Saturday, March 13
Morgantown, W.Va.
2:30 p.m.
West Virginia University
5-5
8
vs
7
Central Michigan (DH)
5-5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
R
H
E
Central Michigan
3
2
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
7
14
1
West Virginia
1
1
3
0
0
1
0
0
0
2
8
8
0
Kluska’s Walk-Off Homer Leads WVU to Doubleheader Split
March 13, 2021 08:26 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Freshman infielder Mikey Kluska's walk-off, two-run home run propelled the No. 23-ranked West Virginia University baseball team to an 8-7 win over Central Michigan in Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader at Monongalia County Ballpark.
Down, 7-6, in the bottom of the 10th inning, Kluska sent the Mountaineers home happy with a long ball over the left-field wall. It marked WVU's first walk-off home run since Darius Hill's heroics against TCU on May 5, 2019.
WVU finished with eight runs on eight hits with no errors, while the Chippewas tallied seven runs on 14 hits with one error. Junior pitcher Madison Jeffrey earned the win for West Virginia, while CMU's Grant Frazer took the loss.
"He really is a guy that's just a worker," WVU assistant coach Steve Sabins said of Kluska. "It's all based on him trying to get as good as possible, and that's what he does on a regular basis. He outworks people and has gotten better. Good things happen to good people and people that work. (Today) was certainly an example of that."
After Central Michigan took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, WVU (5-5) tallied its first run on sophomore outfielder Victor Scott's sac fly in the bottom half of the inning. From there, CMU (5-5) scored two more in the second to take a 5-1 lead, before freshman catcher McGwire Holbrook smashed a solo homer in the bottom of the frame, marking his first career hit.
In the third, WVU tied the game at 5 after Kluska's two-run single to left, before a sac fly off the bat of freshman infielder/right-handed pitcher Nathan Blasick leveled the score.
The Chippewas scored again in the sixth to make it 6-5, just before fifth-year senior infielder Kevin Brophy's sac fly tied the game again in the bottom half. It stayed that way until the top of the 10th, when CMU tallied an RBI double to take a 7-6 lead.
That's when Kluska stepped in and won the game for West Virginia with his second homer of the campaign. The White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, native finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs to lead the Mountaineers offensively.
Additionally, Holbrook finished with a pair of hits, as did junior outfielder Austin Davis.
On the mound, sophomore right-hander Skylar Gonzalez made his first career start and lasted three innings. From there, redshirt sophomore righty Daniel Ouderkirk struck out five and allowed just one run in three innings out of the bullpen. Redshirt sophomore right-hander Noah Short, sophomore righties Tim Wynia and Jacob Watters and Jeffrey also saw action in relief roles.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Mountaineers, who dropped the first two games of this weekend's series.
Earlier in the day, WVU fell to Central Michigan, 12-4, in Game 1 of the twin bill. CMU scored five runs in the fourth and seven more in the seventh to take a commanding lead that held. The Mountaineers scored four in the eighth, thanks to an RBI single by Kluska, a two-run triple by sophomore infielder/outfielder Dominic Ragazzo and redshirt sophomore infielder/outfielder Alec Burns' RBI groundout. However, it was the only frame WVU tallied runs in.
West Virginia finished with four runs on eight hits with two errors in Game 1, while CMU recorded 12 runs on 16 hits with two errors. Andrew Taylor earned the win, while sophomore left-hander Jake Carr was pegged with the loss.
Following the series, WVU now stands at 1-3 all-time against the Chippewas.
Next up, the Mountaineers play host to Morehead State for a two-game, midweek series from March 16-17, at Monongalia County Ballpark. Both games are slated to begin at 3 p.m. ET.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Down, 7-6, in the bottom of the 10th inning, Kluska sent the Mountaineers home happy with a long ball over the left-field wall. It marked WVU's first walk-off home run since Darius Hill's heroics against TCU on May 5, 2019.
WVU finished with eight runs on eight hits with no errors, while the Chippewas tallied seven runs on 14 hits with one error. Junior pitcher Madison Jeffrey earned the win for West Virginia, while CMU's Grant Frazer took the loss.
