MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – In front of a record 4,629 fans at Kendrick Family Ballpark, the West Virginia University baseball team defeated Pitt, 11-1, in eight innings Wednesday evening. The Mountaineers improve to 24-4 while the Panthers fall to 16-12.
 
West Virginia has now won eight straight editions of the Backyard Brawl, dating back to 2022.
 
Freshman Gavin Kelly went 3-for-4 with three RBI in Wednesday's game. Junor Logan Sauve and sophomore Armani Guzman each had two RBI while seniors Jace Rinehart, Brodie Kresser, and Grant Hussey all scored two runs.
 
On the mound, freshman Benjamin Hudson earned the win by going 5.0 innings while allowing just one run and striking out four. Hudson and starting pitcher freshman David Hagen combined to induce three bases-loaded double plays in three consecutive innings to keep the Panthers to just one run on the night.
 
After a scoreless first inning, the Mountaineers took the lead with five runs in the second. Kelly began the inning with an RBI single before back-to-back bases loaded walks to Guzman and junior Skylar King forced in two more. Sauve capped the inning with a two-run single.
 
Pitt looked to answer in the third, loading the bases with no outs before Hudson entered the game and got a strikeout and double play to escape without any damage. The Panthers got on the board in the fourth, but Hudson evaded further harm by starting a 1-2-3 double play to end the frame.
 
In the home half of the fourth, Rinehart drove in a run with a ground-rule double before Kelly knocked two more runs to expand the lead to seven.
 
Redshirt junior Chase Swain knocked in a run in the fifth, Guzman had an RBI single and the seventh, and Hussey hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth to end the game via run rule.
 
Freshman Bryant Yoak also had a strong outing on the mound, striking out three in his one inning of work.
 
The Mountaineers remain home for a weekend series with Utah. First pitch against the Utes on Friday is set for 6:30 p.m.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.