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West Virginia State University Athletics

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BS24 Overaitis
Photo: Todd Griffith
11
Winner Charleston (WV) UCWV 37-7, 24-3 MEC
8
West Virginia State WVSU 27-16, 19-8 MEC
Winner
Charleston (WV) UCWV
37-7, 24-3 MEC
11
Final
8
West Virginia State WVSU
27-16, 19-8 MEC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 R H E
Charleston (WV) UCWV 0 7 1 0 0 0 0 3 11 9 1
West Virginia State WVSU 1 0 0 3 0 1 3 0 8 11 1

W: Trey Ritchie (2-1) L: Lewis, Camron (3-1)

7
Winner Charleston (WV) UCWV 38-7, 25-3 MEC
5
West Virginia State WVSU 27-17, 19-9 MEC
Winner
Charleston (WV) UCWV
38-7, 25-3 MEC
7
Final
5
West Virginia State WVSU
27-17, 19-9 MEC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Charleston (WV) UCWV 0 4 1 0 2 0 0 7 6 0
West Virginia State WVSU 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 5 4 2

W: Owen MacNeil (6-0) L: Hodges, Ayden (3-5) S: Andrew Gormley (1)

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

State's comebacks versus No. 22 UC fall short

INSTITUTE, W.Va. – West Virginia State baseball (27-17, 19-9 MEC) dropped a pair of games to No. 22 Charleston (38-7, 25-3 MEC) on Friday. The Yellow Jackets came back to force extra innings in the first game, but ultimately fell 11-8. They rallied in the bottom of the seventh in the second game, but came up two runs short, 7-5.

The Golden Eagles secured the No. 1 seed in the South Division at the 2024 MEC Baseball Tournament with the wins. Meanwhile, Glenville State lost both of their games at Concord today. West Virginia State can still claim the No. 2 seed in the South depending on Sunday's results.

Game 1: Charleston 11, West Virginia State 8, Final/8

State fell behind 8-1 to UC after three innings. The Yellow Jackets' one run came from an RBI-single by Tyler Overaitis in the bottom of the first.

WVSU shrunk the gap with a three-run fourth inning. Kyle Waters drew a walk with the bases loaded to bring the first run in. Ryan Kay drove in the second run with a hard-hit ball back to the pitcher. Mike Huber then reached base on a fielder's choice to allow one more run to score, 8-4.

Hurler JT Fabian held Charleston to one run in the third through sixth innings to give State a chance at a comeback.

In the bottom of the sixth, Ethan Spolarich smacked a solo shot to left field, 8-5. Camron Lewis came in to pitch in the top of the seventh and successfully kept the Golden Eagles off the scoreboard.

Tyler Overaitis led off in the bottom of the seventh and launched a solo jack to right field, 8-6. With two outs, Spolarich stepped up to the plate with one man on base. He sent a screamer over the fence in left field to tie the ball game at 8-apiece before the third out was recorded.

With two outs in the top of the eighth, UC picked up the go-ahead run with an RBI-single. A two-run homer followed to put WVSU behind by three runs, 11-8. The side was retired in order in the bottom of the eighth to end game one.

Game 2: Charleston 7, West Virginia State 5, Final/7

A grand slam from the Golden Eagles in the second inning left State trailing by four runs, 4-0, early. UC then tacked on another run in the top of the third without a response from the Yellow Jackets in the bottom of the inning, 5-0.

Charleston's starting pitcher, Owen MacNeil, was unhittable through the first three innings. Nathan Paulsen ended MacNeil's no-hitter and shutout with one swing of the bat in the bottom of the fourth. He sailed a goner to dead center with Huber on base to get two runs back, 5-2.

The Golden Eagles responded with their own two-run goner in the top of the fifth, 7-2. 
A scoreless sixth inning and top of the seventh left WVSU with five runs to make up in the bottom of the seventh. Chris Morris led off and belted a no-doubter to center field, 7-3, before two quick outs followed. Spolarich then walked to put a runner on for Waters. Waters proceeded to crush a home run to left center and shrink the deficit to two runs, 7-5. UC made one last pitching change to get the third and final out of game two.

Next Up

The Yellow Jackets will wrap up the regular season on the road with a 1 p.m. doubleheader at UC on Sunday, May 5th.
 
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