PITTSBURGH – Chase Illig knocked in two runs and three West Virginia pitchers escaped numerous jams during a 4-2 win over Penn State on Wednesday night at PNC Park.
Before a crowd of 2,474 fans, the Mountaineers (28-20) earned a split in the two-game series that began with Tuesday’s 6-5 loss in Morgantown.
Penn State fell to 15-33 overall and 1-17 against teams in the RPI top 100.
After Sam Kessler scattered five hits and a walk while allowing one run over five innings, West Virginia reliever Cody Wood (2-0) covered the next 3 1/3 innings. He also allowed five hits while holding the Nittany Lions to one run, before Braden Zarbnisky got the final five outs for his fourth save.
Illig’s RBI single made it 1-0 in the second inning before Zarbnisky’s grounder scored a second run an inning later against Nittany Lions starter Myles Gayman (0-3).
West Virginia went up 3-0 in the fourth on Jackson Cramer’s lead-off walk and Illig’s double to right-center.
Cole Austin’s sac-fly made it 4-1 in the fifth.
Zarbnisky short-circuited a bases-loaded threat in the eighth, part of 10 runners Penn State stranded.