WVU baseball claims series vs Cincinnati in historic night at Kendrick Family Ballpark

West Virginia baseball continued its historic season and 13-game winning streak tonight in a 6-4 win over Cincinnati. The victory moves the Mountaineers to 33-4 (12-3 in the Big 12) on the season.

It was also a historic night for Kendrick Family Ballpark. The 4,289 fans were the 5th most ever since it was built ten years ago. These fans played a huge role in this game, helping the Mountaineers close it out in the ninth inning.

The scoring began in the bottom of the first inning when a Jace Rinehart single drove in Kyle West to give West Virginia a 1-0 lead.

Great pitching by both Gavin Van Kempen and Kellen O’Connor kept the scoring very low in the beginning of the game. Van Kempen finished with four innings pitched and one run allowed for the Mountaineers, while O’Connor finished with 5.1 innings pitched and only nine hits allowed for the Bearcats.

The one run given up by Van Kempen came in the top of the fourth inning when Jack Natali squeaked a solo home run over the wall to tie the game at one.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, with runners on second and third, Chase Swain popped a fly ball into shallow left field. The throw from the Bearcats to the tagging runner was in time, but the ball fell out of the glove, giving the Mountaineers a 2-1 lead.

West Virginia added to their lead in the fifth inning with a two-out solo home run by Logan Sauve. Then in the sixth, Jace Rinehart continued his great year with a solo home run, making the lead 4-1 WVU. The hard-hitting right-hander is leading the team with six home runs on the season while batting in 36 RBIs.

The Mountaineers continued to build upon their lead later in that sixth inning. After a pitching change by the Bearcats, Grant Hussey took the first pitch and launched his 43rd career home run into right field, improving the lead to 6-1.

Cincinnati was able to get some of the scoring back in the ninth inning behind a triple by Landyn Vidourek, but West Virginia held on for the 6-4 victory.

WVU will look to sweep the series against the Bearcats on Saturday, with the first pitch scheduled for 2:00 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.