WVU Baseball's College World Series Setback
The Mountaineers saw their College World Series run tumble on June 14 as North Carolina edged them 5-2, a result that drops West Virginia into the losers' bracket and forces a do-or-die game against Troy on June 16.
North Carolina struck first, loading the bases in the opening inning against starter Maxx Yehl and capitalizing with a walk and a groundout that brought in early runs.
Yehl, who threw seven innings and fanned seven batters on 109 pitches, kept the game close but saw his effort undone in the seventh when untimely errors allowed three unearned runs to cross the plate.
The Mountaineers answered in the third when Ben Lumsden and Armani Guzman each singled, driving in a run that narrowed the deficit, and later in the fourth a pair of baserunners set the stage for a tying score.
Walker McDuffie entered the game and shut down the opposition for 3.2 innings, inducing a double play in the sixth that halted a potential rally.
A pivotal moment arrived in the seventh when Gavin Gallaher launched a two-run triple, flipping the lead and giving WVU a brief advantage.
The lead was short-lived; after a leadoff single in the eighth, Yehl was pulled and Reese Bassinger finished the frame, only to watch the bullpen unravel in the ninth as a walk and a single set up a final strikeout that sealed the loss.
Despite the setback, the Mountaineers still have a chance at redemption. They are scheduled to meet Troy at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16, a rematch they won 7-5 just days earlier, with their season hanging in the balance.