West Virginia Clinches Series Over Baylor

The Mountaineers grabbed their ninth consecutive series win against the Bears

West Virginia junior Kyle West rips a double in the in the seventh inning. / Christopher Hall

Granville, WV – The West Virginia Mountaineers (25-16, 13-7) clinched the series against the Baylor Bears (19-22, 9-11) Saturday afternoon with a 5-2 decision.

West Virginia senior starting pitcher Derek Clark improved to 5-1 on the season after throwing eight innings and registered eight strikeouts.

“He wasn’t as sharp as normal I didn’t think but one thing you can count on that dude is he is going to compete on every pitch the whole game,” said West Virginia head coach Randy Mazey. “It’s ok to give up runs with him on the mound because you know he’s done everything right to prepare himself for that position that he’s in, and the guys know that. We always play good defense behind him. The games usually go pretty quick because he’s a strike thrower but he’s always just fun to watch.”

Derek Clark hurls a pitch towards the plate vs. Baylor / Christopher Hall

Junior Kyle West gave the Mountaineers an early 1-0 lead with a leadoff home run.

Baylor tied the game in the fourth after junior Hunter Teplansky hit a leadoff single, Clark beaned Brayden Buchanan to put two aboard, then with two outs, junior Cortlan Cast squeezed an RBI single through the left side to even the game at one.

West Virginia regained the lead in the fifth when Baylor junior reliever Patick Hail loaded the bases with a walk, hit a batter and senior Reed Chumley doubled before a wild pitch scored a run. Then, consecutive sacrifice RBI ground ball from juniors Grant Hussey and Brodie Kresser capped of a three-run inning and gave the Mountaineers a 4-1 lead.

The Mountaineers added a run in the seventh following a double from West – he advanced on a fly ball from Hussey before Brodie Kresser laid down the sacrifice RBI bunt for a 5-1 WVU lead.

After the Bears put up a run in the eighth, Baylor brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth, but junior JJ Wetherholt dove on a soft line drive from Ty Johnson as the Mountaineers held on for the 5-2 victory.

The Mountaineers will look for the series sweep against the Bears Sunday afternoon. The first pitch is set for 11:05 and the action will stream on ESPN+.