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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia took down No. 7 Texas Tech, 6-5, in grand fashion, walking-off the Red Raiders Saturday afternoon at Monongalia County Ballpark.
With the bases loaded and the game tied in the bottom of the ninth, freshman infielder Mikey Kluska tallied a game-winning, RBI fielder’s choice to help the Mountaineers take down the top-10 opponent. WVU (14-15, 5-6 Big 12) finished with six runs on 11 hits with no errors, while the Red Raiders (25-8, 6-5 Big 12) tallied five runs on six hits with three errors.
“It’s a little ironic that we won the game on a ground ball in the infield against a five-man infield,” WVU coach Randy Mazey said. “That probably doesn’t usually happen. But you’re just trying to get something up in the zone, which isn’t easy to do. With a five-man infield, (Kluska) hit the ball in a pretty good spot.”
Sophomore right-hander Jacob Watters earned the win on the mound after tossing a clean ninth inning. He didn’t allow a hit and struck out three in the effort. Texas Tech’s Ryan Sublette was credited with the loss.
The Mountaineers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first after a Texas Tech throwing error. Then, WVU tallied two more in the second to extend its lead to three. First, redshirt junior catcher/outfielder Vince Ippoliti scored on a wild pitch, before junior outfielder Austin Davis singled to center to drive in another run.
After TTU tallied runs in the fourth and fifth to make it 3-2, Kluska delivered on an RBI single to left to bump West Virginia’s advantage back to two. He finished 1 for 5 with two RBI in the win.
However, the Red Raiders took the lead with three runs in the top of the sixth. The visitors didn’t record a hit in the frame but plated runs off a hit batter, bases-loaded walk and sacrifice fly.
Trailing, 5-4, senior catcher/outfielder Paul McIntosh tied the game in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI single. The Mountaineers eventually gathered runners on first and second with one out in the inning, but two strikeouts ended the chance.
Watters entered in the top of the ninth and hung a zero on the board, moments before West Virginia won it in the bottom half. Fifth-year senior infielder Kevin Brophy and Davis began the frame with singles. Then, senior infielder Tyler Doanes walked, setting up a bases-loaded situation with no outs.
Kluska hit a ground ball to first, where the Red Raiders were unable to record an out. Freshman infielder/right-handed pitcher Ben Abernathy scored the game-winning run.
Brophy, Davis and McIntosh all recorded multiple hits for the Mountaineers in the win. In all, eight of WVU’s nine starters had at least one hit.
Saturday’s win was WVU’s first over a top-10 team since May 25, 2019, against then-No. 7 Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship Semifinal in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Next up, the Mountaineers conclude their three-game series with Texas Tech on Sunday afternoon, beginning at 1 p.m.
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