GRANVILLE, W.Va. — West Virginia played with fire often early in Wednesday’s Backyard Brawl.
The Mountaineers extinguished the Panthers on several occasions, took control with a five-run second inning and claimed an 11-1 victory in eight frames Wednesday before a single-game record crowd of 4,629 at Wagener Field at Kendrick Family Ballpark.
“I get chills in those moments with those crowds, because 10 years ago, that was not the case in this program,” WVU head coach Steve Sabins said.
With the matchup scoreless in the second inning, the Panthers (16-12) loaded the bases with one out, but Jake Kendro lined into a double play started by second baseman Gavin Kelly.
When the Mountaineers (24-4) came to bat that inning, Kelly capitalized on an error that had allowed Jace Rinehart to reach and drove him in with a sharp single to center for the game’s first run.
Pitt starting pitcher Antonio Doganiero would record only one more out. He went on to issue bases loaded walks to Armani Guzman and Skylar King, before Logan Sauve connected for a two-run single that forced the Panthers to go to their bullpen early with the deficit at 5-0.
“Our lineup one through nine could really hit anywhere. We truly are deep,” Kelly said. “Being able to talk to batters in front of me and know what pitches the pitcher is throwing and where he’s attacking hitters is a big help.”
Robby Porco relieved WVU starting pitcher David Hagen to start the third and issued two walks, while hitting the third and final batter he faced. On came freshman Benjamin Hudson, and he escaped a bases loaded jam unscathed by striking out Ryan Zuckerman and getting Caden Dulin to bounce into a double play started by shortstop Brodie Kresser.
“I’ve built a ton of confidence,” Hudson said. “I have great fielders behind me, so I have to trust them, get the ball put in play and they’re going to back me up.”
Two walks and a Kendro single in the fourth again allowed Pitt to threaten, and the Panthers generated their lone run when leadoff hitter Luke Cantwell was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Jayden Melendez then stepped into the batter’s box representing the tying run, but hit a bouncer back to the mound that Hudson came home with to start an inning-ending double play.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever been part of that or seen that in my career,” Sabins said of three straight innings ending via double plays. “We put ourselves in that situation with free passes, but we also made big pitches when we needed to. It’s the yin and yang of that. That was huge. Gavin Kelly had a piece [in two] of those double plays and this was his second game playing second base of his college career. It kind of shows you the kind of athlete that guy is.”
The Mountaineers added to their lead in the fourth off Pitt relief pitcher Aidan Coleman. King’s one-out walk and a Kyle West single put two runners on for cleanup hitter Jace Rinehart, who laced a a ground-rule double to center that scored King, allowing the home team to regain its five-run lead.
Kelly followed with a two-run single for an 8-1 advantage.
“You have to play with a little chip on your shoulder playing the hometown guys,” said Kelly, a Pittsburgh native.
Brodie Kresser scored the Mountaineers’ ninth run in the fifth after leading off with a double.
Armani Guzman’s run-scoring single in the seventh made it 10-1, and a sacrifice fly from Grant Hussey brought Ben Lumsden home in the home half of the eighth to put the 10-run rule in effect and end the rivalry early.
“There’s not much better,” Sabins said.
One night after a 9-6 win at Ohio State included WVU reliever Reese Bassinger recording the last 16 outs, Hudson retired 10 of the final 11 hitters he faced and earned the win with five strong innings. He allowed one run on two hits, struck out four and walked a pair.
“Bassinger’s performance at Ohio State saved the bullpen for today. We probably won today’s game because of what Reese Bassinger did,” Sabins said.
Kelly was 3-for-4 and drove in three runs. His hit and RBI total led all players.
Kresser and Hussey each had a pair of hits and scored twice.
Doganiero allowed five runs on three hits and three walks while recording four outs in defeat.
WVU finished 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position, while the Panthers were 1-for-7.
“We have great pitching coaches,” Hudson said. [Justin Oney and Christopher Reilly] instill in us that our staff has some of the best stuff in the country and if we throw it in the zone, we’re going to get good results.”
The Mountaineers have won eight straight against Pitt.