Box Score MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 24-ranked West Virginia University baseball team earned a 5-2 win over No. 3 Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon at Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark.
 
The Mountaineers never trailed in the middle game of this weekend's three-game, Big 12 Conference set. The squad used a pair of long balls, as well as aggressive baserunning and strong pitching to even up the series.
 
Sophomore left-handed pitcher Ben Hampton was awarded the win, bumping his record to 6-2 this season, while fifth-year senior right-hander Trey Braithwaite was credited with his fourth save of the year. Oklahoma State's Victor Mederos took the loss.
 
WVU scored a run in the second, two more in the third and one each in the fifth and seventh to secure the victory.
 
"This wasn't much different (from Friday's game) as far as competitiveness," WVU coach Randy Mazey said. "It was two teams fighting for first place – two really good teams. Both teams have a lot of fight in them. We just happened to win the fight today."
 
The Mountaineers (22-11, 6-2 Big 12) opened the scoring in the bottom of the second with sophomore infielder Nathan Blasick's solo home run. An inning later, sophomore catcher McGwire Holbrook added to the lead with a monstrous, two-run shot down the line in left to make it 3-0.
 
OSU (25-10, 8-3 Big 12), however, got a run back in third to close the gap to 3-1. But Hampton limited the damage, getting out of a bases-loaded jam with a comebacker to the mound for the third out.
 
The Cowboys added a run in the fifth to cut the deficit to 3-2. Moments later, Holbrook extended the Mountaineer lead to two again on an RBI groundout, before he drove in his fourth run of the afternoon with a sacrifice fly in the seventh.
 
Hampton logged 5.1 innings, allowing two runs on four hits with five strikeouts. He threw 111 pitches before yielding to redshirt junior right-hander Noah Short, who also was effective. The Scott Depot, West Virginia, native was perfect in 1.2 innings, which led to Braithwaite slamming the door in the eighth and ninth.
 
WVU stole seven bases in the win, including four from junior outfielder Victor Scott II. The Powder Springs, Georgia, native now has 30 swipes on the year, good for the single-season WVU record.
 
Additionally, the Mountaineers have now tallied 115 stolen bases as a team this season, which stands at No. 1 in the program's single-season record book.
 
"This is part of our offense," Mazey said. "It makes it really, really tough to pitch when you play against a team with so much speed. … I love when our guys run."
 
With the win, WVU improved to 5-2 against ranked opponents this spring. The Mountaineer victory also sets up the series' rubber match with the Cowboys on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. ET.
 
Sunday is Kids' Day, which features a Kids Zone, inflatables (weather permitting) and Mr. Twister, the balloon animal artist. Kids also can run the bases and grab autographs from the team after the game and receive trading cards of the 2022 Mountaineers.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.