West Virginia defeated Cincinnati 5-4 on Friday, taking the series opener and winning their fourth Big 12 game in a row.
Sam White went 3-for-4 for WVU, hitting two solo home runs. Kyle West also drove in two runs when he hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth.
Hayden Cooper got the start for West Virginia, he pitched 3.2 innings allowing one run on four hits and three walks, while striking out five batters. Carson Estridge closed out the game for the Mountaineers pitching 1.1 innings, allowing just a walk.
West Virginia would get on the board first when White hit a solo home run in the top of the second inning. Skylar King hit a solo shot of his own in the top of the third to extend the Mountaineers lead 2-0.
Cincinnati would get a run back in the bottom of the third as Josh Kross drove in his team-leading 55th RBI with a double. The Bearcats took the lead in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run home run off the bat of Hunter Jesse.
WVU took the lead right back in the top of the sixth with two home runs in the inning. First, West hit his 12th home run of the season, which now leads WVU, with a runner on base and White hitting his second solo homer of the game.
Cincinnati cut the deficit to one in the bottom of the seventh with two outs on an RBI single. With the rain starting to come down, West Virginia successfully closed out the game, winning 5-4.
The Mountaineers improve 28-16 this season including a 15-7 record in Big 12 play. While Cincinnati falls to 25-21, now sitting with a .500 record in conference play at 11-11.
First pitch for game two will be at 3 p.m. EST on Saturday, with the game being streamed ESPN+.
