Baseball Defeats Akron Behind 20 Hits
March 17, 2015 10:17 PM | General
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WASHINGTON, Pa. – Eleven different players recorded at least one hit as the West Virginia University baseball team beat Akron, 14-9, on Tuesday evening at CONSOL Energy Ballpark.
The Mountaineers (9-8, 1-2 Big 12) tied a season high with 20 hits and committed three errors, and the Zips (8-8) had nine hits and three errors.
“I was worried about this game coming in because it was a trap game coming off the emotional series at Texas and playing really well down there,” coach Randy Mazey said. “We thought it was going to be at home and then we had to travel to play, so there were a lot of reasons to have a let down, but our guys set the tone early. That’s the sign of a pretty good team when you can show up like that in what we consider a trap game.”
Sophomore right fielder Shaun Wood and sophomore first baseman Jackson Cramer each went 3-for-3 with Wood driving in three runs. Each player scored two runs. Senior shortstop Taylor Munden, sophomore catcher Ray Guerrini and freshman left fielder Kyle Davis each had one home run, with Guerrini driving in a game-high five runs.
“We made a hitting adjustment with him in the last week to 10 days,” Mazey said of Guerrini. “He wasn’t swinging it too well before that, but since we made that adjustment he’s been stranding in there really well and that’s encouraging.”
Munden led off with a home run for the second time this season as part of a four-run first inning. Munden’s homer was his team-leading sixth of the season. Senior left fielder Brad Johnson scored on an error by the right fielder, while Wood and Guerrini each had RBI singles to make it 4-0.
Wood drove in his second run of the game in third inning with a bases loaded single to plate Johnson. Guerrini followed in the next at bat with a grand slam, his first career home run, bringing the score to 9-0.
West Virginia loaded the bases with no outs for the second-straight inning in the bottom of the fourth, coming away with only one run to extend the lead to 10-0. Wood’s third single of evening produced his third RBI, scoring freshman Caleb Potter.
Davis added two runs to WVU’s lead in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run home run to left field, his second of the season.
Akron scored four runs to cut the deficit to 12-4 in the top of the seventh, highlighted by a two-run triple to right center field off the bat of Dan Lawrence.
The Mountaineers loaded the bases again in the bottom of the seventh and Potter picked up his first career RBI with a sacrifice fly to center field, making the score 13-4.
Following one run by Akron in the top of the eighth, junior center fielder KC Huth hit an RBI single through the left side, marking the score at 14-5. Akron added four runs in the top of the ninth, highlighted by a Havrilak three-run home run.
Freshman right-hander BJ Myers (1-1) picked up his first career win in four shutout innings. He allowed two hits in the start, striking out six batters and walking two. Freshman righty Adam Keller pitched two shutout innings of relief, allowing one hit with four strikeouts.
“That was the BJ of Clemson when he settled in in the third inning and got his breaking ball cooking and was throwing changeups for strikes,” Mazey said. “I was really encouraged by him and really encouraged by Adam Keller. The ball was coming out of his hand really well.”
The loss was issued to Zach Beaver (0-1), who gave up nine runs, eight earned, on nine hits with one strikeout and one walk in three innings. Joey Havrilak, Matt Rembielak and Billy Salem had two hits apiece for the Zips.
WVU will travel to Baylor for a Big 12 series from March 20-22 in Waco, Texas. Friday’s opener will begin at 4:30 p.m., Saturday’s game is set for 5 p.m. and Sunday’s finale will be at 3 p.m. All times are Eastern.
Saturday’s game will be televised on FOX College Sports and Sunday will be on FOX Sports Southwest. The entire series can be heard on the affiliates of the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG College with Jeff Culhane on the call.
Additionally, fans can listen to the broadcast via the WVU Gameday App on their mobile device, as well as the TuneIn Radio App. WVUsports.com also will carry free live audio via the LeanStream Player at WVUsports.com/audio.
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