It is championship Saturday in Austin, Texas, between No. 6 West Virginia and Texas. The Mountaineers will look to claim the Big 12 title outright, while with a win, the Longhorns claim a share of the Big 12 regular season title and clinch the No. 1 overall seed in the Big 12 Tournament.
First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m. EST, and the game will be televised on Longhorn Network.
West Virginia is going with their proverbial ace in Saturday’s game, as they are giving the ball to Ben Hampton after he sat out Thursday’s game one start. They also made a switch, putting Sam White at third base in place of Ellis Garcia. Texas is going with Tanner Witt on the mound, and also made a switch in their lineup, changing their designated hitter.
West Virginia Lineup
Tevin Tucker — SS
JJ Wetherholt — 2B
Landon Wallace — LF
Braden Barry — CF
Dayne Leonard — C
Grant Hussey — 1B
Caleb McNeely — RF
Sam White — 3B
Logan Suave — DH
SP: Ben Hampton
Texas Lineup
Jared Thomas — 1B
Peyton Powell — 3B
Dylan Campbell — RF
Garrett Guillemette — C
Porter Brown — LF
Eric Kennedy — CF
Jalin Flores — SS
Jack O’Dowd — 2B
Jayden Duplantier — DH
SP: Tanner Witt
First Inning
WVU: It only takes six pitches for the Mountaineers to be retired in order. Tucker strikes out looking to start the game, before Wetherholt and Wallace ground out to end the top half of the first.
Texas: The top three hitters in Texas’ lineup all hit safely for the third game in a row. This includes a Campbell RBI double. Guillmette then scores Powell on a sacrifice-fly. After walking back-to-back hitters, Hampton is pulled for the Mountaineers. Bases loaded and in comes Aidan Major. The first batter Major faces is O’Dowd and he rips a two-run single to left-center field.
End 1: Texas 4, WVU 0
Second Inning
WVU: It has taken Witt only 23 pitches to record six outs as Texas has full command of this game early. Caleb McNeely has struck out for his fifth time this weekend.
Texas: A hustle double from Thomas, before a single from Powell and Texas adds another run.
End 2: Texas 5, WVU 0
Third Inning
WVU: The Mountaineers had runners on first and second with the middle of the order up but Wetherholt flew out and Wallace struck out looking.
Texas: Flores finds success off of Major (again), hitting a solo home run to left to start the inning. Flores is 2-for-2 with three RBI so far today.
End 3: Texas 6, WVU 0
Fourth Inning
WVU: Braden Barry gets West Virginia on the board with a solo home run to left field, his eighth of the year. That’s all WVU gets though as Leonard lines out, Hussey flies out, and McNeely grounds out.
Texas: Texas gets a runner in scoring position, but he does not score. First clean inning for WVU pitching.
End 4: Texas 6, WVU 1
Fifth Inning
WVU: The Mountaineers get Tucker to reach on a walk, but Wetherholt flies out to end the inning. The sophomore is now 2-for-12 on the weekend.
Texas: The Longhorns go in order after there were two great plays made by Barry and Wetherholt.
End 5: Texas 6, WVU 1
Sixth Inning
WVU: West Virginia gets Wallace on with a leadoff walk, but then Barry, Leonard, and Hussey all strike out.
Texas: David Hagaman has been really good over the last three innings, allowing his first hit in the sixth. Texas gets a two-out triple, but Hagaman strands him.
End 6: Texas 6, WVU 1
Seventh Inning
WVU: White hits a two-run homer for WVU. Tucker gets hit by a pitch, and then Wetherholt grounds into a double play on the first pitch he sees.
Texas: West Virginia brings in Carlson Reed to keep the game where it’s at and he does his job, working around a leadoff walk, before retiring the rest in order.
End 7: Texas 6, WVU 3
Eighth Inning
WVU: Wallace works a walk and gets to third, but the Mountaineers don’t get any runs across.
Texas: Texas adds one more run in the eighth, as Guillemette gets in on the action with an RBI single.
End 8, Texas 7, WVU 3
