaineers into the regional final on Sunday.
Switalski had a lot of traffic to deal with on the bases in the first two innings but was able to hold GCU to one run over the first two innings as the Lopes put a run on the board in the second inning, taking a 1-0 lead.
WVU would get the run back in the bottom of the second, as Reed Chumley singled and stole second, before he scored on a two-out single from Brodie Kresser.
Over the next five innings, Switalski was dominant, as he allowed only two hits and kept the Mountaineers well within striking distance.
WVU would end up taking aim on Grand Canyon's pitching in the fourth inning. A walk and hit-by-pitch started the inning for WVU, before Grant Hussey moved Sam White and Chumley into scoring position. Michael Perazza walked to load the bases for Kresser, who once again came through, singling to score two more runs. Ben Lumsden added an RBI single following Kresser, before Kresser scored on a fielder's choice, as WVU took a 5-1 lead.
WVU's offense found success once again without JJ Wetherholt being his normal self. Wetherholt went 0-for-4, while WVU compiled only six hits as a team, and Kresser accounted for two of them.
Switalski would not face any issues until the eighth, as two singles paved the way for Mazey to make the move to his bullpen for the first time in this regional. Oliver got the final out of the inning, and then would stay in to finish the ninth inning.
Switalski finished the evening tossing 7.2 innings, allowing one run on six hits, striking out three and walking one.
WVU now has firm control of their destiny after No. 1 seed Arizona was eliminated earlier today. No. 2 Dallas Baptist and No. 4 Grand Canyon will play in an elimination game tomorrow afternoon, with the winner facing the Mountaineers later that evening at 9:00 PM ET.
If WVU wins tomorrow night, they are the Tucson Regional Champions, and would advance to the Super Regionals. If WVU were to lose tomorrow night, they will have a winner-take-all game on Monday.
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