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WVU Mountaineers Needs Extra Innings, But Complete The Series Sweep Of UCF Baseball

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West Virginia scored two runs in the ninth and another in the 11th to defeat No. 16 UCF by a score of 11-10 in extra innings on Sunday afternoon at Wagener Field at Kendrick Family Ballpark.

With the setback, the Knights fall to 21-12 overall and 8-10 in Big 12 play. The first-place Mountaineers move to 22-13 and 11-4 in league play with the victory. The two teams combined for 24 hits and 21 runs on the afternoon.

The Black and Gold jumped out to a quick lead with four runs in the top of the first to take a 4-0 lead. With two-on and two-out, Lex Boedicker started the scoring with an RBI double down the leftfield line to bring in AJ Nessler and make it 1-0. Following a Braden Calise walk to load the bases and a WVU pitching change, freshman Andrew Williamson came through with a bases-clearing double down the rightfield line to give the Knights the early four-run advantage.

The Mountaineers struck back with a trio of runs in the bottom of the first to pull within a run at 4-3. Kyle West had the big hit of the inning with a two-run homer.

Dylan King led off the second with a double off the top of the wall and later moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. Andrew Brait then drove him in with an RBI groundout to give UCF a 5-3 advantage. WVU quickly tied things up in the bottom of the frame with a two-run home run to left off the bat of the 2023 Big 12 Player of the Year JJ Wetherholt to knot up the score at 5-5.

The UCF offense picked up four more runs on six hits in the third to take a 9-5 lead. The Black and Gold started the frame with four straight hits from Jack Zyska, Boedicker, Calise and Williamson. After singles from Zyska and Boedicker, Calise drove them both in with a two-run double to left to make it 7-5. Williamson then followed with his fourth RBI of the game with an RBI single center, and Mikey Kluska capped the scoring in the inning with an RBI single to center to give the Knights the four-run advantage.

In the middle innings, Dominic Castellano tossed 3.1 solid frames of relief to keep it a 9-5 lead for the Black and Gold. The UCF southpaw allowed just one run on two hits while striking out two for another solid relief outing.

The Mountaineers managed to load the bases with two outs in the sixth and picked up a bases-clearing double off the wall in left-center from Logan Sauve to pull WVU within at run at 9-8.

King then recorded his third double of the game with one out in the seventh. He later moved to third but was stranded on an inning-ending fly out to keep it a 9-8 score. The three-double game marks the first of King’s career and the first of the season for the Knights.

After Chase Centala retired the Mountaineers in order last of the seventh, UCF loaded the bases in the top of the eighth with one away. Calise then worked a bases-loaded walk to bring in Matt Prevesk for an insurance run and extend the Black and Gold’s lead to 10-8.

The closer Centala then tossed another three-up, three-down frame in the eighth and came back out in the ninth. The Mountaineers loaded the bases, however, and picked up a bases-loaded walk from Kyle West with one away to make it 10-9. UCF then went to Kyle Kramer on the mound and WVU’s Grant Hussey worked another bases-loaded walk on a real close 3-2 pitch to tie the game at 10-10. Kramer then responded by drawing back-to-back pop outs to send the game to extra innings.  

After a scoreless 10th, WVU then won it in the last of the 11th thanks to a walk-off solo home run down the leftfield line from Reed Chumley.

King led UCF at the plate in the contest by going 3-for-6 with a trio of doubles, while Williamson went 2-f0r-4 with four runs batted in. Boedicker also had a two-hit game by going 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. As a team, the Black and Gold tallied a season-high six doubles in the ballgame. Logan Suave paced WVU by going 2-for-3 with three runs driven in, while Wetherholt went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and three runs scored.

A total of 13 pitchers saw action in the contest. WVU’s Gavin Van Kempen (6-1) earned the win after tossing 3.2 scoreless innings while UCF’s Spencer Bauer (0-1) was tagged with the loss.

The 11-inning contest marked UCF’s longest ballgame of the year. It was also the longest in game duration, as it lasted four hours and seven minutes. This weekend’s series marked UCF’s first-ever visit to Morgantown.

The Knights will now return to the Sunshine State to open a nine-game homestand Tuesday at 6 p.m. against North Florida. Following the midweek contest, the Black and Gold will welcome Central Michigan to town for a non-conference series Friday to Sunday, April 19-21, at John Euliano Park.