No. 16 West Virginia Drops Game 1 to Texas Tech

Granville, WV – The No. 16 West Virginia Mountaineers (37-7, 16-4) dropped the series opener and the first game of a doubleheader to the Texas Tech Red Raiders (11-11) Saturday afternoon 6-4.

Texas Tech junior Tracer Lopez led the game off with a single to left field and junior Kyeler Thompson worked a walk to put two aboard. Then, with runners at the corners and an out on the board, junior Damien Bravo hit a ground ball over to second and it rolled under the glove of freshman Gavin Kelly for the game’s first run.

The Red Raiders added another run after a balk was called on West Virginia starting pitcher Griffin Kirn, and chaos ensued as WVU head coach Steve Sabins came onto the field to argue the call and was quickly ejected by first base umpire Jeff Spisak as Texas Tech held a 2-0 advantage.

West Virginia senior Grant Hussey cut the deficit in half with a 355-foot solo home run in the bottom of the third inning.

After Texas Tech sophomore Mac Heuer registered his third strikeout to end the fourth inning, the game was delayed 54 minutes due to heavy rain.

Texas Tech added a run in the sixth when sophomore Logan Hughes received a four-pitch walk to lead off the inning and Bravo followed with a single through the right side. Then, a bobble by Kelly negated a double play and gave junior Antonelli Savattere the opportunity for a sacrifice fly to right field for the RBI and a 3-1 lead.

The Red Raiders took a commanding lead in the seventh and did their damage with two outs on the board. After Lopez ricocheted a line drive off Kirn for a single, then Thompson dropped a single into centerfield.

Assistant coach Justin Oney called to the bullpen for lefty Ben McDougal. The Junior walked Hughes after getting ahead of the count 0-2. Oney then opted for freshman Benjamin Hudson, and with the bases loaded and on the 1-1 pitch, Bravo cleared the bases with a double to left-centerfield for the 6-1 lead.

In the bottom of the frame, Kelly lined a single to centerfield and Hussey hit a one-out single through the right side to place runners at the corners before junior Benjamin Lumsden put the ball in play for the fielder’s choice RBI. Then, junior Skylar King went opposite field for a two-run home run and the Mountaineers were back within two, 6-4.

West Virginia brought the tying run to the plate in the eighth, and loaded the bases in the ninth, but were unable to scratch a runner across as the Mountaineers fell in the first game of the doubleheader 6-4.

Game two of the doubleheader is set for approximately 5:00 p.m. EST.

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