The West Virginia baseball team defeated TCU 6-5 on Saturday in their last regular season game of the season and clinched a series win over the Horned Frogs after dropping the series opener on Thursday, but also defeating them Friday.
Tyler Switalski got the starting nod for the Mountaineers and had his best outing of the season. He pitched five scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks, while picking up two strikeouts.
WVU led 2-1 heading into the eighth, but a sacrifice fly, followed by a three-run home run by Reed Chumley, which busted the game open as they took a commanding 6-1 lead. The Mountaineers picked up just four hits in total, with Chumley accountable for half of those and four of their runs.
TCU picked up nine hits in total, but were unable to score efficiently, leaving 13 men left on base. They scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth, fighting till the very end, but were unable to come up with the win.
West Virginia got out to a lead early in the top of the first after a two-out rally. Sam White was hit by a pitch and scored from first on a double by Chumley, then Grant Hussey also hit a double to score Chumley, putting the Mountaineers up 2-0.
It wasn’t until the bottom of the sixth inning that either team would score again, with TCU getting their first run of the ballgame. After Switalski’s five scoreless innings, Maxx Yehl made a throwing error against the first batter he faced, with the runner advancing to second. The runner would also advance to third on a wild pitch before scoring on an RBI groundout.
The Horned Frogs had the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but they could not push any runs across to score. After Yehl’s day was done in relief, Carson Estridge came in and got WVU out of the jam.
West Virginia added an insurance run in the top of the eighth via a sacrifice fly to return to a two-run lead, 3-1. Just after, however, Chumley gave the Mountaineers a more comfortable lead, hitting a three-run homer making the game 6-1.
TCU loaded the bases again, but this time with no outs in the bottom of the eighth. They scored a run on a SAC Fly, but further damage would be avoided as WVU led 6-2 heading into the ninth.
The Horned Frogs made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth, after scoring two runs on an RBI double by Chase Brunson. They scored another run on an RBI single, with what would’ve been the tying run cut down at the plate. WVU used four pitchers in the inning and eventually came away with the 6-5 win.
TCU dropped to 31-19 overall with a 14-16 record in Big 12 play. They currently sit in 10th place in the conference, taking the last seed in the Big 12 tournament.
The Mountaineers end the regular season with a 33-20 record, including a 19-11 record in conference play. They have sole possession of fourth place in the Big 12 and will await to see who they will be playing in the first round of Big 12 tournament.
