MORGANTOWN — No. 17 West Virginia didn’t want to end its undefeated streak that easily after getting blasted in Game 1 of the series.

The Mountaineers beat No. 22 Arizona State 13-7 Saturday night after a big second inning to take the second game of the series, leaving it all up to the third game on ESPN2. The final game is at a more manageable East Coast time of 8 p.m. The Sun Devils took the first game 14-4.

WVU is now 18-5 on the season and 6-2 in the Big 12. Arizona State is 20-7 and 5-3 in the conference.

After both teams scored in the first inning, WVU’s offense exploded in a big way in the second. With Brodie Kresser and Matthew Graveline on base, Tyrus Hall hit a triple, making it 3-1 Mountaineers. Hall scored on a wild pitch. Sean Smith singled, scoring two more, and then Brock Wills singled to add on another. WVU was up 7-1 after two.

Smith, Armani Guzman and Kelly all had three hits. Hall had two RBIs, and Kelly and Smith both had three. Everyone in the starting lineup registered a hit, tallying a whopping 16 on the day. It was a much-needed bounce-back offensive showing after just scoring four on Friday night.

The Mountaineers’ ace Maxx Yehl took the mound for Game 2. Usually, Yehl pitches the final game of the series, but Steve Sabins mixed it up. Yehl struggled early in the first inning and allowed Landon Hairston, who is the best hitter in the Big 12, to score a run all by himself. After giving up a run in the first, Yehl settled in.

But, Hairston got to Yehl once again in the bottom of the fifth. Hairston took Yehl yard for a two-run shot, making it 8-3. Sabins kept the big left-hander in, even after the homer. It wasn’t Yehl’s best outing, but he still pitched seven innings, had four strikeouts, had five hits and three earned runs. Still a productive start.

Hairston, who had a grand slam in Game 1, went 2-for-5 and hit his 14th homer of the year. Dean Toigo went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a double.

WVU provided some more cushion in the eighth and ninth innings. Kelly kept up his great season and rocked a 364-foot two-run home run, and Smith singled again to score another. In the ninth, Kelly and Ineich knocked in two more, giving the Mountaineers 13 runs.

After Yehl went seven innings, Reese Bassinger came in for the eighth. He allowed Arizona State to hit a double, which gave the Sun Devils some life. But, he shut things down quickly. Bassinger finished with one earned run, one strikeout and two hits. J.D. Costanzo was WVU’s closer. Arizona State’s Matt Polk homered off of Costanzo, making it a bit interesting in the ninth, 13-7, but Costanzo slowly quieted things down, securing the win. He pitched just the ninth and struck out two batters.

Arizona State used a lot of arms in just the second game of the series. The Sun Devils went to the bullpen four times just to come up short. It’ll be interesting to see how Arizona State goes about Sunday in an important rubber match.

Chansen Cole is on the mound for the Mountaineers in the series-decider. Cole is coming off one of his worst games against Baylor, where he allowed six runs through three innings. WVU is going to need him to shake it off to secure another series win and remain the top team in the Big 12.