#24 Jackson Chirello homers against West Virginia on Mar. 1 at Mickey Dunn Stadium. Photo courtesy of KSU Athletics
Baseball returned to Mickey Dunn Stadium at Henssler Financial Field on Friday for a weekend series against No. 24 West Virginia, stealing one of the three meetings.
Friday’s series opener was scoreless until the third inning, when the Mountaineers exploded for six runs, led by a solo home run by outfielder Brock Wills. WVU extended its lead in the sixth on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single to go up 8-0.
The Owls got on the board in the seventh inning when Jackson Bradfield hit a solo homer, his first of the season and only the third of his career to make the ballgame 8-1 in favor of the Mountaineers after seven innings.
The bats of WVU responded with intensity and scored four more runs in the top of the eighth, making it 12-1 and threatening to run-rule KSU.
Down to their final out, the Owls got on the board for the last time on a three-run home run by Jamarie Brooks, his first hit of the year. Both teams failed to score in the ninth and KSU lost by a final of 12-4.
Saturday’s contest saw the Mountaineers get off to a quicker start, scoring three runs in the first two innings and going up 7-0 before the Owls could get on the board.
KSU’s lone run on Saturday came on a Cooper Williams solo home run, giving WVU a 7-1 lead after eight innings.
The Mountaineers scored twice more in the final inning to make the final score 9-1, WVU.
The series finale on Sunday looked to be more of the same. The Mountaineers grabbed an early lead in the first inning on a two-RBI single by Ryan Maggy.
The WVU lead was extended on a pair of Gavin Kelly home runs, first a three-run homer in the second inning and a solo homer in the sixth, making the Mountaineers’ lead 6-0.
The Owls, refusing to lie down, began chipping away at the deficit.
The KSU rally began in the bottom of the sixth when Williams hit an RBI single for the team’s first run of the afternoon. Wesley Alig then scored on a wild pitch and the Owls shrunk the WVU lead to 6-2 at the end of the sixth inning.
KSU’s bats continued to stay hot in the seventh inning.
Grayson McCollum contributed an RBI single before Jackson Chirello hit a two-run homer down the right-field line and brought the game to just one run separating the teams after seven innings.
The Owls took their first lead of the game and of the series in the bottom of the eighth when Williams hit a two-run home run, capping off his three-RBI day and giving KSU a 7-6 lead that it held for the remainder of the game.
Sunday’s win was the first of the year against a high-major opponent for the Owls.
“We’ve talked a lot about how these games are important,” coach Ryan Coe said. “We got kicked [earlier in the series], but that was good to see.”
Daniel Powell played a big role out of the bullpen, keeping KSU in the game by not allowing any runs in three and two-thirds innings after the team was already down by five.
“Man, it’s nothing new,” Coe said. “He’s done this all year for us, and in big situations he’s been the guy we go to to stop the bleeding.”
The Owls will be tested against another powerhouse nonconference opponent when Georgia comes to town on March 3 at 6 p.m.
