West Virginia Sweeps Backyard Brawl Series
Pittsburgh - The No. 11 West Virginia Mountaineers (37-12) escaped Charles L. Cost Field with a 9-8 decision over the Pitt Panthers (21-25) Wednesday night, and completing the series sweep of the Backyard Brawl.
West Virginia sophomore J.J. Wetherholt went 3-4 with a two-run home run to lead the Mountaineers at the plate while Noah Short collects his fourth win of the season and Carlson Reed grabs his sixth save of the season.
West Virginia sophomore J.J. Wetherholt went 3-4 with a two-run home run to lead the Mountaineers at the plate
Pitt put the first two runs on the board in the first after a solo home run from Jayden Melendez and a fielder's choice RBI by Kyle Hess gave the Panthers the early 2-0 advantage.
West Virginia claimed the in the second after a leadoff single from Dayne Leonard and Grant Hussey received a walk before Caleb McNeely smacked a three-run home run to give West Virginia a 3-2 lead.
The Panthers tied the game in the fourth when Justin Acal lined an RBI single into right field.
J.J. Wetherholt reclaimed the lead in the fifth with a two-run home run. Then, Panthers' reliever Erubiel Candelario walked the bases before freshman Ellis Garcia hit a hard ground ball through the hole on the left side for a pair of RBIs, Logan Garcia lined an RBI single into left field and the Mountaineers capped of a six-run fifth inning with a double steal with Garcia taking home and the 9-3 advantage.
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Pitt closed the gap in the bottom half of the inning when Noah Martinez ripped an RBI single, ending West Virginia freshman Carson Ethridge's evening. Senior Noah Short came in relief. Short struck out one before Kyle Hess singled and an error in left field scored another Panther run to get within four.
The Panthers loaded the bases in the seventh with an out on the board before Grant Siegal came into the game, and an errant throw on a double play attempt scored two runs and kept the inning alive and setting up an RBI double down the left field line from Kyle Hess to cut the WVU lead to a run.
West Virginia closer Carlson Reed took the ball in the ninth. The junior allowed two aboard but recorded his second strikeout to end the inning for the save as the Mountaineers complete the season sweep of the Pitt Panthers 9-8.
The Mountaineers are back in action Friday night in the first of a three-game series against Big 12 Conference foe Texas Tech with the first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. EST and streaming on ESPN+.
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