MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 24 West Virginia University baseball team defeated Cincinnati, 3-2, on Thursday at Kendrick Family Ballpark for its 12^th straight win. The Mountaineers improve to 32-4 overall and 11-3 in the Big 12 while the Bearcats fall 21-16 and 8-8 in conference play.
 
Redshirt senior Griffin Kirn went 5.2 innings on the mound and struck out six while allowing two runs. Sophomore Chase Meyer pitched the final 3.1 innings with five strikeouts and no runs allowed to earn his team-high seventh win of the season.
 
At the plate, senior Jace Rinehart went 2-for-3 with two RBI. Senior Kyle West scored two runs while sophomore Spencer Barnett had a hit and scored a run as well.
 
The Mountaineers took an early lead as West reached on a dropped third strike before stealing second and coming home to score on a two-out single by Rinehart.
 
Cincinnati jumped on top in the third with two runs, but Kirn limited the damage by stranding two runners on base. The Mountaineers evened up the game in the home half when Barnett singled, advanced on a wild pitch and groundout before coming home to score on a passed ball.
 
Kirn followed with consecutive 1-2-3 innings in the fourth and fifth but faced trouble in the sixth. A fielder's choice out at home kept the game tied before Meyer came and struck out Lauden Brooks on three pitches with the bases loaded.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, West worked back from an 0-2 count to draw a two-out walk before Rinehart laced a double down the left-field line. West never stopped running as the left fielder corralled the ball in and slid in safely just ahead of the throw.
 
In the ninth, with a runner on third and two outs, Meyer struck out Tommy O'Connor swinging, but the ball got away, allowing the tying run to score. However, the pitch was ruled to have hit the batter's foot which resulted in a dead ball after the strikeout allowing the Mountaineers to hold on for the victory.
 
The two teams will meet for game two on Friday with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m.
 
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