Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team claimed the first Big 12 series of the season against BYU by splitting a doubleheader with the Cougars on Friday at Kendrick Family Ballpark. BYU won game one, 4-1, before the Mountaineers came back to take game two, 2-0.
 
The Mountaineers go to 9-7 overall and 2-1 in the Big 12 while the Cougars are now 7-7 and 1-2 in conference play.
 
Senior Derek Clark made his WVU debut on the mound in game two and threw 5.0 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts while allowing just one hit. Sophomore Robby Porco also made his season debut with 0.2 scoreless innings before sophomore Gavin Van Kempen struck out four in 2.0 innings. Graduate student Hambleton Oliver finished the game with 1.1 innings, striking out three and earning the save.
 
Freshman Michael Perazza went 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI. Sophomores Sam White and Benjamin Lumsden each had two hits as well.
 
Perazza gave WVU the lead in the second with an RBI single while the only other run of the game came on a sacrifice fly from junior Grant Hussey in the eighth inning.
 
Clark started off strong as he struck out the side in the first inning and faced just one over the minimum through his five innings of work.
 
Against the WVU bullpen, the Cougars had multiple runners on in each of the last three innings, but Van Kempen and Oliver escaped unscathed each time.
 
In game one, freshman Spencer Barnett went 2-for-3 and hit his first career home run, but that was all the Mountaineer offense could muster in the game.
 
Redshirt-sophomore David Hagaman struck out eight in 5.0 innings. Sophomore Carson Estridge tallied six strikeouts in 3.0 innings before redshirt-sophomore Tommy Beam had a strikeout in an inning of work.
 
West Virginia will back in action on Tuesday in Charleston at GoMart Ballpark to take on Marshall. First pitch against the Thundering Herd is set for 6 p.m.
 
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