No. 9 West Virginia baseball scored three runs in the eighth inning Saturday afternoon, rallying past TCU for a 6-4 victory at Kendrick Family Ballpark to close the regular season with another Big 12 series win.
The Mountaineers improved to 37-13 overall and 21-9 in Big 12 play while locking up the No. 2 seed in next week’s Big 12 Tournament in Surprise, Arizona. TCU fell to 33-20 and 17-13 in conference play.
West Virginia erased an early three-run deficit before capitalizing on wildness from TCU closer Tanner Sagouspe in a rain-soaked eighth inning.
Trailing 4-3 entering the bottom of the eighth, Brodie Kresser worked a leadoff walk before Brock Wills followed with an infield single. After Tyrus Hall dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position, Sagouspe uncorked consecutive wild pitches that allowed Kresser and Wills to score and give the Mountaineers a 5-4 lead.
Sean Smith added an insurance run moments later with an RBI single to right field that plated Matt Ineich and stretched the advantage to 6-4.
Graduate student Reese Bassinger slammed the door in relief, tossing 3.2 scoreless innings while allowing just two hits to earn the victory. Bassinger worked around a one-out walk in the ninth before inducing a flyout and groundout to end the game and secure the series victory for the Mountaineers.
TCU jumped on West Virginia starter Chansen Cole early as Nolan Traeger drove home the game’s first run with an RBI double in the first inning before Kyuss Gargett blasted a two-run homer in the third to push the Horned Frogs ahead 3-0.
The Mountaineers answered immediately in the bottom of the third. Ineich doubled down the right-field line before Gavin Kelly ripped an RBI triple off the wall in center. Paul Schoenfeld followed with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Hall tied the game an inning later with a leadoff solo homer to left field — his fifth home run of the season.
TCU briefly reclaimed the lead in the sixth on Noah Franco’s RBI single, but Bassinger entered in relief and kept the Horned Frogs off the scoreboard the rest of the way.
The top of West Virginia’s lineup powered the offense throughout the afternoon. Ineich, Kelly and Schoenfeld combined for seven hits, including three from Ineich. Kresser reached base four times with a hit and three walks while Hall homered and drove in a run.
West Virginia will now await its opponent for the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals. The Mountaineers will open postseason play Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona.
Box score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TCU | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| WVU | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | X | 6 | 12 | 0 |
WP: Reese Bassinger (3-2)
LP: Tanner Sagouspe (3-3)
Leaders
TCU: Gargett 1-4, HR, 2 RBI; Cramer 2-4; Griffin 2-5.
West Virginia: Ineich 3-4, 2 R; Kelly 2-4, 3B, RBI; Schoenfeld 2-5, RBI.