CLEMSON, S.C. – The West Virginia University baseball team advanced to its second consecutive regional final with a 9-6 victory over No. 11 Clemson, Saturday evening at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Mountaineers improve to 43-14 while the Tigers fall to 45-17.
Junior Sam White had the go-ahead double in the ninth inning before the Mountaineers tacked on three more runs. The Tigers had the go-ahead run at the plate in the bottom of the inning, but junior Ben McDougal struck out his only batter with the bases loaded to secure the victory.
White finished the night with three hits and two RBI while senior Brodie Kresser went 4-for-5 with two runs scored. Sophomore Armani Guzman had two hits and two RBI as well.
On the mound, graduate student Jack Kartsonas got the start and went 5.1 innings with seven strikeouts while allowing two runs on three hits. Sophomore Chase Meyer struck out three in 2.1 innings to earn the win while McDougal picked up his second save.
The Mountaineers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first on a groundout from senior Kyle West, a double by senior Jace Rinehart, and a single from White. Junior Logan Sauve extended the WVU lead with a single in the fifth.
Clemson tied up the game in the sixth with four runs and took the lead in the seventh. The Tigers threatened for more in the seventh, but Meyer induced a double play with the bases loaded to escape without further damage.
In the eighth, Kresser singled with two outs before Guzman sent a double to the left-center field gap off Clemson’s All-ACC closer Lucas Mahlstedt to bring Kresser home and tie the game.
In the ninth, the Mountaineers had another two-out rally as senior Grant Hussey worked a walk. Freshman Jorge Valdes came in to pinch run which proved vital as he raced home on White’s go-ahead double. Junior Ben Lumsden tacked on a run with a single before back-to-back bases-loaded hit-by-pitches to Guzman and junior Skylar King pushed the lead up to four.
The Tigers had their own two-out rally in the bottom of the ninth as a single, two walks, and a hit-by-pitch forced in a run and brought the go-ahead run to the plate. McDougal came out of the pen with a 2-0 count on the batter but battled back to strike out Jack Crighton.
West Virginia awaits the winner of the Clemson/Kentucky game tomorrow in the regional final at 6 p.m. The game will air on ESPN+ and potentially an additional network still to be determined.
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