"He really is a guy that's just a worker," WVU assistant coach Steve Sabins said of Kluska. "It's all based on him trying to get as good as possible, and that's what he does on a regular basis. He outworks people and has gotten better. Good things happen to good people and people that work. (Today) was certainly an example of that."
After Central Michigan took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, WVU (5-5) tallied its first run on sophomore outfielder Victor Scott's sac fly in the bottom half of the inning. From there, CMU (5-5) scored two more in the second to take a 5-1 lead, before freshman catcher McGwire Holbrook smashed a solo homer in the bottom of the frame, marking his first career hit.
In the third, WVU tied the game at 5 after Kluska's two-run single to left, before a sac fly off the bat of freshman infielder/right-handed pitcher Nathan Blasick leveled the score.
The Chippewas scored again in the sixth to make it 6-5, just before fifth-year senior infielder Kevin Brophy's sac fly tied the game again in the bottom half. It stayed that way until the top of the 10th, when CMU tallied an RBI double to take a 7-6 lead.
That's when Kluska stepped in and won the game for West Virginia with his second homer of the campaign. The White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, native finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs to lead the Mountaineers offensively.
Additionally, Holbrook finished with a pair of hits, as did junior outfielder Austin Davis.
On the mound, sophomore right-hander Skylar Gonzalez made his first career start and lasted three innings. From there, redshirt sophomore righty Daniel Ouderkirk struck out five and allowed just one run in three innings out of the bullpen. Redshirt sophomore right-hander Noah Short, sophomore righties Tim Wynia and Jacob Watters and Jeffrey also saw action in relief roles.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Mountaineers, who dropped the first two games of this weekend's series.
Earlier in the day, WVU fell to Central Michigan, 12-4, in Game 1 of the twin bill. CMU scored five runs in the fourth and seven more in the seventh to take a commanding lead that held. The Mountaineers scored four in the eighth, thanks to an RBI single by Kluska, a two-run triple by sophomore infielder/outfielder Dominic Ragazzo and redshirt sophomore infielder/outfielder Alec Burns' RBI groundout. However, it was the only frame WVU tallied runs in.
West Virginia finished with four runs on eight hits with two errors in Game 1, while CMU recorded 12 runs on 16 hits with two errors. Andrew Taylor earned the win, while sophomore left-hander Jake Carr was pegged with the loss.
Following the series, WVU now stands at 1-3 all-time against the Chippewas.
Next up, the Mountaineers play host to Morehead State for a two-game, midweek series from March 16-17, at Monongalia County Ballpark. Both games are slated to begin at 3 p.m. ET.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Jeffrey, Madison (2-0)
L: FRAZER, G. (0-2)
Batting:
2B: MARSEE, J. 2 ; HEEKE, Z. 1 ; SHEPARDSON, A. 1
3B: LECHNIR, D. 1 ; WUESTENFELD, D. 1
RBI: MARSEE, J. 2 ; CAMILLETTI, M. 2 ; GILLES, Z. 1 ; SIMPSON, J. 1 ; LECHNIR, D. 1
SH: GILLES, Z. 1 ; SIMPSON, J. 1 ; DARDAS, N. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: NAVARRA, G. 1 ; MARSEE, J. 2 ; GILLES, Z. 1 ; SHEPARDSON, A. 1 ; DONAHUE, J. 1 ; DARDAS, N. 1
CS: MARSEE, J. 1
HBP: MARSEE, J. 1
Batting:
3B: Davis, Austin 1
HR: Kluska, Mikey 1 ; Holbrook, McGwire 1
RBI: Scott II, Victor 1 ; Kluska, Mikey 4 ; Blasick, Nathan 1 ; Holbrook, McGwire 1 ; Brophy, Kevin 1
SF: Scott II, Victor 1 ; Blasick, Nathan 1 ; Brophy, Kevin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Davis, Austin 2 ; McCormick, Matt 1 ; Scott II, Victor 2 ; Kluska, Mikey 1 ; Ragazzo, Dominic 1 ; Holbrook, McGwire 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
4
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF/RHP
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INF/OF
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RHP
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RHP
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RHP
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INF/OF
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OF
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RHP
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RHP
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