MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In a way, the game was almost an afterthought, and that’s saying something for a Backyard Brawl. West Virginia’s 6-3 win over Pitt on Tuesday night was certainly enjoyable for the record numbers which filed through the gates to watch their team down the Panthers for the 13th time in 15 games, but there was probably more to watch and experience around the game and in the stands than on the field.
It was a party atmosphere from the start, and when WVU (23-13) scored three runs in both the third and fourth innings while weathering multiple Panther threats, the celebrations really ramped up. Amanda Mazey, who took the evening off from broadcast duties to enjoy her husband’s final home game against Pitt, was overcome with emotion, causing her husband to tear up a bit in the postgame, and there was a giant singalong as “Sweet Caroline”, played not once, but twice, over the sound system, with predictable results. Heckling, of course, was prevalent.
Still there was a game to be played, and some items cropped up that will have reverberations down the line. Tyler Switalski, getting the starting assignment after being shelled on Sunday, worked 3 2/3 innings, and while he did allow nine baserunners on six hits and three walks, didn’t allow any of them to cross the plate. He struck out two Pitt runners to end the first and induced a pair of popups to close out the second and third innings, stranding a total of six Pitt baserunners over that span.
“It’s just trusting the process, and getting back out there,” said Switalski. “I watched some film, figured out what went wrong and what I can improve on.”
The Panthers (14-19) didn’t quit, continuing to put runners aboard, but just as often failing to push them home through their first seven at-bats. Pitt stranded six more runners from the fourth through the seventh innings before finally breaking through in the eighth on an RBI single and a two-run homer off the bat of Jayden Melendez to halve the deficit at 6-3.
Pitt then gave WVU fans a nervous twinge in the ninth, bringing the tying run to the on-deck circle, but Carson Estridge got a strikeout to end the game. Middle reliever Hayden Cooper allowed the three runs in the eighth, but before that had kept the Panthers scoreless. Like Switalski, it wasn’t a dominating effort, as he allowed seven hits and a walk, but some good WVU defense helped him earn the win, his first of the season against two losses, while Estridge earned his second save of the year.
Brodie Kresser was 2-2 on the day with a walk and a run scored.
WVU is back in league action on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET to begin a three-game weekend series against Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas. The Red Raiders (26-11, 9-9), had a recent eight-game winning streak snapped with a pair of losses to TCU, and face No. 2 Arkansas in two midweek games before hosting the Mountaineers.
SEAMS AND BARRELS
A record crowd of 4,614 for a WVU home baseball game packed Kendrick Family Ballpark, filling almost all of the seats and the left field berm, as well as every inch of railing space lining the park.
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Pitt outhit WVU 13-7, and the Mountaineers had just one extra-base hit — a double.
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About the only negative on the evening was injury news. JJ Wetherholt, who started in the field at shortstop for the first time since the first week of the season, had to be removed from the game in the third inning after reinjuring the hamstring that has plagued him since the summer.
David Hagaman, who reportedly injured his elbow on Sunday, had an MRI done, and while Mazey said the results are being sent to various physicians, initial reactions from the tests do not appear encouraging.
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In one of the vagaries of the game, Spencer Barnett came on in place of Wetherholt, and then singled, moved to third on a throwing error, and scored on a wild pitch that trickled away from the plate. Wetherholt, limited as he is in running, would have been very unlikely to score on those plays.
West Virginia outfielder Aaron Jamison, a Morgantown native and thus no stranger to the Backyard Brawl, shares the importance of both enjoying the atmosphere and staying focused on the game
by Kevin Kinder
BlueGoldNews.com
West Virginia pitcher Tyler Switalski discussed the process of studying previous outings and finding the minor, but key, differences to help improve his outcomes
by Kevin Kinder
BlueGoldNews.com
West Virginia head coach Randy Mazey teared up when he spotted his wife while discussing the record crowd that witnessed a win in his final home Backyard Brawl
by Kevin Kinder
BlueGoldNews.com
by Kevin Kinder
BlueGoldNews.com
by Kevin Kinder
BlueGoldNews.com
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