JJ Wetherholt blasts three-run home run, puts West Virginia up 3-1 over Ball State

After falling apart late last night against Indiana in their opening game of the Lexington regional, West Virginia baseball got off to another slow start vs. Ball State, conceding a run in the second inning to go down in an elimination game. However, the next time WVU got their bats out, the Mountaineers were able to load two batters aboard before leadoff man JJ Wetherholt stepped into the box.

Wetherholt made a sweet connection on the very first pitch he saw, blasting the ball to deep center field and right over the Kentucky Proud Park Wall for a three-run home run. That completely flipped the script, putting WVU in control at 3-1 with no outs in the top of the third. They wouldn’t score any more runs in that inning, but at least the Mountaineers got on top, thanks to Wetherholt.

Check out his center field pot shot:

Such a beautiful sight to see!#HailWV | @jj_wetherholt pic.twitter.com/rGic80d7Bx

— WVU Baseball (@WVUBaseball) June 3, 2023

Of course, the swing is massive for WVU, who is the No. 2 seed in the region and was nearly their own regional host, but now are in a real battle early Saturday afternoon to keep their season and their run in the Lexington regional alive. And things didn’t stay positive after that JJ Wetherholt masterstroke.

The bottom of that third inning was not very friendly to the Mountaineers, though, as they gave up a similar explosion as they did in the top of the ninth vs. Indiana on Friday. With two outs on the Cardinals and still in a 3-1 lead, WVU went from in-control to completely behind the eight ball by allowing six straight hits and four runs to give Ball State the lead right back at 5-3 heading into the top of the fourth.

In the top of the fourth, West Virginia regained the upper hand thanks to a pair of home runs — a solo shot from Dayne Leonard to make it 5-4, and a two-run blast from Logan Sauve, both to the right corner bullpen — to help give West Virginia a 7-5 lead before exiting the inning and sending the defense back out. This may not be much of a pitching or defensive battle, but gosh darn are the offenses making it quite exciting.

A good day to be a WVU catcher!@SauveLogan puts the Mountaineers back in front with a two-run homer!#HailWV pic.twitter.com/LQ7HAvXtac

— WVU Baseball (@WVUBaseball) June 3, 2023

We are definitely in for another wacky afternoon of West Virginia baseball, folks. So buckle in. Hopefully, this time around, the Mountaineers are able to outlast a much lesser Cards club as the day wears on.