No. 15 West Virginia Cruises to 7-2 Win, Sweeps Marshall

The No. 15 West Virginia Mountaineers (32-12) handled the Marshall Thundering Herd (21-27) Tuesday night 7-2 to complete the series season sweep.

West Virginia starting pitcher David Hagan earned his fourth win of the season after allowing one run on three hits and notched a strikeout in five innings.

West Virginia sophomore Gavin Kelly put the game's first run on the board with a 389-foot sky rising solo home run in the bottom of the first inning. Senior Paul Schoenfeld followed with a single, and senior Sean Smith battled back from an 0-2 count to draw a walk, putting too aboard before senior Mathew Graveline hit the hole on the left side for an RBI single and a 2-0 WVU advantage.

The Mountaineers continued their prowess in the second. With two outs on the board, sophomore Matt Ineich lifted his first pitch of the frame for a solo home run, his fourth of the season, ending the evening of Marshall freshman starting pitcher Landen Doll.

Marshall head coach Greg Beals handed the ball to sophomore Peyton Jackson before Kelly stepped to the plate, and on the 3-1 pitch, Kelly blasted his 10th home run of the season for a 4-0 Mountaineer lead.

The Thundering Herd showed life in the fourth when junior Evan Bottone doubled down the right field line, Tyler Kamerer singled to centerfield to place runners at the corners and graduate senior Jackson Halter hit an RBI sacrifice fly to centerfield for the Herd's first run of the game.

West Virginia stretched its lead back to four in the fifth. Junior reliever Alex Caudill walked the bases loaded and with one out, freshman Zahir Barjam stepped in to pinch hit for senior Brock Wills and grounded out to third, but plated a run for the 5-1 advantage.

The Mountaineers tacked on a run in the sixth after Ineich hit a leadoff double, and with two outs, Smith singled back up the middle for his 40th RBI of the season and a 6-1 WVU lead.

Marshall graduate senior Ethan Murdoch hit a leadoff home run in the seventh to pull the Herd back within four, 6-2.

West Virginia extended its lead in the ninth when with the baes loaded, Schoenfeld hit a sacrifice fly to left field as the Mountaineers took game three of the series with a 7-2 decision.

West Virginia returns to action on Friday in the first of a three game series at Kansas. The first pitch is set for 7:00 p.m. EST, while game two is slate for Saturday at 3:00 p.m. EST and the series finale is scheduled for Sunday at noon EST. All the action will stream on ESPN+.

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