Shanna Rose I WV Sports Chat
TUCSON, Ariz. – No. 13 West Virginia answered an early deficit to take down Arizona, 7-4, Tuesday night at Hi Corbett Field.
Matt Ineich and Armani Guzman each finished with a pair of hits for the Mountaineers (20-5).
WVU had five stolen bases for the fifth time this season.
Carson Estridge (2-0) picked up the win for the Mountaineers, pitching 2 1/3 innings and allowing just one run on four hits while striking out five. Reese Bassinger earned his first save of the season, tossing 3 2/3 frames and giving up one run on two hits.
Evan Brandt suffered the loss for the Wildcats (9-19). He gave up five runs on one hit while walking four in one inning of work.
Arizona jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second when Carson McEntire homered to left field.
WVU didn’t trail for long, tying the game at 2-2 in the third after Ineich scored on a wild pitch and Paul Schoenfeld crossed the plate on an error.
With the bases loaded in the fourth, Matthew Graveline scored on a wild pitch to give the Mountaineers a 3-2 lead. Schoenfeld was then hit by a pitch, forcing in Guzman to extend the lead. Sean Smith followed with a groundout that plated Tyrus Hall.
Ineich’s seeing-eye single pushed the lead to 7-2 in the fifth.
The Wildcats added runs in the sixth and in the eighth but never brought the tying run to the plate.
WVU returns home on Friday against No. 23 UCF in a matchup between the top two teams in the conference. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. ET.
