Davis’ Walk-Off Helps WVU Split Friday’s Doubleheader

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Senior outfielder Austin Davis of the West Virginia University baseball team hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning to help the Mountaineers earn a 7-6 win over Ohio State in Game 2 of Friday’s doubleheader at Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark.
 
WVU (9-5) trailed, 6-4, going into the bottom of the frame before scoring three, ninth-inning runs to earn the victory. The Buckeyes (5-8) won Game 1, 10-4, earlier in the day.
 
Davis finished 2-for-5 in Game 2, scoring a run and registering the game-winning RBI. Sophomore utility/right-handed pitcher Ben Abernathy, who came on as a pinch runner, scored the deciding run to split the twin bill.
 
“Sometimes a team takes on an identity,” WVU coach Randy Mazey said. “Wouldn’t it be cool if our identity was winning a game in the ninth inning? That doesn’t make it very easy on anyone, but when a team starts believing that they can win late, that’s a pretty fun team to coach.”
 
Sophomore left-hander Ben Hampton allowed two runs on six hits with five strikeouts in 6.0 innings of work in the nightcap. The De Pere, Wisconsin, native breezed through the early part of his outing, striking out four in his first four frames. In all, he recorded with three, 1-2-3 innings and left the game with the lead two hitters into the seventh.
 
Before that, the Mountaineers took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to freshman infielder JJ Wetherholt’s two-run homer into the visitor’s bullpen in left field. WVU added another run in the inning, as junior outfielder Victor Scott II scored on a wild pitch.
 
However, the Buckeyes quickly tied the game with three runs in the top of the seventh. WVU retook the lead in the bottom of the inning when redshirt junior infielder Tevin Tucker hit a clutch, two-out, RBI single to make it 4-3.
 
Again, though, OSU charged back with two runs in the eighth and one in the ninth to lead it, 6-4. That’s when the Mountaineers rallied for their three runs in the bottom of the ninth to claim the win.
 
First, sophomore infielder Nathan Blasick tied the game with a pinch-hit, two-out, two-run single, before Abernathy pinch-ran for him and moved around the bases. Then, Davis hit a liner to center field to tally WVU’s second walk-off victory of the week.
 
Senior left-hander Beau Lowery earned the win out of the bullpen, boosting his record to 3-0 on the season. Ohio State’s TJ Brock took the loss.
 
In Game 1, Ohio State scored early with three runs in the second to take a 3-0 lead. The visitors added to its advantage in the third, scoring another run.
 
Then, sophomore infielder Mikey Kluska got the Mountaineers on the board with an RBI triple down the right-field line, cutting the deficit to 4-1 in the fourth.
 
From there, OSU tallied three more in the top of the fifth to extend its lead to 7-1. In the bottom of the sixth, redshirt junior catcher Dayne Leonard brought WVU back within three of the lead with a three-run homer to left center, the first of his Mountaineer career.
 
Later in the frame, West Virginia loaded the bases, before an inning-ending strikeout halted the threat.
 
The Buckeyes responded with a two-run seventh inning, bumping their lead back to 9-4. Ohio State added its final run in the ninth to get to the final score line.
 
Sophomore right-hander Carlson Reed took the loss, his first of the year, while OSU’s Isaiah Coupet earned the win. Reed logged 2.1 innings of work, allowing four runs – two earned – on six hits.
 
Offensively, Wetherholt led the way with two hits, while Leonard drove in three off his long ball.
 
Next up, the Mountaineers and Buckeyes meet in a series-deciding game on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. ET, at Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark.
 
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