West Virginia baseball sits alone atop Big 12 after consecutive conference series sweeps

West Virginia baseball was able to get their second consecutive Big 12 series sweep this past weekend, and in doing so, the Mountaineers marched past the 30-win mark on the season in early April and now sit alone atop the Big 12 standings.

Playing host to WVU for a three-game set, not much went in Houston’s favor during the series. With final scores of 9-2, 9-8, and 11-2, respectively, the Mountaineers handled their business with ease in the Lone Star State. WVU’s offense continues to provide enough firepower to hang with Big 12 competition.

In game one between the Cougars and Mountaineers, great pitching and an outpour of hits were the reason for the 9-2 win for WVU. Friday night starter Griffin Kirn took the ball and continued his success at the Big 12 level. Following one of his best career starts on April 4, where the lefty racked up 14 strikeouts in a win against Utah, Kirn picked up right where he left off in his last start. He pitched six innings to open the series, only allowing two runs, five hits, and one walk. The lefty starter finished the night with five strikeouts.

Reese Bassinger was the only other pitcher that first-year coach Steve Sabins needed. Bassinger pitched three innings (0 runs, 0 hits, and 0 walks) with two strikeouts. Bassinger picked up his fifth save of the season, pitching in the last three innings to secure the save.

Skylar King, Logan Sauve, Brodie Kresser, and Chase Swain all recorded a multi-hit day on Friday. Swain had an RBI triple and found himself with three total RBIs on the day. WVU saw utility infielder Sam White return to the lineup as the designated hitter.

Game Two was a much more nail-biter game. The Mountaineers almost gave away a 9-4 lead but managed to hold on to claim a 9-8 victory over Houston. Returning from injury, Sam White picked up where he left off earlier in the year, going 3-5 with two runs scored at the plate. Freshman star utility man Gavin Kelly was the only other Mountaineer hitter with a multi-hit day, hitting 3-5 with two RBIs.

Even though reliever Benjamin Hudson earned the win, he fell victim to a three-run home run to bring the Cougars within two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Carson Estridge has returned to a relief role, and went 2.1 innings pitched while earning the save. Estridge finished with zero runs allowed, one hit, and one walk issued, and he picked up one strikeout in his relief appearance.

The final game of the Houston-West Virginia series featured WVU pitcher Jack Kartsonas, a reliever to this point in the season, with a breakout performance. Kartsonas eliminated the Cougars' offense with seven shutout innings. The Cougars were held to just two hits with Kartsonas on the mound and struck out five times in seven innings.

Offensively, it was all about star hitter Sauve. The Boiler Springs, Pennsylvania, native had two long bombs on Sunday.

After the final game of the three-game set, Sauve finished 2-5 (two home runs) and five RBIs.

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