CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Feb. 23, 2024) – The West Virginia University baseball team opened its series at Charlotte with a 12-8 victory at Hayes Stadium on Friday evening. The Mountaineers improve to 3-2 while the 49ers fall to 2-3.
WVU racked up 14 hits on the night, getting three each from sophomore Benjamin Lumsden, junior Brodie Kresser and sophomore Skylar King. King and junior Grant Hussey each hit home runs in the game for the Mountaineers.
On the mound, junior Aidan Major struck out a career-high nine batters in 5.0 innings while allowing just two runs to earn the win. Graduate student Hambleton Oliver threw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts while sophomore Maxx Yehl closed out the game with 1.2 scoreless innings while striking out a pair.
The Mountaineers jumped out to an early lead on a two-run double from Hussey in the first. Charlotte hit a leadoff home run in the bottom of the inning, but Major followed with three straight scoreless innings which included striking out the side in the second.
Kresser got the run back for WVU in the second inning with an RBI double before adding another RBI in the fourth on a groundout as part of a four-run inning, which also included an RBI single from sophomore Sam White and a two-run double by Lumsden.
The Mountaineers had another four-run inning in the seventh, getting a run-scoring groundout from junior Kyle West and a three-run home run from King, the first of his career, to take an 11-2 lead.
The 49ers cut into the WVU lead with three runs in both the seventh and eighth and got the tying run to the plate. A wild pitch brought in a run, but the runner going to third overran the bag and Yehl was able to throw behind him for the final out of the inning.
Hussey added the insurance for the Mountaineers in the ninth with a solo shot to straightaway center field, his second of the season.
The two teams will be back on the field tomorrow for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Both games are scheduled to be seven innings.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
WVU racked up 14 hits on the night, getting three each from sophomore Benjamin Lumsden, junior Brodie Kresser and sophomore Skylar King. King and junior Grant Hussey each hit home runs in the game for the Mountaineers.
On the mound, junior Aidan Major struck out a career-high nine batters in 5.0 innings while allowing just two runs to earn the win. Graduate student Hambleton Oliver threw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts while sophomore Maxx Yehl closed out the game with 1.2 scoreless innings while striking out a pair.
The Mountaineers jumped out to an early lead on a two-run double from Hussey in the first. Charlotte hit a leadoff home run in the bottom of the inning, but Major followed with three straight scoreless innings which included striking out the side in the second.
Kresser got the run back for WVU in the second inning with an RBI double before adding another RBI in the fourth on a groundout as part of a four-run inning, which also included an RBI single from sophomore Sam White and a two-run double by Lumsden.
The Mountaineers had another four-run inning in the seventh, getting a run-scoring groundout from junior Kyle West and a three-run home run from King, the first of his career, to take an 11-2 lead.
The 49ers cut into the WVU lead with three runs in both the seventh and eighth and got the tying run to the plate. A wild pitch brought in a run, but the runner going to third overran the bag and Yehl was able to throw behind him for the final out of the inning.
Hussey added the insurance for the Mountaineers in the ninth with a solo shot to straightaway center field, his second of the season.
The two teams will be back on the field tomorrow for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Both games are scheduled to be seven innings.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
