Saturday’s rubber match between West Virginia and BYU was about as crazy of a baseball game as one will see. In a game that would decide the winner of the series, there were a combined 35 runs, 35 hits, 11 walks, and four errors.
The Mountaineers led 7-0 in the third inning, and they looked well on their way to a series win over the Cougars.
That’s until BYU scored 15 straight runs, putting WVU down 15-7 through four innings.
West Virginia then answered back, scoring six in the fifth, and then a three-run blast from Jace Rinehart, completed the comeback for the Mountaineers, as they held on to beat BYU 19-16, winning the three-game series.
West Virginia looked dead in the water in the fourth inning. BYU was circling the bases, as they had 10 runs on only four hits, as WVU’s pitching staff struggled. Carson Estridge, who started the game, started the inning for the Mountaineers, one of four Mountaineer pitchers to toe the rubber in the inning.
Two walks to the first two batters of the inning ended Estridge’s afternoon, but that was only the start of it for the Mountaineers. Reese Bassinger came in the game for WVU, facing a total of four batters. Those four batters went sac-bunt, double, hit-by-pitch, and single, as he exited with the Cougars leading 8-7. Next came Bryant Yoak, but he also struggled to find success. Yoak’s first batter he faced reached on an error by Chase Swain, before the next three batters he faced resulted in a walk, single, hit-by-pitch, as BYU led 11-7.
The damage was still far from over for WVU, as BYU scored four more off Ben Hudson, he also hit a batter before three more scored, to give the Cougars a 15-7 lead, putting the Mountaineers on the ropes.
West Virginia immediately punched back as their offense scorched BYU’s pitching for the second day in a row.
WVU scored seven combined runs in the second and third innings, as Armani Guzman hit a three-run home run in the second, while Logan Sauve homered in the fourth, as well as three run-scoring hits from Guzman, Gavin Kelly, and Grant Hussey.
West Virginia’s offense answered in the fifth, doing so with two outs. Spencer Barnett singled to start things, scoring Hussey, before Sauve worked a walk to plate another run. Kyle West hit his second double of the day, scoring two more. Rinehart then singled to plate two more, as WVU who trailed by eight, trailed 15-13 in the blink of an eye.
After the first four pitchers were unsuccessful for WVU, the fifth of the day found success. Mac Stiffler tossed a scoreless fifth and sixth innings, striking out two in the process.
That allowed WVU’s offense to stay within striking distance until they were able to land that much-needed strike. Sauve doubled and West walked, setting the table for Rinehart, who on a full count, smashed a 387-foot, opposite-field home run, to put the Mountaineers ahead 16-15, completing the comeback.
West Virginia added another run in the eighth, as Barnett scored Swain on a single after Swain singled and stole second to get into scoring position. Barnett would then come around to score on a single from West, as WVU’s lead increased to three before the Mountaineers added one more on a single from Rinehart, putting them in front 19-15 heading into the bottom of the eighth.
Kartsonas came into pitch in the seventh for WVU, hoping to continue the success Stiffler had. He would repeat things in the seventh, tossing up a zero, before he came back out for the eighth.
The eighth was not as successful as the seventh for Karstsonas, who gave up a single and a walk to the first two batters of the inning. Kartsonas got the first out of the inning on a strikeout, bringing up the middle of the BYU lineup with one out and two runners on base. Kartsonas would then get out of the jam, inducing a 6-4-3 double play, keeping WVU's four-run lead intact.
Kartsonas stayed in the game to close things out, but it didn't come easy. He hit the first batter he faced in the inning before an infield single put runners on first and second with no outs. Kartsonas got one more out, before hitting another batter to load the bases.
Chase Meyer threw 32 pitches last night across 2.1 innings pitched. He would come in needing to get two outs before allowing four runs. Meyer traded an out for a run, before getting a strikeout to close out the win.
West Virginia finished the game with 20 total hits, led by West, Rinehart, Hussey, and Swain. Those four went a combined 13-for-21 on the afternoon with 10 RBIs.
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