PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Sophomore catcher Ray Guerrini drove in all four runs in a 4-1 victory at Pitt on Tuesday evening at Charles L. Cost Field.
The win was the seventh in a row for West Virginia (16-10), who finished with four runs on seven hits with no errors. Pitt (11-16) scored one run on seven hits with no errors.
Guerrini batted 1-for-2 with one run and four RBIs to lead the Mountaineers at the plate, while freshman second baseman Kyle Davis had two hits for his 13th multi-hit game of the season.
"He (Guerrini) had a three-run homer, that's my favorite play," coach Randy Mazey said. "Then he goes with the squeeze bunt, that's my second favorite play. Then he picks a guy off third base with the bases loaded and two outs, and that's my favorite defensive play. He did everything that he needed to do today."
Junior right-hander Jeff Hardy (1-0) pitched five innings of relief en route to his first career win, striking out six batters and giving up one run on three hits.
"Hardy went out there and was just attacking the strike zone. That's the best he has thrown since he's been a Mountaineer and it couldn't have come at a better time than up here at Pitt," Mazey said. "That's super encouraging for the rest of the season because the last three weeks we have been waiting for a guy to come out of the bullpen and step up and do something like that."
Senior third baseman Justin Fox and Davis led off the top of the fourth inning with back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners. After consecutive strikeouts, Guerrini hit a three-run home run over the left field fence to put the Mountaineers ahead 3-0. The two-out blast was his third of the season.
Hardy minimized damage in the bottom of the fifth after allowing Pitt had back-to-back singles to start the frame. Ron Sherman scored the lone run on a ground out to second base by Charles Leblanc to cut the West Virginia lead to 3-1. With the bases loaded and two outs, Guerrini picked off the runner at third base with a snap throw to end the threat.
Guerrini made it 4-1 in the top of the sixth, driving in his fourth run of the game after successfully executing a suicide squeeze with runners on second and third. Davis scored on the play and senior left fielder Brad Johnson was thrown out at home trying to score as well.
Freshman right-hander Shane Ennis (1-0), who was on a pitch count, took a no-decision in the start for the Mountaineers. Ennis pitched two shutout innings, allowing two hits with two strikeouts.
Pitt starter Sam Mersing (2-1) took the loss after giving up four runs on six hits with four strikeouts and two walks in five innings. Sherman finished with two hits to lead the Panthers at the plate.
WVU will travel to Kansas State for its third-straight Big 12 series on the road from April 2-4. Thursday’s opener will begin at 7:30 p.m., Friday’s game is set for 7:30 p.m. and Saturday’s finale will be at noon. All times are Eastern.
Thursday and Saturday’s games will be televised on FOX College Sports Pacific, while Friday’s game will be televised on FOX Sports Midwest. The entire series can be heard on the affiliates of the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG with Jeff Culhane and Ernie Galusky 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.
