TCU tops West Virginia 5-4

A shutdown performance out of the bullpen by Marcelo Perez and five unanswered runs helped No. 12 TCU even the series with a 5-4 win over West Virginia Saturday afternoon. Brayden Taylor’s two run home run in the sixth capped TCU’s come-from-behind win. 
 
The Rundown
With three runs already in and the bases loaded with one out in the first, Marcelo Perez (2-1) took over on the mound. He induced an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play to get out of the jam. 
 
From there, the right-hander battled through six innings to get the game into the eighth. He tossed a career-high 6 2/3 innings, allowing just one run on two hits. He walked three and fanned five to improve to 2-1 on the season.
 
The Frogs found themselves facing a four run deficit after the top of the second, but began to claw their way back into the game in the bottom of the inning. Bobby Goodloe reached on a one-out error. A hit batter and a walk followed setting up a Brayden Taylor sacrifice fly to make it a 4-1 game.
 
A lead-off single by Gray Rodgers in the third turned into the Frogs’ second run of the game as he scored on a Kurtis Byrne double.
 
The sixth inning proved to be the decisive one as TCU struck for three two-out runs to take the lead for good. With Luke Boyers standing on second and two outs, Elijah Nunez drove a single up the middle to make it a 4-3 ballgame. Taylor turned on the first pitch he saw and 429 feet later, TCU had a 5-4 lead.
 
River Ridings took over for Caleb Bolden and needed just one pitch to lock up save No. 8 on the season. Bolden tossed 1 1/3 scoreless, allowing one hit and struck two.
 
Stat of the Game:                                                                                                 
3 – Kurtis Byrne threw out two would-be base stealers and Marcelo Perez picked off another to help keep  the Mountaineers off the bases.
 
Notes: 
• TCU played in its fifth one-run ballgame and improved to 2-3 in those contests.
• TCU outhit its opponent for the 13^th time this season.
• TCU homered in a game for the 13^th time this year.
• Three of the five runs scored came with two outs.
• Elijah Nunez collected his eighth multi-hit game of the year and the 18^th of his career.
• Brayden Taylor hit his fifth home run of the season and the 17^th of his career.
• Taylor tallied his 10^th multi-hit game of the season and the 33^rd of his career.
• Taylor posted his seventh multi-RBI game of the year and the 21^st of his career.
• David Bishop has reached safely in all 27 games.
• Gray Rodgers tallied his 100^th career hit with a base hit in the third inning.
• Kurtis Byrne posted his sixth multi-hit of the season and the seventh of his career.
• Luke Boyers has reached safely in 17 straight games.
• River Ridings recorded his eighth save of the season and the ninth of his career.

Courtesy TCU Baseball

Box Score

Scoring Summary

Logo	Team	Inning	Play Description	WVU	TCU
	WVU	1st	Ippoliti, V. doubled down the rf line, 3 RBI (0-1 K); Scott, V. scored; Wetherholt scored; Davis, A. scored.	3	0
	WVU	2nd	Scott, V. reached on a fielder’s choice, RBI (1-0 B); Wetherholt out at second 2b to ss; Tucker, T. scored.	4	0
	TCU	2nd	Taylor flied out to rf, SF, RBI (0-2 KK); Berkley advanced to third; Goodloe scored, unearned.	4	1
	TCU	3rd	Byrne doubled to right field, RBI (2-2 KFFBFB); Rodgers scored.	4	2
	TCU	6th	Nunez singled up the middle, RBI (2-2 BBSF); Boyers scored.	4	3
	TCU	6th	Taylor homered to right field, 2 RBI (0-0); Nunez scored.	4	5
	Totals			4	5

West Virginia 4

Position	Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB
rf	Davis, Austin	3	1	0	0	1	1	0
3b	Wetherholt, J.J.	1	1	0	0	3	0	0
cf	Scott II, Victor	1	1	0	1	3	0	0
1b	Hussey, Grant	4	0	0	0	0	3	1
dh	Ippoliti, Vince	3	0	1	3	0	0	0
ph	Dowdell, Kevin	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
lf	Barry, Braden	4	0	1	0	0	0	0
c	Leonard, Dayne	3	0	0	0	0	1	0
2b	Kluska, Mikey	3	0	0	0	0	1	3
ph	Blasick, Nathan	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
pr	Abernathy, Ben	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
ss	Tucker, Tevin	3	1	1	0	0	1	0
ph	Smith, Evan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
ph	Holbrook, McGwire	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
p	Hampton, Ben	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
p	Reed, Carlson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Totals	28	4	4	4	7	8	5

Batting

2B:

Ippoliti, Vince (1); Blasick, Nathan (1)

Baserunning

SB:

Scott II, Victor (1); Barry, Braden (1)

CS:

Wetherholt, J.J. (1); Scott II, Victor (2)

HBP:

Leonard, Dayne (1)

PO:

Scott II, Victor (1)

Fielding

E:

Kluska, Mikey (1)

TCU 5

Position	Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB
cf	Nunez, Elijah	2	1	2	1	2	0	0
3b	Taylor, Brayden	4	1	2	3	0	1	0
1b	Bishop, David	4	0	1	0	1	3	4
2b	Rodgers, Gray	4	1	1	0	0	0	1
ss	Sacco, Tommy	4	0	0	0	0	1	0
c	Byrne, Kurtis	4	0	2	1	0	0	3
rf	Boyers, Luke	3	1	0	0	0	3	0
dh	Goodloe, Bobby	4	1	0	0	0	2	2
lf	Berkley, Garrison	2	0	1	0	0	0	0
ph/lf	Maxwell, Logan	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
p	Brown, Cam	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
p	Perez, Marcelo	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
p	Vail, Tommy	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
p	Bolden, Caleb	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
p	Ridings, River	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Totals	32	5	9	5	3	11	10

Batting

2B:

Byrne, Kurtis (1)

HR:

Taylor, Brayden (1)

SH:

Nunez, Elijah (1)

SF:

Taylor, Brayden (1)

Baserunning

SB:

Rodgers, Gray (1)

HBP:

Boyers, Luke (1); Berkley, Garrison (1)

Fielding

E:

Bishop, David (1); Brown, Cam (1)

West Virginia

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	WP	BK	HBP	IBB	AB	BF	FO	GO	NP
Hampton, Ben (L, 4-2)	6.0	7	5	4	3	7	0	0	2	0	24	31	7	4	118
Reed, Carlson	2.0	2	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	8	8	2	0	39
Totals		9	5	4	3	11	0	0	2	0	32	39	9	4	157

TCU

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	WP	BK	HBP	IBB	AB	BF	FO	GO	NP
Brown, Cam	0.1	1	3	3	3	1	0	0	1	0	3	7	0	0	26
Perez, Marcelo (W, 2-1)	6.2	2	1	1	3	5	1	0	0	0	19	22	4	8	93
Vail, Tommy	0.1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	4
Bolden, Caleb	1.1	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	5	5	1	1	20
Ridings, River (S, 8)	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	3
Totals		4	4	4	7	8	1	0	1	0	28	36	6	9	146

Win: Perez, Marcelo (2-1)
Loss: Hampton, Ben (4-2)
Save: Ridings, River (8)
HBP: Hampton, Ben, Brown, Cam
PB: Byrne, Kurtis