BECKLEY, W. Va. — Combining for 30 hits and 23 runs, Campbellsville baseball and West Virginia Tech battled on Good Friday, with the Tigers winning the series opener, 14-9.
The series finale is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon at Linda K. Epling Stadium. Live video and stats will be available.
Leading 8-6 after seven innings, the Tigers (25-14) scored four runs in the top of the ninth and needed every one of them as West Virginia Tech (21-23) rallied late as well.
Each team used four total pitchers and all were let down by the defenses, totaling nine errors on the day. CU's Indalecio Romo (2-1) started on the hill and tossed 5 1/3 innings, allowing seven hits and four earned runs to pick up the victory. Jhonbert Gonzalez, Ray Fernandez and Clayton Carrico also pitched the final 3 2/3 innings, allowing seven combined hits and four earned runs.
Clay Valenzuela-Reece, Riley Joyce and Carlos Garmendia led CU with three hits a piece. The trio also scored five of the CU runs as well.
CU started the scoring in the second inning and never trailed from that point on. It all started with a leadoff walk to Brett Hamilton, followed with an RBI double by Carlos Garmendia. Marlor Villafana delivered a single and Garmendia later scored on a fielder's choice to put CU ahead 2-0. The Tigers added a third run with two outs, as Joyce delivered an RBI single scoring Diego Reynoso.
The Goldenbears scored two in the bottom half after a pair of singles, an RBI ground ball and sac fly.
In the third, the rally started with a leadoff single by Clay Valenzuela-Reece followed with a two-run home run by Brett Hamilton. After Romello Carbuccia was hit by a pitch, Jerod Jobst was pulled for Chris Davidson and he worked out of the inning.
WVU Tech rallied for two more in the bottom of the third, as Wyatt Belinda cracked a two-run home run off Romo.
CU kept the scoring going, plating runs in six of the nine innings overall. In the fourth, David Montoya reached on an error and scored and in the fifth, Carbuccia homered to put CU ahead 7-4, followed with RBI single by Reynoso, 8-4.
After not scoring in the sixth, the Tigers pushed their lead to 10-4 in the seventh and it started with a leadoff hit by pitch to Carbuccia. He stole second base and scored on ground ball by Villafana. The second run was plated off a Joyce double and with the help of a WVU Tech error.
The Golden Bears answered with two in the bottom half, as Jhonbert Gonzalez allowed a pair of walks and a single to the first three batters he saw in relief. Ray Fernandez entered and allowed a run on a wild pitch. Later a second run scored for the Goldenbears on a sac fly by Jacob Reimold.
Entering the ninth inning, CU led 10-6 but both teams kept the scoring going in the ninth and the Tigers needed all four runs it crossed. Diego Reynoso delivered a run off a suicide squeeze and Matt Valdez cleared the bases with a three-run double to put CU ahead, 14-6.
The Goldenbears came right back, though. Carrico allowed a leadoff single and double but WVU Tech made it interesting by scoring off an error and two-run single. He calmed down and picked up a couple ground balls and fly out to end the WVU Tech rally.
