MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After a tough, 16-inning loss on Friday, the West Virginia University baseball team bounced back on Saturday with a convincing 11-3 win over Arizona at Kendrick Family Ballpark. The Mountaineers improve to 19-2 and 2-1 in the Big 12 while the Wildcats fall to 17-5 and 4-1 in conference play.
 
Junior Sam White went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and five RBI while senior Brodie Kresser drove in two runs and scored two runs. Senior Kyle West, senior Jace Rinehart, and junior Skylar King each had two hits and an RBI.
 
Kresser, King, and Rinehart all contributed in the field as well, making a trio of stellar catches throughout the game.
 
Senior Reese Bassinger earned the win on the mound with 5.1 scoreless innings of relief, striking out eight and allowing just one hit. He retired the final 11 Wildcats to come to the plate.
 
Arizona took an early lead with runs in the first and second inning before White evened up the game with a two-run double in the third.
 
After the Wildcats hit a home run in the fourth to retake the lead, West Virginia answered in the home half with seven runs to take control of the contest.
 
Rinehart led off the inning with his team-leading fourth home run of the game before Kresser gave WVU the lead with a two-run single. White broke it open with a three-run double and came home to score himself on a double by West.
 
The Mountaineers added two more runs in the seventh on a King double and single from senior Grant Hussey.
 
West Virginia will look for the series win on Sunday when the two teams meet in the rubber game at 12 p.m.
 
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