GRANVILLE, W.Va. — Another day, another walk-off victory for WVU baseball at Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark.
This time, second baseman JJ Wetherholt drove in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth, securing a 5-4 win for the No. 24 Mountaineers over Xavier.
After a pinch-hit single by Ellis Garcia to lead off the inning, Tevin Tucker drew a full-count walk with one out. That brought Wetherholt, the leadoff batter, to the plate with a chance to win the game. He splintered the first pitch he saw for an RBI double, sealing the victory.
The timely hit completed a 3-for-5 day at the plate for Wetherholt, who improved his team-leading batting average to .456.
The win also marked West Virginia’s second walk-off victory in a row, as well as its 11th win overall in its last 12 contests.
Much like Wednesday’s walk-off win over Hofstra, West Virginia (17-5) was locked into a battle with Xavier (10-11) throughout a contest that was moved to an earlier start time, and then later slightly delayed, due to weather.
A homer by left fielder Landon Wallace gave WVU a 3-1 lead in the fourth, but that advantage disappeared in the sixth when former Mountaineer and current Musketeer Matt McCormick launched a two-run homer to right.
WVU regained the lead on a Braden Barry RBI in the seventh inning. Xavier knotted the score again the following inning thanks to McCormick’s game-high third RBI of the day.
Wetherholt’s double in the ninth ended the contest.
Starting pitcher Ben Hampton tossed seven innings for WVU. Relief pitcher Carlson Reed threw the final two innings and earned his second win of the season.
Xavier starter Ethan Bosacker picked up the loss.
The Mountaineers and Musketeers will meet again Saturday at 4 p.m. at Monongalia County Ballpark. First pitch is set for 4 p.m., and the contest will stream live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.