MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Junior Jackson Cramer belted a walk-off home run in the 10th inning to give the West Virginia University baseball team a 5-4 upset victory over No. 16 Oklahoma State in the opening game of the series on Friday evening.
Cramer hit the first pitch of the bottom of the 10th inning over the center field fence to send his teammates pouring out of the dugout and the crowd of 1,818 fans at Monongalia County Ballpark into euphoria. It was Cramer’s second home run of the game and second walk-off hit of the season.
“I knew we were going to play well today,” WVU coach Randy Mazey said. “When you face adversity with a young team, you have to convince them that the way to get out of it is to work to get out of it, and that’s exactly what we did. I couldn’t be happier for all these guys, what an unbelievable win for our program. This stadium, and Big 12 baseball in Morgantown, playing Country Roads after you win after a big game, this has a chance to be one of the best college baseball atmospheres in the nation.”
“I thought it was going to hit off the wall, so I was booking it,” Cramer said of his game-winning home run. “When I saw that it went over and saw everybody at home plate, it was fun, that last 90 feet running toward them was a great memory. That was my first walk-off homerun, I never had one before. I’ve always dreamed about it as a little kid. Everyone wants to do that once in their life, and I’m glad I finally got mine.”
Cramer's home run came after a roller coaster ninth inning. The Mountaineers (13-10, 3-3 Big 12) were one out away from a 3-1 win, but the Cowboys (18-8, 3-1) took their only lead of the day on a three-run homer by Garrett Benge.
After WVU held the momentum for most of the game, OSU silenced the crowd for the first time. The momentum didn’t stay in the visitor’s dugout for long though.
Trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth, freshman shortstop Jimmy Galusky hit a one-out blooper into shallow right field that he stretched into a double. With two outs, sophomore Kyle Davis was intentionally walked, which set the stage for freshman pinch hitter Marques Inman.
Inman sent a single to right field, and Galusky scored from second, sliding home safely just under the tag of the Cowboy catcher to tie the game at 4-4.
“When we ran off the field after they hit the three-run homer to go up 4-3, our guys ran off the field with energy, with passion,” said Mazey. “They stayed together, and really thought they were going to win after one of the most crushing pitches or homeruns we’ve ever had hit against us. For our guys to run off the field and still think they can win that game, that says a lot about the guys.”
After the Mountaineers tied the game at 4-4, senior righty Blake Smith pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to set up Cramer’s heroics. Smith earned his first win of the season and struck out two.
For the Cowboys, Blake Battenfield suffered his first loss of the year. He threw one pitch in the game, to Cramer in the 10th.
Prior to the ninth inning, it was a pitching duel between WVU junior right-hander Chad Donato and OSU’s Thomas Hatch.
Donato was brilliant on the mound. Pitching 9.0 innings for the first time this season, he allowed four runs, all earned, on three hits with eight strikeouts and one walk. Before OSU’s three-run home run in the ninth inning, Donato held the Cowboys to one run on two hits in 8.2 innings.
In 7.0 innings, Hatch limited the Mountaineers to two runs on five hits with five strikeouts and three walks.
After a runner reached in each of the first four innings, the Mountaineers struck first in the fifth. Junior catcher Ray Guerrini led off with a walk, and scored from third on a groundout by sophomore third baseman Kyle Davis.
OSU responded in the top of the sixth inning with a solo home run by Collin Theroux, but WVU answered right back in the bottom of the sixth. Cramer gave the Mountaineers a 2-1 lead with his first homer of the game. The sky-high shot cleared the right field wall and landed in the West Virginia bullpen.
Donato followed with a 1-2-3 seventh and eighth inning. WVU extended its lead to 3-1 on a sacrifice fly by senior center fielder KC Huth to score freshman right fielder Darius Hill.
In the ninth inning, Donato hit the first batter he faced and walked the next. He got the next two outs before Benge’s home run. The homer to right field gave the Cowboys a 4-3 lead, only to set up Inman’s game-tying hit in the bottom of the inning and Cramer’s walk-off shot in the 10th.
The series resumes on Saturday, with first pitch moved up to a 2 p.m. ET start. As part of Family Day, fans can purchase four tickets and receive a $10 concession voucher for just $25. The series concludes on Sunday, April 3 at 1 p.m. As part of the first Kids’ Day of the year, fans can get autographs from the Mountaineers and run the bases after the game.
For fans unable to cheer on the Mountaineers in person, there are several ways to tune in live. A live video stream and live stats can be found at
WVUSports.com. Jeff Culhane and Ernie Galusky will call the action on the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG on various affiliates throughout the state. The radio broadcast can also be found online at
WVUsports.com or on the TuneIn Radio App and the Mountaineer Gameday App. Additional updates and notes can be found on social media by following and connecting with the team at @WVUBaseball on
Twitter,
Facebook and
Instagram.
NOTES: WVU improved to 13-10 on the year, 3-3 in Big 12 play and 2-2 in extra-inning contests … The attendance of 1,818 is the sixth-largest crowd in Monongalia County Ballpark History and the 18th-largest home crowd in program history … Junior Jackson Cramer hit his fourth home run of the season and the 13th of his career to give WVU a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning … Cramer was also hit by a pitch in the second inning to extend his reached base streak to a team-high 43 games … Cramer’s walk-off home run was his fifth homer of the year and second walk-off hit of the season … Sophomore Kyle Davis drove in his 13th run of the season, second-most on the team … Senior Blake Smith earned his first win of the season with a scoreless ninth inning.
Single game and flex plan tickets for the 2016 WVU baseball season are on sale now. Fans can join the excitement of WVU baseball and contribute to the home field advantage at Monongalia County Ballpark by calling 1-800-WVU GAME, purchasing tickets at
WVUGAME.com or visiting the Mountaineer Ticket Office at the WVU Coliseum. More information on season tickets and the 30-game home schedule can be found at
WVUsports.com, while single game ticket information is available
here.
