Coming off of a mercy-rule win at home last night, the Mountaineers sought to repeat the cycle today in their second and final game against the James Madison Dukes.
The Dukes sprung into action right out of the gate, as rising sophomore Kyle Langley hit a rocket over the right field fence to tally his 9th home run on the season. This put the Dukes up 1-0 early.
Both defenses were solid throughout the ball game as James Madison held the Mountaineers scoreless in seven out of nine innings of play. WVU scored all three of their runs back-to-back in the third and fourth innings.
In the third, Kyle West singled to first and was advanced to third on a Grant Hussey single. Brodie Kresser followed that up with a sacrifice fly to right field to secure the run, tying the game at one. After being held scoreless, the Dukes would fall apart in the fourth inning, and the Mountaineers capitalized on their mistakes.
The Mountaineers began the fourth with two runners on and nobody out after Sam White walked and Jace Rinehart was hit by a pitch. With two runners on base, After a Skylar King single loaded the bases for WVU, Sam White attempted to steal home, forcing a passed ball that scored a second run for WVU, adding to their lead to make it 3-1 after four innings.
David Haegen tallied four strikeouts on the day for the Mountaineers and helped the team hold on to the 3-1 victory.
After clinching the series sweep against the Dukes with the win, the Mountaineers will now look forward to hosting a three-game series against the Arizona Wildcats at Kendrick Family Ballpark. First pitch takes place at 6:30 pm on Friday, March 21. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.
