It was almost a perfect weekend for the West Virginia baseball, but like against Liberty, it couldn’t get the sweep.
The Mountaineers lost the last game of the series against Kennesaw State, 7-6, handing them their second loss of the season, 8-2. The Owls moved back to .500 at 5-5.
It wasn’t easy for Kennesaw State, who had to overcome a six-run deficit to knock off the top-25-ranked Mountaineers. The only real way the Owls scored runs on the weekend was from home runs, and they needed two in the last couple of innings to win the game. Cooper Williams homered to take the lead in the bottom of the eighth. Williams had a big day, going 3-for-3 with three RBIs.
The starting pitching for WVU was dominant again, after Chansen Cole and Dawson Montesa took care of business in Game 1 and 2. Maxx Yehl put together another impressive performance. He went five innings, allowed four hits and struck out four. He didn’t allow a run.
After five, the Mountaineers went to the pen, bringing in Bryson Thacker. Thacker pitched an inning and an out and was lit up in his short time on the mound. The Owls scored three, while he was on the mound, but only one of them was earned. Just like that, for the first time this series, Kennesaw State had life, down 6-3.
Carson Estridge came in for an out, and he allowed two more runs, cutting the Mountaineers’ lead to just one after the seventh. That brought in the freshman, David Perez, to hopefully work some of his magic and stop some of the momentum. Perez had been dominant in his appearances early this season, mowing down teams, but he couldn’t stop the Owls.
Perez came in and Kennesaw State tacked on two more, including the homer from Williams to take the game.
While the pitching was getting attacked, the offense quieted down. The Mountaineers scored 40 combined runs in the last three games, so the offense was bound to have a dry spell, especially after scoring six early on.
WVU jumped out to an early lead, like it has done multiple times this season. Ryan Maggy singled in the first inning, scoring Gavin Kelly and Ohio transfer shortstop Matt Ineich. Then, Kelly, homered twice, once in the second and then again in the top of the sixth. The Mountaineers were up 6-0, which should’ve been just enough to win the game, and it almost was.
WVU needed just a little more production in the latter part of the game, which didn’t come to fruition.
Kelly, who played second, had a big game with the two homers. He totaled four RBIs and went 3-for-4. Ohio State transfer, Matthew Graveline had two hits and a double. Graveline had a one-out double in the top of the ninth, but nobody could get him home to tie up the game.
The rest of the lineup kind of went quiet. The Mountaineers had seven hits, and a lot of batters didn’t have any. Ineich had a recorded a hit, getting back to his routine after not having one in Game 2, ending his streak.
WVU still won the series, taking the first two games, which is its third of the season. Now, the Mountaineers head back home for a two-game series against Radford on Tuesday, March 3, and Wednesday, March 4. Both those games are at 2 p.m. and are streaming on ESPN+. Radford has had a strong start to the season and are 6-3 on the year, so it won’t be a cakewalk of a bounce back game.
