West Virginia pulls away to rout YSU

MORGANTOWN, W.VA. — The West Virginia baseball team scored nine runs in its final two at-bats to blow open a tight game and beat Youngstown State 13-3 on Tuesday night at Monongalia County Ballpark.

The game was tied at 1 after four innings, and YSU trailed just 4-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh. The Mountaineers (19-16) scored four runs in the seventh and five more in the eighth to put the game away.

Ryan Cordova homered for the Penguins (7-21), and Web Charles and Jonny Miller each had two hits.

Darius Hill led off the top of the first with a home run to give West Virginia a 1-0 lead, but that was the only run Penguins starter Joe King allowed in his three innings of work. YSU tied the score in the top of the third when Anthony Rohan drew a leadoff walk, advanced on a single and an error and scored on Lorenzo Arcuri’s ground out.

The Penguins got the first two hitters on in the fifth when Kyle Benyo reached on an error and Miller singled, but Brandon Boone retired the next three batters to keep the score tied at 1. Cole Austin ljed off the bottom of the inning with a home run to put the Mountaineers ahead 2-1, and WVU added a run on a two-out RBI double to take a 3-1 lead after five.

K.C. Huth’s RBI double in the bottom of the sixth increased West Virginia’s lead to 4-1, but Miller walked and scored on Alex Larivee’s sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh to bring YSU with 4-2.

West Virginia started the bottom of the seventh with three straight hits en route to a four-run inning, and WVU countered Cordova’s solo homer in the eighth with five more runs in the bottom half.

YSU begins a nine-game homestand at 5:30 p.m. today against Pittsburgh at 5:30 p.m. at Eastwood Field.