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West Virginia State University Athletics

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BB23 Kay
Photo: Todd Griffith
8
Yellow Jackets WVSU 21-14
9
Winner Bluefield State Uni BSTATEBB 18-23-1
Yellow Jackets WVSU
21-14
8
Final
9
Bluefield State Uni BSTATEBB
18-23-1
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Yellow Jackets WVSU 3 0 0 1 0 1 1 2 0 8 13 1
Bluefield State Uni BSTATEBB 0 0 0 2 3 1 3 0 X 9 15 2

W: Conner Elliott (2-1) L: Baumgardner, Tyrus (2-1) S: Aiden Hedgepeth (5)

Game Recap: Baseball | | James Garcia, Sports Information Director

WVSU comes up short at Bluefield State

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – West Virginia State baseball (21-14, 16-4 MEC) was narrowly defeated, 9-8, by Bluefield State (18-23-1) on Wednesday afternoon at Bowen Field.  The Yellow Jackets lost the lead late and were unable to recover. With the score knotted at six through six and a half innings, the Big Blue posted three runs in the bottom of the seventh to pull away for good.

WVSU rushed out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first. Ryan Kay hit a solo homer before William Glick drove in two more runs with a double down the left field line.

West Virginia State added one more run in the top of the fourth when Kyle Waters scored on a wild pitch, 4-0.

BSU cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fourth by scoring two unearned runs on separate RBI-singles, 4-2. The error on the first RBI-single would have been the third out.

The Big Blue then took the lead in the bottom of the fifth by tacking on three runs, 5-4. A passed ball, a sacrifice fly, and a wild pitch were the causes of the runs scored against the Yellow Jackets in the fifth inning.

Runs were traded by the non-conference opponents in the sixth inning. WVSU briefly tied the game when Kay scored on Connor Fizer's ground out, 5-5, before Bluefield State regained the lead with another RBI-single, 6-5.

West Virginia State tied the game again in the top of the seventh when Michael Stone scored on a sacrifice fly from pinch hitter Tyler Overaitis, 6-6. Three RBI-singles by the Big Blue in the bottom of the seventh followed to leave WVSU with a three-run deficit, 9-6, with two innings to go.

The Yellow Jackets nearly reset the game again in the top of the eighth when Kay and Fizer reached home on ground outs by Mike Huber and Nathan Paulsen respectively, 9-8.

Michael Bittinger made it to third base in the top of the ninth, but was left stranded when the game's final out was recorded.

Kay was West Virginia State's best bat in the game, going 3-for-5 with a home run and a double. He drove in one run and scored three more. Ethen Riggs was WVSU's best arm, allowing no runs to be scored on his watch through the first three innings.

The Yellow Jackets will need to prepare for the South Division-leading Concord Mountain Lions next. West Virginia State will host Concord for a four-game series on Saturday, April 22 and Sunday, April 23. Both doubleheaders are scheduled for 1 p.m. starts.

 
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