The Mountaineers traveled to Carbondale, Illinois to face the Southern Illinois Salukis in a three-game series this weekend.
On Friday, the Mountaineers blew an early 5-0 lead and lost 7-5.
The Mountaineers established an early lead with a solo shot by senior outfield Banks Tolley in the third. They extended the lead in the fifth, with a two-run RBI double by graduate student first baseman Drew Holderbach and a two-run RBI single by junior infielder Adam Quintero.
Redshirt junior outfielder Austin St. Laurent and Quintero stood out. St. Laurent hit 2-4 with a homer, an RBI and a walk and Quintero hit 2-4 with two RBIs and a walk.
After the initial burst, the offense went quiet and the pitching staff let the Salukis back into it.
The pitching staff had a solid first half, but a poor second half allowed the Salukis to rally and take the win.
Redshirt junior pitcher Bradley Wilson started the game and played six innings, allowing three runs, two walks and striking out five batters.
Wilson was relieved by junior pitcher Cody Little, who played 1.2 innings, allowing four runs and recorded two strikeouts. Little was then relieved by sophomore pitcher Everette Harris, who played 0.1 innings allowing no runs.
On Saturday, the Mountaineers put together a solid performance on offense and defense to win 9-1.
The offense did not have many big plays in this outing, hitting one extra-base hit, an RBI double by freshman outfielder Dillon Moquin.
The lone batter to drive in multiple RBIs was graduate student infielder Alex Aguila, who batted 2-4 with two RBIs and a walk.
The pitching staff put together a solid performance on the day, with sophomore pitcher Jackson Steensma pitching five innings, allowing one unearned run, three walks and striking out five. Steensma was relieved by junior pitcher Collin Welch, who played four innings while allowing no runs, two walks and striking out four.
On Sunday, the Black and Gold played another solid game, controlling the entire game en route to an 8-1 victory.
The offense had a strong outing with multiple batters hitting extra base hits. Tolley and Quintero stood out, with Tolley hitting 3-5 with a homer, double and two RBIs and Quintero hitting 3-4 with an RBI.
The pitching staff was on point in this outing with senior pitcher Dante Chirico starting the game. Chirico played six innings, allowing one run, one walk and striking out four.
He was relieved by senior pitcher Grey LaSpaluto, who played 0.2 innings, allowing no runs, one walk and striking out one. LaSpaluto was relieved by redshirt freshman pitcher Max Tramontana, who allowed no runs in 1.1 innings and struck out one.
Finally, Tramontana was relieved by redshirt sophomore pitcher Zach Lewis, who struck out two in a scoreless ninth, his sixth scoreless outing in a row to start the season.
This win meant the Mountaineers took the series victory 2-1 and moved to 9-2 on the year.
The Mountaineers return to the field at 4 p.m. Tuesday to face No. 12 Duke in Durham. The game will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
