West Virginia Splits Series with Western Kentucky

Bowling Green, KY - The West Virginia Mountaineers (7-6) grabbed the first two games of the series over the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (8-5) but dropped the second game of the doubleheader on Saturday for a 2-1 series lead heading into Sunday. 

West Virginia junior Kyle West gave the Mountaineers the early advantage with a solo home run in the top of the second. 

In the bottom of the inning, Mountaineers' sophomore starting pitcher Carson Estridge put two on with no outs, then Zayd Brannigan laid a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners before junior Austin Haller singled up the middle for a pair of RBIs. Then, senior Dylan O'Connell lifted a two-run home run, ending Estridge's afternoon, and claiming a 4-1 Hilltopper lead. 

The Mountaineers produced a run in the fourth when West received a four-pitch walk and took second on a wild pitch before freshman Aaron Jamison singled into centerfield to cut the deficit to two, 4-2.

Aaron Jamison led off the seventh with a walk and freshman Armani Guzman followed with a single, then with one out and runners standing on second and third, Skylar King brought in a run with a groundball to second to get the Mountaineers within one. 

West Virginia loaded the bases in the eighth, but Western Kentucky senior reliever Mason Burns struck out two and WVU sophomore Nick Barone flied out to right field to get out of the inning, then went 1-2-3 in the ninth as the Hilltoppers held on for the 4-3 decision.