Mountaineers Come Back In 9th Inning, Beat Charlotte 5-4

Where the football team and the basketball team broke fans hearts, the baseball team appears to be headed in the opposite direction. In the top of the ninth inning, with Austin Davis and JJ Wetherholt at the corners, Randy Mazey got brazen and called for a suicide squeeze which gave the Mountaineers a 5-4 lead that they would hold onto for the 4th win of the season.

West Virginia got on the board in the first inning when McGwire Holbrook rapped a double down the left field line and freshman JJ Wetherholt scored from second. In the bottom of the first inning Austin Davis made the first of his highlight reel plays when he dove for a ball and took a hit away.

In the bottom of the second inning, Charlotte would get on board when Jack Dragum (awesome sports name BTW) ripped a double and came home to score on a Blake Jackson single. West Virginia starter Carlson Reed would settle down after that and keep the score tied at 1 through the next two innings.

In the fifth inning, Reed found himself in trouble when he walked a batter and gave up a single. Sensing trouble, Randy Mazey went to his bullpen but Charlotte right fielder Cam Fisher welcomed the new Mountaineer pitcher, Beau Lowery with a 3-run bomb to give Charlotte a 4-1 lead.

The Mountaineers would begin to claw their way back as they loaded the bases with a Mikey Kluska single, Dayne Leonard hit-by-pitch, and a Nathan Blasick walk. Evan Smith would come in as a pinch-hitter and hit a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2.

In the 8th inning the Mountaineers tied the game at 4 when Dayne Leonard’s two-run single found the outfield and brought in Austin Davis and Ben Abernathy.

The 9th inning proved to be high-drama as the Austin Davis singled with one-out and then stole second base. Davis would steal the Mountaineers eighth base when he stole third on a JJ Wetherholt walk. Randy Mazey sensing the need to take the lead, called a suicide squeeze and Davis would score the winning run. Victor Scott would steal the Mountaineers ninth base of the day before Grant Hussey flied out.

Check out this Austin Davis webgem.