Sometimes, all it takes is one mistake to ruin a game.
Take West Virginia baseball's Wednesday night non-conference outing against in-state rival Marshall, for example. The Mountaineers were looking for the regular season series sweep against Marshall, and a loss to a Thundering Herd team sitting barely above .500 on the season would do no favors WVU's resume as NCAA Tournament season approaches, and with it the opportunity for the Mountaineers to potentially host an NCAA Regional.
The Herd and the Mountaineers battled back-and-forth in a close contest -- after taking the lead in the first inning, WVU would hold it through the fourth inning. Marshall would take the lead off a three-run inning, but then give it back to the Mountaineers in the sixth inning before tying the game up.
From there, neither team gave an inch, and entering the bottom of the ninth inning it seem that extra innings might be required to determine a victor -- and that's when one small mistake did in the Mountaineers.
A walk and a single put baserunners on first and second for Marshall, and Tyler Kamerer made his way to the plate. He made contact, but it looked to be an easy enough fielding play that the Mountaineers would secure the second out of the inning -- but a Chase Swain throwing error caused a botched effort for the Mountaineers in the field, and the Marshall baserunner on second was able to advance to home plate and secure a 7-6 upset win for Marshall.
The loss is the second consecutive non-conference loss for the Mountaineers, and falling to a Marshall program that moves to just 24-22 on the season doesn't help build the Mountaineers' case as a potential regional host team. However, the Mountaineers are still in a strong spot, leading the Big 12 by three games and sitting 37-6 on the year.
Next, they will prepare for a weekend home series against Big 12 foe Texas Tech, where they will look to take the next step towards securing a Big 12 Championship.