WACO, Texas (Interstat) — The West Virginia Mountaineers erupted for seven runs in the first two innings and rode a dominant pitching performance from Chansen Cole to a decisive 13-2 victory over the Baylor Bears in Big 12 Conference baseball action Saturday evening at Baylor Ballpark.

The Mountaineers, avenging a one-run loss in the series opener a day earlier, pounded out 17 hits and never trailed, improving to 12-4 overall. Baylor fell to 11-7.

The most important part of the game was the immediate and overwhelming offensive response from West Virginia following Friday’s narrow defeat. The Mountaineers sent nine batters to the plate in the top of the first inning, scoring four runs on three hits and two walks against Baylor starter Murry. Matthew Ineich walked, advanced to third on a double by Kelly, and both scored on Paul Schoenfeld’s two-run double to left center. Schoenfeld later scored on an RBI double from Brock Wills, staking West Virginia to a 4-0 lead before Baylor recorded an out.

West Virginia extended its lead to 7-0 in the second inning. Schoenfeld and Wills each delivered run-scoring singles, and Brodie Kresser added an RBI single of his own, chasing Baylor reliever Hansen.

That early barrage provided more than enough support for Cole, the top star for West Virginia. The right-hander delivered six strong innings, allowing two earned runs on just three hits while striking out five and walking one. The only damage against him came in the fourth inning when Baylor’s Tyce Armstrong hit a two-run homer, his seventh of the season, following a single by Janusek. That cut the deficit to 7-2, but Cole quickly settled back in, retiring the side in order in the fifth and working around a walk in the sixth.

West Virginia continued to add on, scoring two runs in the fifth on a two-run single by Smith, three more in the sixth highlighted by an RBI triple from Schoenfeld, and a final run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Armani Guzman.

Schoenfeld led the Mountaineers’ offensive onslaught, going 3 for 4 with a double, a triple, and four RBIs. Wills went 3 for 4 with two RBIs, while Ineich was 2 for 4 with an RBI and three runs scored. Kresser added two hits and an RBI, and Guzman drove in two runs.

For Baylor, which managed only three hits total, Armstrong’s two-run homer accounted for all its scoring. Brayden Bergman and Camden Clewett were among five Bears pitchers used in the game.

Bryant Yoak closed the game for West Virginia with a scoreless seventh inning, striking out two.

The victory sets up a rubber match in the three-game series on Sunday. West Virginia will look to win the series before returning home, while Baylor aims to rebound and secure a series win on its home field.

The lopsided result defied the pregame projections from Interstat, whose game simulator had predicted a 7-6 West Virginia win and whose ELO system gave the Mountaineers a 61.3 percent probability of victory.