MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The largest crowd in West Virginia baseball history had dwindled considerably by the time reliever Zach Ottinger appeared to give up a critical mistake in a tie game.
Pitt’s Gregory Ryan led off the seventh with a triple, and Ottinger, a freshman from Marietta, Ga., faced a difficult jam.
But then he struck out Sky Duff, and despite first baseman Kevin Brophy mishandling a throw, Ryan decided not to head home against the drawn-in infield. That proved costly when Ottinger struck out the next two batters, exiting the mound with a fist pump into his glove.