Texas sweeps WVU to gain share of Big 12 regular season title

For the third consecutive day, Texas started the game with three straight hits, and capitalized with runs. A pair of singles, followed by an RBI double and a sacrifice fly, put the Longhorns up 2-0. WVU starting pitcher Ben Hampton, given an extra day of rest, recorded just one out against six Texas batters, allowing three hits and walking two, throwing 13 balls in 28 pitches.

Hampton was relieved by Aidan Major, who allowed two more runs (charged to Hampton) on an RBI single. He also gave up single runs in the second and third, which put the Longhorns in control with a 6-0 lead.

From there, things diverged at least a bit, and West Virginia played its best baseball of the series. Braden Barry cracked a solo home run in fourth and Sam White snaked a two-run shot down the right field line in the seventh, which cut the UT lead to 6-3. On the mound, WVU reliever David Hagaman got on top of the Horns with three shutout innings, giving the Mountaineers their first ounce of hope in the series.

From there, though, the vortex opened again. WVU left runners on in both the seventh and eighth, and when Texas added a run off Mountaineer closer Carlson Reed, the Horns were in position to complete the sweep and claim a share of the league’s regular season title. They did just that, turning a game-ending double play after the Mountaineers again mounted a threat in the top of the ninth.

The first six batters in the WVU lineup were 1-19, with Barry’s homer the only hit. Tevin Tucker and Landon Wallace each worked a pair of walks, and Sam White had two hits and two RBI.

West Virginia awaits the outcome of the Oklahoma — Oklahoma State game to learn its seed and game time for the first round of the Big 12 Championship on Wednesday. A Cowboy win would drop WVU to the No. 3 seed and into the final game of the first day of the tournament, with a first pitch time of 8:30 p.m. ET. An Oklahoma win would elevate West Virginia to the No. 2 seed in the 5:00 p.m. ET contest.

SEAMS AND BARRELS

West Virginia struck out 30 times in the the series, and was outscored 29-9. The Mountaineers managed only four hits in Saturday’s game, with a double and the two home runs making up the majority of the attack.

Texas scored a combined 18 runs in the first and second innings of the three games.

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WVU was 1-15 with runners on base (.067), while Texas posted a mark of .300, going 6-20 in those situations.

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WVU will remain in Texas to prepare for next week’s Big 12 Championship, which begins on Wednesday, May 24 at Globe Life Field in Arlington. The Mountaineers will bus up I-35 from Austin and will get one prep session at that venue, the home of MLB’s Texas Rangers.