GRANVILLE — It was more of a grind than they would have liked, but the WVU Mountaineers picked up a midweek win over visiting Akron, 6-2, Tuesday evening at Kendrick Family Ballpark.
The grind began even before the first pitch as the game started in a rain delay that pushed the start back more than an hour to 7:45 p.m.
When the game finally did begin, WVU (15-10) left four runners on base in the first two innings. That allowed Akron (5-18) to strike first on a two-run home run by shortstop Fisher Pyatt, who entered the game hitting just .143 on the season. Pyatt’s blast reached the bullpen beyond the right field fence and put the Zips up 2-0 in the top of the third.
“A guy put a good swing on a good pitch and hit a homer on a night when it wasn’t all that easy to hit a homer in that direction, so good for him,” WVU coach Randy Mazey said.
Gavin Van Kepmen started on the mound for the Mountaineers and worked three innings. He struck out two and walked two while surrendering only one hit. That one hit, however, was the two-run homer to Pyatt.
“If you give up homers, give them up early in the game so you can recover from it,” Mazey said. “I thought (Van Kempen) pitched great, he has every time he’s started on a midweek game. He’s getting better and better and better each time out.”
The Zips’ lead didn’t hold for long as The Mountaineers responded in the bottom of the frame with a string of hits. Reed Chumley’s sharp single up the middle scored Ben Lumsden from third for WVU’s first run. Chumley scored three batters later on a sacrifice fly from Ellis Garcia that tied the game 2-2.
Morgantown High graduate Aaron Jamison then tripled into the right-center gap to score Grant Hussey, who had singled and stole second.
Jamison then pulled off a straight steal of home to put the Mountaineers up 4-0.
“As I was getting in my lead, I had (third base coach Steve Sabins) in my ear ‘take another step, next pitch you’re going,’” Jamison said. “Sabins was telling me to wait for the point where (the pitcher) is distracted. He was on the rubber focusing on the catcher.”
Mazey said Jamison took off for home too early, however, not waiting until the pitcher was fully into his windup.
“It wasn’t exactly how we designed it, but nonetheless it was effective,” Mazey said. “They call that the ‘most exciting play in baseball.’ It was pretty cool. He just didn’t go at the right time, that’s why I didn’t get so excited, but it worked.”
WVU then loaded the bases in the bottom of the third but stranded all three runners on a lineout by Lumsden.
The Mountaineers outhit Akron 13-4 in the game, but they left 14 runners on base and only led 4-2 through seven innings.
“We got 13 hits, but you get into the middle of the game and it’s 4-2 and this thing could go either way at any moment,” Mazey said.
Van Kempen was relieved by Carson Estridge, who worked two scoreless frames. Joseph Fredricks and Maxx Yehl combined to work the sixth and seventh with Hambleton Oliver getting the final out in the top of the eighth.
The Mountaineers added on in the bottom of the eighth when Kyle West doubled home Chumley. West, who advanced to third on the throw, scored on a sacrifice fly from Hussey as WVU took a 6-2 lead.
Hambleton threw a clean top of the ninth to nail down the win, WVU’s third in a row.
“When we needed to score later in the game we did and some of our pitchers later in the game looked really good, which we needed them to do,” Mazey said. “Everything worked out fine.”
The Mountaineers open a weekend home series against Oklahoma State on Friday at 6:30 p.m. They will play Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
