West Virginia hoped the start of the Lexington Regional would change late season struggles that cost the Mountaineers an outright Big 12 Conference championship and an opportunity at hosting.
Instead, one game into the postseason, West Virginia is on the brink of elimination after the Mountaineers struggled defensively and failed to get a hit with runners in scoring position over 11 attempts in what amounted to a 12-6 loss to Indiana at Kentucky Proud Park.
West Virginia will attempt to prolong its season at noon Saturday against Ball State, which suffered a 4-0 loss earlier Friday to host Kentucky. A loss would leave the Mountaineers with a seven-game skid to end the season.
The Mountaineers (39-19) had separate early one-run leads, scoring first and overcoming a 3-1 deficit for their second.
The contest turned in Indiana’s favor in the fifth when the Hoosiers (42-18) turned that 4-3 deficit into a two-run lead, allowing IU to play from in front the rest of the way.
After consecutive singles to start the fifth, WVU starting pitcher Blaine Traxel committed a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt, bringing the tying run in and setting up Devin Taylor’s sacrifice fly that followed to give the Hoosiers a 5-4 advantage.
Later in the inning, the Mountaineers continued to hurt their own cause when Bobby Whalen, who had reached on the error after getting a bunt down, scored on a wild pitch.
WVU put two on with one out in the home half of that inning, but Grant Hussey bounced into an inning-ending double to play to shortstop.
Logan Sauve’s run-scoring double in the sixth brought the Mountaineers to within 6-5, and after the Hoosiers regained their two-run lead on Hunter Jessee’s sacrifice fly, WVU again got back to within a run in the eighth. That came after Ellis Garcia worked a walk and advanced to third on Dayne Leonard’s double, before scoring on a Sauve groundout to short.
Tevin Tucker struck out to end that inning and Indiana put to rest any thought of a Mountaineers’ rally by producing a five spot of its own in the ninth.
Reliever David Hagaman issued consecutive base-on-balls with one out and after being replaced by Carlson Reed, who recorded the second out, Brock Tibbitts was credited with a two-run triple to right on an 0-2 pitch. Carter Mathison followed with a run-scoring single and Josh Pyne delivered the final knockout blow with a two-run home run that marked the end of Reed’s outing.
A first-inning home run from Landon Wallace gave West Virginia the early lead, though Phillip Glosser’s two-run single, combined with Whalen scoring on a wild pitch, put the Hoosiers in front, 3-1.
Wallace worked a bases loaded walk and a Caleb McNeely sacrifice fly allowed WVU to tie it at 3 in the third.
The Mountaineers nearly squandered a leadoff triple from Braden Barry in the fourth, but he scored on a double steal with two outs.
Leonard was 3-for-4 and scored twice. He was WVU’s only player with more than one hit.
Traxel fell to 7-6 after allowing six runs, only three of which were earned, over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out six and allowed five hits with three walks.
After IU starting pitcher Luke Sinnard left in the third with an apparent injury, the Hoosiers turned to Brayden Riserdorph, who recorded the win. He logged 3 2/3 innings and allowed three runs on four hits with three walks and a pair of strikeouts.
Ty Bothwell was stellar in recording the save, holding WVU to one run on two hits over 3 1/3 innings. Bothwell struck out five of the 13 batters he faced.
Glasser, Whalen and Mathison each had two hits.