Top of the Order Leads the Way in Series-Clinching Win

Saturday, April 9

Morgantown, W.Va.

1:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

19-10, 4-1

Baylor

16-14, 2-6

Baylor

West Virginia

April 09, 2022 04:37 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score Season Stats Randy Mazey Postgame Photo Gallery

By: Joe Mitchin

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team collected its fourth consecutive win with an 8-4 victory over Baylor on Saturday afternoon at Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark.

WVU (19-10, 4-1 Big 12) took an early lead and used back-to-back, three-run frames in the sixth and seventh to help top the Bears for the second time in as many days. The Mountaineers finished with nine hits in the series-clinching win.

Sophomore left-handed pitcher Ben Hampton earned the win, bumping his record to 5-2 on the year, while senior right-hander Zach Ottinger was credited with his first save. Baylor's Kobe Andrade took the loss.

"To win any series in this league at any time is really hard to do," WVU coach Randy Mazey said. "To do it on the first two weekends is really good, but the game (on Sunday) is going to show up later in the year. One more win this weekend would really go a long way for us."

After the Bears (16-14, 2-6 Big 12) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, the Mountaineers answered with two runs in the bottom half. The first three WVU hitters reached, including junior outfielder Victor Scott II's RBI single to right center. From there, West Virginia took the lead after sophomore catcher McGwire Holbrook hit a sacrifice fly.

Then, Hampton settled in nicely, retiring 11 BU batters in a row at one point. However, a solo homer in the top of the sixth evened the game at 2.

However, WVU answered right back with a three-run bottom of the sixth. First, Scott II collected his second, big hit of the day, a two-run double, to make it 4-2. Sophomore outfielder Braden Barry followed it up with an RBI sacrifice bunt to push the lead to three.

Three more Mountaineer runs followed in the seventh, as Scott II hit a sacrifice fly to plate another run, before Holbrook laced a two-run single to right field to push the lead to 8-2.

Scott II finished 2-for-4 with four RBI in the win, while Holbrook drove in three. In all, the top four hitters in the West Virginia lineup, which also comprised of senior outfielder Austin Davis and freshman infielder JJ Wetherholt, combined to record eight hits, seven RBI and seven runs scored on Saturday.

Hampton, meanwhile, logged five strikeouts in 7.2 innings of work. He allowed two runs on six hits on 96 pitches, recording his sixth consecutive quality start.

"Ben has been unbelievable," Mazey said of Hampton. "We play defense on the days Ben pitches because of the way he pitches. He's quick, so the infielders and outfielders stay locked in, and he throws a lot of strikes, so you have to play defense for him. The pitching and defense were phenomenal today."

Baylor added a pair of runs in the top of the ninth to cut the deficit to 8-4, but Ottinger entered to get the final out of the game on just three pitches. With the win, West Virginia improved to 9-1 at home this season. Additionally, Saturday's game marked Mazey's 500th as the head coach of the Mountaineers.

Prior to Saturday's game, the Mountaineers honored Rick and Jay Wagener with a field dedication ceremony. Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark took on the couple's namesake on Aug. 30, 2021, after a major gift donation to the program.

Next up, WVU and Baylor cap the three-game series with the finale on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. ET.

Sunday is Kids' Day, which features a Kids Zone, inflatables (weather pending) and Mr. Twister, the balloon animal artist. Kids also can run the bases and grab autographs from the team after the game and receive the first two sets of trading cards of the 2022 Mountaineers.

For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.