MORGANTOWN — Evan Smith was the unpredictable hero and West Virginia’s bullpen was perfect over three innings, as the No. 18 Mountaineers came back to beat Baylor 5-4 on Friday inside Baylor Ballpark in Waco, Texas.
Smith’s double in the eighth inning scored the go-ahead runs for WVU (31-11, 9-4 Big 12), which beat Baylor (15-27, 6-13) for a fifth consecutive time.
WVU, sitting in first place in the Big 12 standings, saw its winning streak grow to six games, but it was not easy.
The Mountaineers took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning when Dayne Leonard singled home both Landon Wallace and Caleb McNeely.
They added another run in the second inning when Tevin Tucker came up with a sacrifice bunt that scored Sam White.
While Baylor entered the game having given up the most runs in the Big 12, the Mountaineers’ offense was shut down until Smith’s heroics in the eighth, and the Bears finally took advantage in the sixth inning.
Trailing 3-2, Casey Sunseri — he entered the game hitting .091 (1 for 11) on the season — doubled down the left-field line, scoring teammates Cortlan Castle and Jack Johnson to give Baylor a 4-3 lead.
That was it for WVU starter Ben Hampton, who went six innings and gave up seven hits and four runs.
That’s how everything stood until the eighth.
Leonard led off with a fly out, before Grant Hussey reached first when Sunseri dropped his fly ball. Ellis Garcia moved Hussey to second with a ground ball and Braden Berry walked with two outs.
Smith, a sophomore from Ashburn, Va. doubled down the right-field line and then advanced to third on a fielding error. It was just the second extra-base hit of the season for Smith, who entered the game in the seventh as a pinch runner.
Baylor committed four errors in the game.
That would be enough for the Mountaineers’ bullpen.
Aidan Major (3-2) pitched two scoreless innings and struck out three for the win. Carlson Reed came on in the ninth and earned his fifth save of the season.
He struck out two and got a ground-ball out in the three hitters he faced.
Game 2 of the series is scheduled for 3 p.m., and game 3 is scheduled for noon Sunday.
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