Listen Now: Morning News

Stunning rally for naught; WVU drops Big 12 final to TCU in 10

West Virginia dug out of an eight-run hole and stood within three outs of winning the Big 12 tournament. Then old nemesis TCU did some rallying of its own.

The No. 11 Horned Frogs squared the game in the ninth and pulled ahead 11-10 in the 10th on freshman Luken Baker’s solo homer, capping a wild championship Sunday in Oklahoma City.

Though West Virginia (36-22) didn’t grab the Big 12’s automatic bid, a stellar week at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark forces the NCAA select committee to ponder whether the Mountaineers warrant an at-large bid. The field will be revealed Monday.

After his team’s 17-4 closing stretch, West Virginia coach Randy Mazey hopes his fourth season at the helm isn’t finished.

“This game was a synopsis of the season, this week,” he said. “We’re down 8-0 in the third inning, and at the halfway point, in the regular season, we were down in the dumps this year and came back.

“We kept grinding and grinding and grinding. We played our rear ends off. I’m super proud.”

TCU (42-15) beat the Mountaineers for the 11th straight meeting and seemed to be cruising up 8-0 in the third. That cushion had vanished by the bottom of the fifth when Jimmy Galusky’s two-run single and Kyle Davis’ two-run double surged the underdogs ahead 10-9.

After a 131-pitch relief appearance by Ross Vance, West Virginia’s BJ Myers stalled a bases-loaded threat with a seventh-inning strikeout. He escaped trouble again in the eighth when second baseman Cole Austin cut down the potential tying run on a controversial play at the plate.

Mountaineers closer Blake Smith (5-2) couldn’t seal up the ninth, however, allowing two singles and Ryan Merrill’s sac-fly to force extra innings.

With one out in the 10th, Smith left a 3-1 pitch over the plate to Baker, who lined his eighth homer of the season—and fourth of the tournament—over the left-field wall.

The Big 12’s top freshman this season, and the 2015 Gatorade high school player of the year, went 15-for-22 in the tournament.

“I sure am glad he came to college, no doubt about it,” said TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle.

The Frogs, vying to host an NCAA regional, scored three runs before starter Michael Grove recorded the first out. He was vanquished after just 17 pitches and by the time Vance coaxed an inning-ending double-play, the lead had swelled to 5-0. That was one run more than West Virginia allowed in its first three tournament wins combined.

Vance yielded two runs in the second and a solo homer to Michael Landestoy in the third before WVU began countering.

Davis, who matched the league tournament record with 14 RBIs, poked an opposite-field double to spark a three-run third that chased TCU starter Rex Hill.

WVU freshman Darius Hill followed with a bases-loaded triple in the fourth that made it 8-6.

After badgering Sean Wymer for four runs in the fifth, the Mountaineers seemed on the verge of snapping their TCU jinx and the school’s 20-year NCAA regional drought.

Instead, Ryan Burnett and closer Durbin Feltman (3-0) held West Virginia to one hit over the final 5 1/3 innings to to keep the Frogs in striking distance.

After striking out against Feltman to end the game, Davis called the loss “devastating” but clung to the hope of West Virginia’s season being extended.

“We’ve really beaten all odds,” he said. “No one expected to be where we are right now. We have the most freshmen of any team in the conference. Given the obstacles that we’ve faced, I’d say we won in our eyes. It was an incredible run and I couldn’t be more proud of my teammates and coaches and hopefully we’re not done.”





More News

News
MetroNews This Morning 3-28-24
Summary of West Virginia news/sports/weather for Thursday, March 28, 2024
March 28, 2024 - 6:25 am
News
PSC approves settlements involving Mon Power, net-metering cases
Rate increase went into effect Tuesday.
March 27, 2024 - 9:42 pm
News
Speakers at Focus Forward symposium discuss AI capabilities in West Virginia
The event was organized by the West Virginia Public Education Collaborative and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.
March 27, 2024 - 8:30 pm
News
Justice vetoes vaccination exemption bill, draws praise from healthcare groups
Educational and healthcare organizations banded together to urge a veto.
March 27, 2024 - 6:35 pm