The No. 12 West Virginia University baseball team lost the series finale to Cincinnati, 7-5, on April 26 at UC Baseball Stadium. The Mountaineers now have a record of 28-12 overall and 13-8 in the Big 12 Conference, while the Bearcats improve to 29-17 and 10-11 in conference play.
The top three batters for West Virginia—sophomore Matt Ineich, sophomore Gavin Kelly, and senior Paul Schoenfeld—each recorded two hits during the game. Both Kelly and Schoenfeld drove in two runs apiece, with Ineich scoring twice.
On the pitching side, junior Dawson Montesa struck out three batters over four and one-third innings while allowing one run. Sophomore Joshua Surigao pitched two-thirds of an inning without giving up a run, and senior Carson Estridge added two strikeouts over two innings while allowing one run.
West Virginia took an early lead with a run in the second inning following a double play. In the third inning, back-to-back sacrifice bunts—including a squeeze bunt by Schoenfeld—added another run for WVU. Schoenfeld singled home his second RBI in the fifth to give West Virginia a 3-0 advantage.
Cincinnati responded with two runs in their half of the fifth inning but West Virginia extended its lead again when Kelly hit a two-run single in the seventh. However, Cincinnati scored five runs in the eighth inning to move ahead for good at 7-5 as West Virginia was retired in order during their final at-bat.
West Virginia is scheduled to play next on Wednesday, April 29 against Penn State with first pitch set for 5:30 p.m.