Box Score MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A six-run sixth inning flipped the game in favor of West Virginia as the Mountaineers defeated TCU, 7-4, Saturday afternoon at Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark. WVU improves to 28-11 and 7-4 in the Big 12 while the Horned Frogs fall to 22-17 and 7-7 in conference play.
 
With the win and a loss by Texas, the Mountaineers now sit in first place in the Big 12 standings.
 
Freshman Ellis Garcia had the biggest hit of the day, a three-run home run in the sixth to put the Mountaineers out in front. Junior Landon Wallace collected three hits and two RBI while graduate student Tevin Tucker continued his hot hitting with two hits and two runs scored.
 
TCU took a 2-0 lead early with runs in the first and second inning. The Mountaineers got one run back in the fourth on a run-scoring double play, but the Horned Frogs answered in the fifth with two runs to extend their lead.
 
In the sixth, TCU looked to extend its lead, loading the bases with just one out, but freshman Maxx Yehl struck out Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year Braydon Taylor before sophomore Grant Siegel got his one batter of the game to ground out and end the threat.
 
Keeping the game close paid off right away as the Mountaineers entered the home half of the sixth down three and left it up three, scoring six runs on four hits, a walk, a hit-by-pitch, and an error.
 
Freshman Sam White got the scoring started with a run-scoring triple before Wallace tied the game with a two-run single. After a single by graduate student Dayne Leonard, Garcia came up and attempted to bunt on the first two pitches but could not get it down. After working the count back to 2-2, he uncorked on one, blasting a three-run home run down the left-field line.
 
Now with the lead, head coach Randy Mazey turned to sophomore Aidan Major for the final three innings. He worked in and out of a jam in the seventh before striking out two in the eighth and finishing the game with a 1-2-3 ninth, ending the game with his fourth strikeout.
 
The Mountaineers will go for the series sweep tomorrow afternoon with first pitch set for 1 p.m. It will be a Gold Rush game with fans encouraged to wear gold.
 
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