PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – West Virginia baseball had won the last five matchups in the Backyard Brawl (or Basebrawl) by a combined score of 36-13. Tuesday afternoon was a different story. Panthers won for the 51st time in the series at home, 5-1.
Mountaineers took a 1-nothing lead in the first on a single by Paul McIntosh. Then it was all Pitt.
Sophomore Kyle Hess hit a solo homer (4th of the year) with one out in the third, followed by a 2-run double by Bryce Hulett and RBI single by freshman Jackson Phinney to make it 4-1. David Yanni, a redshirt senior, hit a 3-2 pitch in the seventh over the right field wall for his 10th homer of the season to end the scoring at 5-1.
Panthers pitchers combined to allow West Virginia six singles, no walks and only that first inning run. Chris Gomez went 7 innings allowing the run with three strikeouts and 11 ground ball outs. Chase Smith faced four batters in the eighth and Jordan McCrum threw 12 pitches to close out the game. The senior transfer from Monmouth, McCrum has a 1.89 ERA this season with 24 strikeouts in 19 innings.
Up Next
After 12 of its first 23 games against ranked teams, Mountaineers play a weekend series at Baylor starting Friday night.
Panthers remain home to host ACC power, 18th ranked Miami starting Friday afternoon at 3p with another game Saturday at 3p and the finale Sunday at 1p.
