Box Score ATLANTA – The West Virginia University baseball team rallied with three runs in the seventh inning and another in the eighth to tie the game and send it to extra innings, but it was not enough in a 5-4 loss in 11 innings at Georgia Tech on Saturday night.
 
Playing their second game of the day and first at Russ Chandler Stadium, the Mountaineers fell behind 3-0 in the second inning and 4-0 after six. However, WVU rallied to tie it thanks to a pair of errors by the Yellow Jackets (2-1) in the seventh and a leadoff home run by senior first baseman Marques Inman in the eighth. Tech won it in the 11th on a bases-loaded single.
 
"This was a really good game, we were down 4-0 and battled back to tie it up and send it to extra innings," WVU coach Randy Mazey said. "A lot of good things happened. I got to see a lot of guys come out of the bullpen who have never pitched here before that did a really good job, so there are a ton of positives that came out of that game. I'm really pleased with the effort, really proud of the way that we fought back. Tech's starter (Connor Thomas) is as good as any we'll see all year, so that was a good effort. Somebody had to lose it, it's just unfortunate that it had to be us."
 
West Virginia opened the day with an 8-2 victory at Georgia State in its second game of the season-opening Atlanta Challenge.
 
WVU's offense was held to two hits in the first six innings before a three-run, three-hit seventh. All three runs came with two outs, the first two on a throwing error and the last on an RBI double. Inman's home run in the eighth then tied the game at 4-4. It was the first homer by a Mountaineer this season and the 10th of Inman's career.
 
West Virginia scored four runs on six hits, while Georgia Tech's five runs came on 10 hits. WVU did not commit an error and GT had five. The Mountaineers stranded seven runners on base and the Yellow Jackets left six on.
 
Junior right-handed starter Kade Strowd allowed three runs on five hits in 4.1 innings for the Mountaineers. He gave up two in the first and one with one out in the second, but held the home team off the scoreboard the rest of his season-opening outing. For Georgia Tech, starter Connor Thomas limited WVU to five hits and three runs, all unearned. He struck out 10 and walked two.
 
Georgia Tech took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-out, two run home run by Kyle McCann. The Yellow Jackets made it 3-0 in the second on a one-out single that followed a leadoff double.
 
Strowd proceeded to retire the next eight batters, with 1-2-3 third and fourth innings.
 
Meanwhile, senior catcher Ivan Gonzalez singled in the second, and a pair of Mountaineers reached in the third on a walk and fielding error. However, the Mountaineers could not get on the board, and they were retired in order in the fourth and fifth.
 
Senior lefty Zach Reid relieved Strowd with a runner on and one out in the fifth and got two outs to escape the jam. After WVU stranded a runner on third in the top of the sixth after a double by senior right fielder Darius Hill, Georgia Tech added a run to make it 4-0 on a double play groundout in the bottom of the frame.
 
The top of the seventh was where WVU began to chip away, with three runs on three hits with the help of two errors. With two outs and runners on second and third, junior pinch hitter Kevin Brophy reached on a throwing error. On the play, senior third baseman Andrew Zitel attempted to score but was caught in a rundown. However, the throw from GT's catcher to third sailed down the left-field line, which allowed Zitel and junior pinch hitter TJ Lake to score. Sophomore second baseman Tyler Doanes followed with a double to right-center that brought home Brophy.
 
WVU's bullpen pitched a scoreless seventh and stranded two before Inman tied it. His home run led off the eighth and made it a 4-4 contest.
 
Junior right-handed pitcher Sam Kessler left two on in the bottom of the eighth and pitched a perfect ninth inning to send the game into extras.
 
Like the ninth inning, both teams were retired in order in the 10th, as Kessler took care of the Georgia Tech hitters for a third inning of work.
 
In 3.0 scoreless innings of relief work, Kessler gave up just one hit with two strikeouts and a walk. He threw 39 pitches, 31 for strikes.
 
In the Mountaineer half of the 11th, Gonzalez and sophomore shortstop Tristen Hudson both reached on errors to put runners on second and third with one out. However, back-to-back strikeouts ended WVU's scoring threat.
 
The Yellow Jackets won it in the bottom half of the inning on a bases-loaded single with one out by Nick Wilhite. Freshman lefty Beau Lowery suffered the loss, the first of his career.
 
Up next, the Mountaineers return to the Peach State next weekend for a three-game set at Georgia Southern, from Feb. 22-24. The series in Statesboro, Georgia, begins on Friday, Feb. 22, at 6 p.m. ET. First pitch at J.I. Clements Stadium on Saturday is set for 3 p.m., while the series concludes at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday.
 
Notes: West Virginia falls to 1-2 on the season … Junior first baseman Marques Inman hit WVU's first home run of the season in the seventh inning, and it was the 10th of his career … Freshman right-hander Gabe Kurtzhals made his career debut in relief in the sixth inning, and freshman right-handers Zach Ottinger and Phillip Dull made their WVU debuts in relief in the seventh … Freshman left fielder Austin Davis made his first career start.
 
Season tickets and mini-packages for the 2019 season are on sale now. Fans can join the excitement of WVU baseball and support the Mountaineers by purchasing tickets at WVUGAME.com, calling 1-800-WVU GAME or visiting the Mountaineer Ticket Office at the WVU Coliseum.
 
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