No. 17 West Virginia Blasts Marshall, Clinch Season Series

The No. 17 West Virginia Mountaineers (22-7) hammered the Marshall Thundering Herd (14-17) Wednesday night 12-2 in eight innings to clinch the season series.

West Virginia sophomore Matt Ineich flared a leadoff single in the bottom of the first inning and sophomore Gavin Kelly ripped a single off the glove of a diving Cleary Simpson at third for the game's first run. Senior Sean Smith lined a double into the gap in left centerfield before junior Armani Guzman placed a bunt down the first base line for an RBI single. Then, with Smith standing at third and Guzman at first, a double steal scored the third run of the inning.

Marshall senior Cam Harthan worked his way into scoring position after dropping a single in centerfield. He stole second, and moved to third on a wild pitch before junior Jack Smith bounced a two-out RBI single back up the middle to cut the WVU lead to two, 3-1.

The Mountaineers added to their lead in the bottom of the frame after one-out singles from junior Tyrus Hall put two aboard. Then, Kelly doubled to right field for his second RBI of the evening, and senior Paul Schoenfeld put the ball on the ground to first for a 5-1 lead.

West Virginia senior reliever Ben McDougal entered the game in the third and began his evening beaning a pair of Marshall hitters. Marshall junior AJ Havrilla took advantage of the free base runners with an RBI single to pull the Thundering Herd within three, 5-2.

In the bottom of the sixth and with two outs, a wild pitch brought in a West Virginia run before Smith hit the gap in right centerfield for a two-RBI double for a commanding 8-2 Mountaineer lead.

West Virginia continued its offensive prowess in the seventh. Guzman hit a leadoff single and stole second before senior Brock Wills rolled an RBI single through the right sidle. Senior Matthew Graveline followed with an RBI double in left centerfield and Hall capped the inning with a ground ball to short for his 14th RBI of the season and a 10-2 advantage.

The Mountaineers ended the game in the eighth after Kelly hit a leadoff single, Schoenfeld doubled t right field before Guzman put the ball in play to scratch a run across, then freshman Zahir Barjam hit a pinch-hit RBI single to centerfield, forcing the run-rule as the Mountaineers take the 12-2 decision.

West Virginia is back in action on Friday in the first of a three-game series at Texas Tech. The first pitch is set for 7:30 p.m. EST. Game two is on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. EST and the series finale is scheduled for Sunday at 2:00 p.m. EST. All the action will stream on ESPN+.