MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Powered by 15 total hits, the West Virginia baseball team took down No. 16 Pitt 8-2, on Wednesday night at Monongalia County Ballpark in Morgantown.
The Mountaineers led from the first inning on in the latest edition of the Backyard Brawl. The victory marked the squad’s 18th consecutive home, midweek win, dating back to April 3, 2017.
WVU finished with eight runs on 15 hits with no errors, while Pitt tallied two runs on seven hits and no errors. Freshman right-handed pitcher Carlson Reed earned the win on the mound for the Mountaineers, his second of the campaign. Pitt’s Stephen Hansen took the loss.
“That was a great start (to the week) tonight,” WVU coach Randy Mazey said. “I feel like that was one of the better games we’ve played this year. If we start piling those types of games on top of each other, then we have a chance to make a run.”
WVU (16-21) took a quick, 1-0 lead in the first inning when fifth-year senior first basemanHudson Byorick smashed an RBI triple to center. From there, freshman infielder Mikey Kluska doubled the lead in the second with an RBI groundout, before the Mountaineers tallied two more in the fourth, one in the fifth and three in the sixth.
Meanwhile, Reed enjoyed the best outing of his young WVU career on Wednesday. He struck out a career-high six Panthers in 5.2 innings of work. In all, he allowed just one run on four hits with one walk.
The Marietta, Georgia, native sent Pitt down in order in the first and fourth innings and didn’t allow a batter to reach beyond second base until the sixth.
After Pitt (20-12) tallied its first run of the night in the top of the sixth, senior catcher Paul McIntosh hit a three-run homer off the scoreboard in left center in the bottom half to extend WVU’s advantage to 8-1. The big fly marked the Miami Garden, Fla., native’s fifth of the year.
The Mountaineers return to Big 12 action with a three-game series against Oklahoma, from May 7-9, in Morgantown. Friday’s series opener is set to begin at 6:30 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday’s matchups slated for 4 p.m., and 11:30 a.m., respectively.
Golf
Senior Mark Goetz was selected to compete as an individual at the NCAA Golf Regional from May 15-19 in Noblesville, Ind., at The Sagamore Club.
Goetz, a native of Greensburg, Pa., became the first NCAA individual qualifier in school history. In 2019, WVU made the NCAA Regional. WVU’s first NCAA appearance for the program since it was reinstated in 2015-16 and the first overall since 1947. Goetz traveled in 2019 but did not compete as an alternate.
“We are very happy for Mark to have been selected to participate in the NCAA Regional,” coach Sean Covich said. “He has worked hard on his game ever since his freshman season and improved each year.”
Goetz will play 54 holes against nine other individuals in the regional. The low individual not on an advancing team from each of the six regional sites will advance to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“Mark being selected as one of the best individuals in the country is a big honor for him and our program,” Covich said. “What makes Mark a great leader and teammate is that while he is excited about this opportunity to compete in postseason play, he would give anything for the team to be playing as well.”
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