GREENSBORO, N.C. – Jace Rineart broke open a close game with a bases-loaded double in the seventh inning and Grant Hussey had three hits, including his 39th career home run, to lead West Virginia to an 11-1 victory Sunday against Queens (N.C.) inside Greensboro Stadium.
Hussey was 3 for 5 in the game and his solo home run to lead off the fifth inning tied the game 1-1. WVU took the lead for good moments later when Sam White’s single scored Brodie Kresser. With one more home run, Hussey will become the first ever WVU player to reach 40 for his college career.
WVU (11-0) carried that 2-1 lead into the seventh inning, when the Mountaineers were able to break the game open.
Hussey and Kresser led off the inning with singles and Logan Sauve walked to lead the bases. Sam White reached on a throwing error that scored Hussey for a 3-1 lead.
That brought up Rineart, a Mannington native who transferred to WVU this season from USC Upstate. Rineart laced a double to right center that scored Sauve, Kresser and White for a 6-1 lead.
WVU starter Gavin Van Kempen picked up his second win of the season. He went five innings and allowed one run on two hits and struck out five. Relief pitchers Reese Bassinger, Bryant Yoak, Joe Fredericks and Aidan Smith combined for four innings of scoreless ball, while giving up just one more hit.
Kresser hit a solo home run in the eighth inning for his second hit of the day. His batting average jumped up to .409 on the season. Hussey drove in two more runs in the ninth with a single.
With the win, WVU captured its third consecutive series win to start the season. WVU and Queens (2-9) will close out the four-game series at 2 p.m. Monday in Charlotte.
