For the second straight Friday night, West Virginia used the same formula. Get a strong start Ben Hampton, turn it over to Carlson Reed, and let him take it home.
It worked for West Virginia last Friday on the road against No. 18 Oklahoma State, and it worked again tonight against TCU in West Virginia’s 5-4 win.
“Carlson’s been our guy. He’s been our guy the whole season,” West Virginia head coach Randy Mazey said.
Reed stared down Austin Davis with two outs and up one run in the ninth inning. Davis — who was a Mountaineer this time last year — grounded out to Tevin Tucker, finishing off West Virginia’s win.
“He is starting to really enjoy that moment. And that’s something that’s pretty hard to teach when the game’s on the line and one of your old buddies is at the plate.”
“I thought it was going to be me versus him, just see what happens,” Reed said of the final out against Davis. “We knew he was going to be over there but it’s just the game of baseball. Of course he might now some of our pitchers, but we’re still going to attack him with the stuff we have.”
Reed entered the game with one out in the seventh inning and runners on first and second. Eight outs away from a victory, West Virginia head coach Randy Mazey turned to Reed. Reed’s first out was a pickoff of the runner on second for the second out. Davis would double down the right field line off Reed, but he would finish the inning with West Virginia’s lead still intact.
“They love to run and we know they love to run and we take a lot of pride in our pickoff game,” Mazey said. “Somebody’s going to have to lose that battle of the stolen bases versus the pickoffs. And that was a huge one to come in and get an out without throwing a pitch is pretty impressive.”
That lead was built solely by the long ball.
In the first inning, Landon Wallace hit a 440-foot home run to left field, giving the Mountaineers a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
“I was thinking the only thing he could throw me here is a fastball to be competitive and he did. And I hit it,” Wallace said. “I would have to say that one was very memorable to me and I’m very happy about it.”
Freshman Sam White would match Wallace’s power in the fourth inning, connecting on a three-run home run. Wallace plated Grant Hussey — who reached on a bunt away from the shift — and Logan Suave — who walked — putting West Virginia in front 5-1 at the time.
“I was just trying to stay on the fastball and if he spins something up go for it,” White said of his approach.
TCU would battle back off of Hampton partially due to miscues defensively by West Virginia on defense.
With two outs in the sixth inning, TCU was threatening with runners on first and second. Hampton seemed to have done his job and get out of the inning, but a pop fly from Kurtis Byrne landed in between Grant Hussey, Caleb McNeely, and Ellis Garcia in shallow right field before skipping over the right field fence to plate two and cut the WVU lead to 5-3.
Hampton would get out of a bases loaded jam to end the sixth, closing the door on consecutive outings where he pitched six innings and allowed three or less runs. Hampton finished his six innings allowing three runs on five hits while striking out four.
“He was really good. He’s been in attack mode the last couple times out,” Mazey said. “He beat a really good team tonight, he beat a really good team in Stillwater last week. That’s what Ben’s supposed to do as the Friday night game and I think we made a mental adjustment with him before we went to Stillwater and he dang sure took it to heart and he’s using it to his advantage.”
Reed would close the door on TCU, finishing the final 2.2 innings, allowing two hits, no runs, while striking out four.
West Virginia will now have two opportunities at home to clinch their second Big 12 series in as many weeks.
“That was unbelievable,” Mazey said. I’ve been telling people for years, don’t just come for entertainment purposes, come to help the Mountaineers win and they dang sure did.”
