West Virginia Mercy-Rules Pitt at PNC Park

Pittsburgh – The West Virginia Mountaineers (27-16) pummeled the Pitt Panthers (18-23) Tuesday night at PNC Park 11-1.

West Virginia junior Grant Hussey led the Mountaineers at the plate, going 3-4 with two home runs and raked in five RBIs on the night. Hussey’s two home runs on the night pushed his career total to 36, setting the all-time WVU career home run record.

“It was always a goal of mine,’ Hussey said. “I felt like a little kid out there today. That was probably the most emotion I’ve had running around the bases because I’m not too much of an emotional person.

West Virginia sophomore Logan Suave hit the first pitch of the game for a double and senior Reed Chumley brought him home from third with a single to centerfield for the game’s first run before junior Grant Hussey went to the opposite field for his first home run of the evening – three-run blast, tying the WVU career home run record and giving the Mountaineers a 4-0 lead.

You hit a double on the very first pitch of the game, it kind of set the tone for what the rest of the night would be,” said head coach Randy Mazey.

The Mountaineers put up two runs in the second after sophomore Skylar King ripped a leadoff double off the centerfield wall and Sauve squeezed a single to place runners at the corners, then junior JJ Wetherholt doubled into the gap to left centerfield for a two-RBI double and a 6-0 advantage.

West Virginia sophomore Benjamin Lumsden blasted a two-run home run in the third inning to extend the lead WVU lead to eight.

In the fifth, sophomore Sam White smacked a leadoff single before Hussey blasted his second home run of the night to the right field bleachers, the 36th of his career to become the all-time WVU career home run leader. Suave capped off a three-run fifth inning with an RBI sacrifice fly for a 11-0 lead as the Mountaineers cruised to an 11-1 mercy-rule win.

West Virginia sophomore Gavin Van Kempen started the game for the Mountaineers. He went three innings and struck out four to collect his seventh win of the season. Junior lefty Tyler Switalski went two innings and registered five Ks.

The Mountaineers will travel to Cincinnati for a three-game Big 12 Conference series against the Bearcats. The first game is set for Friday at 5:00 p.m., game two is slated for Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and the series finale is scheduled for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. All games will stream on ESPN+.