West Virginia Takes Series Opener from No. 14 Oklahoma State

Stillwater, OK - The West Virginia Mountaineers (24-10, 4-3) knocked off the 14th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys (23-12, 7-6) with a 6-3 decision Friday night.

WVU junior lefty Ben Hampton collected his third win of the season after tossing six innings and allowed three runs in six hits before turning the game over to right-hander Carlson Reed and the junior struck out six to keep the Cowboys off the board for the three-inning save, his third of the season.

J.J. Wetherholt smacked a leadoff home run to begin the game for the early 1-0 Mountaineer advantage. Then, with two outs, Caleb McNeely kept the inning alive with a single back up the middle before 2023 Big 12 Preseason Pitcher of the Year Juaron Watts-Brown walked the bases loaded and hit Grant Hussey to bring in the second run of the inning for a 2-0 lead.

West Virginia added a run in the second after Tevin Tucker reached on a wild pitch on strike three, saving the out, Wetherholt singled and Landon Wallace delivered the RBI single. However, WVU missed an opportunity to break the game open after loading the bases with no outs but the conference leader in strikeouts, Watts-Brown, got out of the inning on consecutive strikeouts and a line drive to the shortstop from Ellis Garcia.

Oklahoma State freshman Carson Benge hit a solo home run in the bottom of the second to cut into the WVU lead, 3-1.

West Virginia tacked on a run in the fifth when Tevin Tucker worked a leadoff walk off reliever Evan O'Toole and was worked around the base pads before Dayne Leonard scored him with a single into right field.

Oklahoma State responded in the bottom of the inning. Carson Benge hit a leadoff single and Beau Sylvester ripped a double to left field to set up an RBI sacrifice ground ball over to second. Then, with two outs, Zach Ehrhard laid a bunt down the third base line for an RBI single to cap off a two-run fifth inning and close the gap to one, 4-3.

J.J. Wetherholt collected his third hit of the evening in the seventh, and proceeded to steal the second but injured his hand on the play. The sophomore remained on second, following a visit from the training staff. Dayne Leonard brought him around with a drive to left centerfield as the Mountaineers went back up two, 5-3. Wetherholt did not return to the field after he crossed home plate.

West Virginia releiver Carlson Reed took the mound in the seventh and struck out the side to begin his evening before putting his stamp on the game with a three-inning save and six strikeouts.

The Mountaineers will look to claim the series in game two with the first pitch set for 7:00 p.m. EST and streaming on ESPN+.

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