No. 12 West Virginia Stumbles in Game Two, Cincinnati Evens Series

Wild pitches and missed chances prove costly in 5-2 loss

West Virginia University head coach Steve Sabins | Christopher Hall – West Virginia on SI

The No. 12 West Virginia Mountaineers (28-11, 13-7) fell to the Cincinnati Bearcats (28-17, 9-11) Saturday afternoon, 5-2.

Sophomore Jackson Smith put the Bearcats on the board in the bottom of the first with a leadoff home run and the early 1-0 edge.

Cincinnati added a run in the third when redshirt freshman Ryan Tyranski, sophomore Quinton Coats, and sophomore Derrick Pitts began the bottom of the frame with consecutive singles, loading the bases, before a wild pitch scored a run for the 2-0 lead.

West Virginia tied the game in the top of the fourth after senior Paul Schoenfeld received a four-pitch walk, stole second, advanced to third on an errant throw on the attempt, and senior Sean Smith took advantage of the situation with a hard ground ball through the left side for an RBI single. Then, junior Tyrus Hall was issued a walk, moving Smith to second, and a pair of wild pitches brought him around third and into home for the game-tying run.

West Virginia starting pitcher Cole Chansen closed game one after a weather delay postponed the extra inning affair and picked up the win in 1.2 innings of relief, then continued his afternoon with three scoreless innings in game two.

Sophomore David Hagan took the mound in the fourth before handing the ball to freshman David Perez in the fifth with two aboard. Freshman Enzo Infelise singled up the middle to load the bases and a wild pitch scored the go-ahead run. Redshirt junior Cal Sefcik worked the count to load the bases with a walk before another wild pitch brought in an additional Cincinnati run to reclaim a two-run lead, 4-2.

The Bearcats added a run in the sixth after sophomore Quinton Coats reached on an errant throw from junior third baseman Tyrus Hall. Then, with two outs, junior Jack Natili drove the first pitch into the gap in left centerfield for an RBI double and a 5-2 advantage.

West Virginia loaded the bases in the ninth with an out on the board but sophomore Adam Buczkowski struck out two to hold on for the win and his third of save of the season as the Bearcats evened the series with a 5-2 decision.

West Virginia and Cincinnati will meet for a series deciding game three Sunday afternoon. The first pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. EST and the action will stream on ESPN+.