Box Score AUSTIN, Texas – The West Virginia University baseball team earned a 5-4 win over No. 2 Texas on Thursday night at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin, Texas.
 
The Mountaineers hit three home runs and shut the Longhorns down in the late innings to tally their highest-ranked win in program history. It also marked WVU's sixth consecutive victory.
 
West Virginia (23-23, 8-14 Big 12) finished with five runs on seven hits with three errors in the series opener, while the Longhorns (38-13, 15-7 Big 12) recorded four runs on eight hits with one error. Senior left-handed pitcher Jackson Wolf earned the win, his fifth of the year, while UT's Ty Madden took the loss. Additionally, sophomore right-hander Jacob Watters notched his fourth save of the year.
 
"We have a lot of guys that are trending in the right direction right now," WVU coach Randy Mazey said. "It's fun to play against Texas on this field. You're locked into every pitch in every at-bat. It's a great challenge, and they have such a great program and great tradition. If you can just contain that energy and that competitiveness against everyone, you'd win a lot more games."
 
Wolf allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits with four strikeouts and three walks in 5.1 innings of work, while Watters allowed just one hit with four punchouts in the final 2.2 innings of action. Redshirt sophomore right-hander Noah Short also worked a scoreless inning of relief in the win.
 
The Mountaineers wasted no time taking an early lead in the top of the first inning. Freshman infielder/designated hitter Nathan Blasick put the visitors on top, 2-0, with a two-run homer to right center. The big fly marked his third in the last five games.
 
In the bottom half, though, the Longhorns answered with two, quick runs of their own to tie the game at 2.
 
It stayed that way until the top of the third when senior catcher/outfielder Paul McIntosh gave WVU the lead again with a solo shot to center. The Miami Gardens, Florida, native battled through a 12-pitch at-bat for his team-leading eighth homer of the campaign to make it 3-2.
 
From there, Wolf got out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the third to help maintain the one-run lead. The Gahanna, Ohio, native was able to bag an inning-ending strikeout to halt the threat.
 
Then, the Longhorns tied the game again in the bottom in the fourth with a solo home run. That led to WVU's third long ball of the night in the top of the fifth, when fifth-year senior infielder Kevin Brophy hit an opposite-field, solo shot down the left-field line to give the Mountaineers a 4-3 advantage.
 
Sophomore outfielder Victor Scott helped push the lead to two in the sixth with an RBI double, before being thrown out at third trying to stretch the play into a triple. Still, the Powder Springs, Georgia, native bumped the West Virginia lead to 5-3.
 
Wolf's night came to an end in the bottom of the sixth after a pair of Mountaineer errors brought a Texas run home. With the bases loaded, however, Short got out of the inning by forcing the Longhorns to line into a double play at first.
 
WVU led, 5-4, after six innings.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, UT threatened again, before the Mountaineers were able to register an out at the plate on a wild pitch to protect the one-run edge. From there, Watters shut the door, finishing the Longhorns off in the eighth and ninth to preserve the win. With runners on second and third with two outs in the ninth, the Rocky Gap, Virginia, native ended the game with a big strikeout.
 
"It was encouraging to see Watters pitch like that," Mazey said. "It hasn't been like that lately. So, it was good to see him go out there and go through the middle of their lineup with the game on the line."
 
McIntosh went 2-for-4 with two runs scored in the win, while Blasick finished with two RBI. With the win, WVU improved to 14-8 all-time against Texas, including 7-6 in Austin.
 
Next up, the Mountaineers and Longhorns meet in the middle game of the three-game set on Friday night. First pitch is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.