Shanna Rose | WV Sports Chat
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia didn’t take long to assert its dominance on Thursday night and did just enough down the stretch to make sure it stuck, holding off BYU for a 7-4 win in the series opener at Kendrick Family Ballpark.
The Mountaineers (14-4, 3-1 Big 12) settled in early and rode a big second inning to set the tone. Matthew Graveline got things going with an RBI double, Tyrus Hall followed with an RBI single, and WVU tacked on two more runs thanks to a wild pitch and a Paul Schoenfeld RBI knock to open up a 4-0 lead.
After that, it was all Dawson Montesa
The right-hander turned in one of his best outings of the season, going seven innings without issuing a walk while striking out seven and allowing just three hits. The Cougars’ only managed to get anything going on a pair of solo home runs, but Montesa was in command and kept BYU (10-10, 2-2) from putting anything together.
In the sixth inning, Mountaineers took control of the game with two runs scored on a Matt Ineich single followed by Gavin Kelly’s 417-foot home run (his third of the season) to extend their lead to 7-1. The home runs accounted for all four of BYU’s runs — including a solo shot in the seventh — and they brought the score to 7-4 after hitting a two-run shot in the ninth.
The Cougars didn’t go away quietly.
BYU scored all four of their runs on home runs, including another solo shot in the seventh before making things tense in the ninth with a two-run homer to cut it to 7-4.
“We made it interesting,” WVU head coach Steve Sabins noted.
After Bryant Yoak gave up the ninth-inning homer, freshman David Perez came on and slammed the door, striking out the final two batters to earn his third save of the season.
At the plate, Ineich, Schoenfeld, and Hall combined for six hits, helping Mountaineers accumulate nine total hits, while drawing eight walks, forcing BYU through five pitchers.
The defense came up with a couple of big plays, too. Brock Wills made two grabs at the wall in left, including one where he crashed into the fence and held on and Schoenfeld took away a home run with a leaping catch in center in the seventh.
WVU will look to keep it rolling Friday at 2 p.m. in Morgantown.
Photo Credit: WVU Athletics
