GRANVILLE, W.Va. — Marques Inman drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth, delivering West Virginia a dramatic 4-3 series-clinching win over No. 15 Texas Tech at Mon County Ballpark on Saturday.
The walk-off walk came after a walk, single and intentional walk loaded the bases for Inman, who took a free pass on four pitches. It was West Virginia’s first win this season in the bottom of the ninth.
The Mountaineers (22-12, 6-5 Big 12) won their third consecutive series over a ranked opponent.
The win came in front of 3,494 fans, the largest home crowd in program history. That passed the previous record of 3,487, set 10 days ago on April 3, in a 5-4 win over Pitt.
Inman and senior third baseman Ivan Gonzalez each had two hits and two RBIs, while Inman added a run scored to go along with his game-winning walk.
The Mountaineers will look to sweep the Red Raiders (22-11, 5-6) on Sunday.
The Mountaineers took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but the Red Raiders rallied with a run in the fourth and two in the top of the fifth. WVU answered right back in the bottom half of the fifth to tie the game at 3-3.
Junior right-hander Sam Kessler (2-2) pitched a perfect ninth inning.
WVU starter Jackson Wolf gave up three runs in 4 1/3 innings.
Texas Tech reliever Taylor Floyd (2-3) struck out six over 3 1/3 innings but issued a leadoff walk to Tevin Tucker in WVU’s final at-bat.