MORGANTOWN, W.Va (BVM) — After a disappointing weekend series against Central Michigan in which West Virginia dropped two of three, the Mountaineers attempted to right the ship in the midweek by relying on a couple of freshman as well as the return of some veterans to help them do it. Tuesday’s game against Morehead State was the 18th overall meeting between the two programs and the first since March 2019. Coming into the game the Eagles were fresh off a weekend series win against conference rival Eastern Kentucky and had also beat No. 1 at the time Louisville earlier this month. However, dominant pitching and timely hitting from WVU propelled the Mountaineers to a 7-1 victory extending West Virginia’s midweek, non-conference home win streak to 15 games dating back to April 2017.

The story of the day for West Virginia was twofold — major contributions from true freshmen and the return of two veteran hitters in the middle of the lineup. Getting the start for the Mountaineers on the day was first-year player Ben Hampton. The Wisconsin native had only made two appearances coming into Tuesday’s outing, totaling just four innings on the season. He was matched up against Morehead State senior right hander Will Lozinak.

Hampton looked very impressive early on in this one as he mixed his fastball with a sharp breaking ball, throwing both for strikes while retiring the first nine batters he faced. The game remained scoreless through the first two and a half innings before West Virginia was able to give the freshman a solid lead to work with as they scored five runs, all with two outs, off of the combination of Lozinak and reliever John Sherman in the bottom half of the third.

With two outs and no one on base, the Mountaineers loaded the bases thanks to an Austin Davis hit by pitch, a Hudson Byorick single, and a Paul McIntosh walk. Mikey Kluska, coming off his walk off home run in WVU’s last game, ripped a 1-0 fastball down the right field line for a bases clearing triple to give the Mountaineers a 3-0 lead.

Victor Scott proceeded to drive Kluska in from third with an RBI single, before Dominic Ragazzo tacked on the fifth West Virginia run of the inning with a single to left field.

Morehead State cut into the deficit in the top of the fourth with a leadoff solo home run, the first hit Hampton allowed on the day, off the bat of Bryce Hensor. The home run was the lefty’s only blemish on an otherwise terrific outing as he remained dominant, finishing the fourth inning and his day with just the one earned run on two hits, four strikeouts and no walks. After the performance, assistant coach Steve Sabins could not say enough good things about the freshman’s outing on the day.

“Wonderful. He’s been wonderful,” Sabins said. “It’s hard to say enough good things about him. It’s not easy to do what he’s done. He goes out as a freshman and has been dominant up to this point.”

Sabins praise of Hampton continued after the West Virginia assistant also lauded his work after the freshman lefty’s appearance on the weekend.

“His outing was amazing,” Sabins commented. “A guy that has only pitched one inning since his quarantine and isolation and heart test and cardiologist appointments and so we were really glad to see him get right back to what he does and that’s pound the zone, have multiple breaking balls for strikes and really compete.”

The first man out of the West Virginia bullpen was sophomore right hander Tyler Strechay who was equally impressive as Hampton. The Collegeville, Penn. native, cushioned with a four run lead, did not allow a run over his three innings of work, giving up just two hits and striking out four. The sophomore Strechay and freshman Hampton combined to give up a measly four hits and one run over seven innings while totaling eight strikeouts as well. More importantly, neither of them walked nor hit any Morehead State batters.

The score remained 5-1 in favor of West Virginia until the bottom of the eighth when the Mountaineers extended their lead with two more runs. McIntosh, who reached base on his second hit of the day, scored on a wild pitch moments before Victor Scott drove in his second run of the afternoon on a single to right field. The sophomore center fielder finished the day going 2-for-4 with a stolen base, two RBIs and a run scored.

The senior backstop McIntosh along with 5th year utility man Hudson Byorick are projected everyday regulars for the Mountaineers who made their returns to the West Virginia lineup. The duo, who have a combined nine years of college baseball experience, went 4-for-7 with four runs scored in the win on Tuesday. The return of McIntosh was a welcomed sighting for the Mountaineer coaching staff especially on the defensive end.

“It was huge and it kind of goes without noticing a little bit but having Paul McIntosh behind the plate,” Sabins said when asked about the Floridian’s impact on the game. “We’ve had multiple catchers back there that have done a fantastic job but the presence that he brings. I think he’s a 23-year-old that is calm, confident that really manages the pitching staff.”

West Virginia had four games postponed as well as multiple players ruled out due to a COVID outbreak within the team as Sabins has preached worrying about who is available and trying to keep the confidence high.

“Hang tight guys; we’ve got some cavalry coming,” Sabans said. “The army’s getting stronger. We got to keep it together, we got to get better in the meantime and I think we have.”

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