West Virginia baseball gets manhandled, opens weekend series with Big 12 loss

After losing their series against the Arizona Wildcats last weekend -- including dropping the final game last Sunday -- West Virginia baseball has stumbled in it's second consecutive Big 12 game. The Mountaineers dropped Game One of a three-game conference series against BYU on Thursday.

The Mountaineers jumped out to a 4-0 lead on Thursday after playing one and a half innings. But the joy of having a lead was very short-lived for WVU (20-4), as BYU (14-9) chipped away at the lead with one run in both the second and third innings. Finally, BYU used a six-run fifth inning to plow ahead and the Cougars scored 14 unanswered runs in the end, running away with the game. WVU was able to score one run in the ninth to make the final score 14-5.

Chase Swain and Brodie Kresser both had two-out, two RBI hits to score the first four runs in the top of the second. Until the ninth, when Benjamin Lumsden had an RBI double, that would be all the offense that WVU could muster up.

With the loss, WVU has fallen to below .500 in Big 12 conference play.

Giving up 14 unanswered runs was not the only thing that irked WVU fans who tuned into the game on Thursday. Base running for the Mountaineers left many WVU fans scratching their heads. Two WVU baserunners were picked off, and one was caught stealing on Thursday.

Starting pitcher Griffin Kirn was only able to go four innings with three earned runs allowed. Six Mountaineer relievers were tasked with eating the last four innings on the mound. As a pitching staff, WVU pitchers gave up 14 runs and14 hits, allowed seven walks, and issued two hit by pitches.

To add insult to injury, the final BYU run was a two-run double with an error by Kyle West that scored BYU’s catcher Parker Groff, who hit the double down the leftfield line.

Defense was the light at the end of the tunnel for WVU on Thursday. Grant Hussey showing off his baseball IQ and defensive skills, Skylar King making another diving catch in centerfield, and Gavin Kelly continuing to shine behind the plate were the three positives for WVU outside of the Swain and Kresser hits.  

In less than 24 hours, the Mountaineers will get another crack at the Cougars in Game Two of the series. Gavin Van Kempen (4.43 ERA) will get the start on the mound on Friday.