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West Virginia (8-5) swept Saturday's doubleheader against Kent State (4-9) to clinch the three-game series.
A strong pitching performance from junior right-handed pitcher Alek Manoah lifted the Mountaineers to a 6-2 win during Saturday's first game and eight unanswered runs during the second game helped the Mountaineers clinch the series with an 8-4 victory.
The first half of the first game during Saturday’s doubleheader saw a pitcher’s duel as West Virginia and Kent State went scoreless through five innings.
West Virginia would strike first during the bottom of the sixth inning when Darius Hill hit a two-run RBI triple to give the Mountaineers an early 2-0 lead over the Golden Flashes. This two-run inning was prompted by a throwing error on Kent State that allowed Tyler Doanes to reach first base and a walk that sent Ivan Gonzalez to first and Doanes to second.
Manoah continued his dominance on the mound by striking out the side for the second straight inning in the seventh, recording his 12th strikeout of the afternoon.
The Mountaineers added to their lead thanks to a fielding error on Kent State that allowed Doanes to reach first base and Paul McIntosh to score from third base during the seventh.
Kent State would battle back during the top of the eighth as Manoah surrendered a leadoff home run to Patrick Ferguson which put made it a two-run game at 3-1. A pair of singles for the Golden Flashes eventually led to a sacrifice fly that made it a one-run game in favor of West Virginia.
Sam Kessler then relieved Manoah on the mound with two outs and came up with a strikeout to end the inning.
The Mountaineers responded during the bottom half of the eighth by adding three insurance runs thanks to a RBI single from McIntosh and a single from Brandon White that scored Kevin Brophy. A throwing error to third base on the play also scored McIntosh.
With a 6-2 lead in the ninth inning, Tristen Hudson came on the mound and struck out two batters, walked one, but then sealed the win for West Virginia as Ferguson flied out to end the game.
After each team left a runner in scoring position during the first inning of the second game, Kent State took an early 2-0 lead during the second inning after an RBI triple from Nick Elsen and safety squeeze play.
West Virginia stranded a runner on first to end the second inning and left-handed pitcher Jackson Wolf, who started the second game of the doubleheader for West Virginia, was pulled in the third inning after he hit a batter to start off the inning.
Right-hander Brock Helverson was called to the mound and retired the Golden Flashes to end the inning.
After scoreless innings in the third and fourth, freshman right-hander Beau Lowery relieved Helverson on the mound during the fifth after Helverson started the inning by walking a batter, committing a throwing error and hitting a batter.
Lowery and West Virginia got out of the inning thanks to a double play and fielder’s choice groundout as Kent State still led, 2-0. The score remained just that after the bottom half of the fifth as Hudson was left stranded on second base after Tevin Tucker grounded out to end the inning.
The Golden Flashes added two more runs during the top of the sixth inning with a bases loaded, two-out, two-run RBI single off Lowery. Gabe Kurtzhals was brought on the mound and got the Mountaineers out of the inning.
West Virginia battled back during the bottom half of the inning and took a 5-4 lead with RBI singles from Darius Hill and Marques Inman and a one-out, three-run home run from McIntosh.
Kurtzhals shut down Kent State during the top of the seventh as West Virginia went down in order to end the inning.
After getting the first two outs of the eighth inning, Kurtzhals was replaced on the mound by left-hander Zach Reid, who allowed a single, but got West Virginia out of the inning and preserved the team’s one-run lead after Schuler lined out to first base.
West Virginia added three insurance runs with an RBI triple from Inman, RBI single from Gonzalez and a wild pitch.
In the ninth, Reid allowed a single, but was still able to close the game out and seal the series victory for West Virginia.
The Mountaineers will look to complete the series sweep over Kent State tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET.
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