West Virginia Hammers No. 14 Oklahoma State and Clinches Series

The Mountaineers grabbed game two and the series from the 14th-ranked Cowboys and will look for the sweep Sunday afternoon

Stillwater, OK - The West Virginia Mountaineers (25-10, 5-3) grabbed game two from the No. 14 Oklahoma State Cowboys (23-13, 7-7) with a 9-5 decision Saturday night, behind a 5.1 scoreless inning performance from sophomore releiver Aidan Major and a big three-run home run from junior Landon Wallace in the eighth to pull away for the series clinching win. . 

West Virginia starting pitcher Blaine Traxel got into trouble in the bottom of the first after a slow roller to short from Roc Riggio turned into an infield one-out single before walking the bases loaded with two away. Then, a hard ground ball hit into the gap went off the glove of freshman third baseman Sam White into left field to score two. 

The Mountaineers tied the game in the second when Tevin Tucker singled up the middle in the top of the third and Braden Barry reached on a bunt before a four-pitch walk loaded the bases with one out on the board. Dayne Leonard put WVU on the board with a deep drive into right field, just inside foul territory for the RBI sacrifice fly and advanced all the runners. Then, before the first pitch, a balk was called for an attempted 'hidden ball' trick, tying the score at two.

The Cowboys reclaimed the lead in the fourth after a leadoff double from Chase Adkinson, followed by an RBI double from Marcus Brown and Riggio doubled off the right field wall, scoring Brown to take a 4-2 lead. 

West Virginia loaded the bases in the fifth before Landon Wallace delivered a sharp line drive to left field for an RBI single. Dayne Leonard hit into a double play to tie the game, then Caleb McNeely smacked an RBI single into right field for a three-run fifth inning and retaking lead, 5-4.

The Mountaineers broke the game open in the eighth when Logan Suave worked a two-out walk, Tevin Tucker singled and an errant throw scored the first run on a single from Braden Barry before Landon Wallace ripped a three-run home run for a 9-5 lead. 

West Virginia reliever Aidan Major got the Mountaineers out of the jam in the fourth and tossed 5.1 scoreless innings and tied a career-high eight strikeouts as the Mountaineers went on to defeat the Cowboys 9-5.

WVU will look for the series sweep on Sunday with the first pitch set for 1:00 p.m. EST and streaming on ESPN+. 

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