CHARLESTON, S.C. – A two-run, ninth-inning rally wasn’t enough on Opening Day as the West Virginia University baseball team lost at Charleston Southern, 4-3 on Friday afternoon.
In the first game of the season-opening three game series, WVU jumped out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to a second inning home run by Jackson Cramer at Joe Riley Park in Charleston, S.C. CSU answered with a pair of runs in the fourth inning and added two more in the eighth. West Virginia put together a rally with two runs in the ninth, but the rally came up one run short.
The Mountaineers (0-1) were held to three runs on six hits, left eight runners on base and committed three errors. The Buccaneers (1-0) scored four runs on seven hits and also had three errors and stranded five runners.
“This is a product of being a northern team in college baseball,” WVU coach Randy Mazey said. “This is the first time we’ve taken a ground ball on dirt this year, and I think that showed, we didn’t play great defense today. We don’t get to play outside in the preseason that often, we’re usually inside, so it takes some time to figure out what our lineup is going to be and get into the flow of things. But, that wasn’t the story of the game. The story was that they executed when they needed too and we didn’t.
Junior right-hander Chad Donato got the start for the Mountaineers and pitched 5.1 innings. He allowed two runs, both unearned. He gave up three hits and recorded five strikeouts and walked none.
Junior catcher Ray Guerrini led the Mountaineers with two hits, including a triple that began WVU’s ninth-inning rally. Sophomore third baseman Kyle Davis had a hit and an RBI, while center fielder KC Huth scored a run and reached base twice.
Cramer got the scoring underway for the Mountaineers with a mammoth home run to lead off the top of the second inning. The homer to right field was the 10th of Cramer’s career and the first for the Mountaineers this season.
The Mountaineers had a chance to add on to their lead in the third, but a single, walk and hit-by-pitch with two outs was followed up with a groundout by Cramer.
Donato retired the first nine batters he faced before Nate Blanchard singled to lead off the fourth inning for CSU’s first baserunner of the game. After a fly out to right, Sly Edwards reached on an error to put two runners on with one out. A fly out advanced Blanchard to third before Chris Singleton doubled down the left field line to score Blanchard and Edwards and give Charleston Southern a 2-1 lead.
Freshman second-baseman Cole Austin recorded the first hit of his career with a two-out single to left in the fifth inning, but he was stranded at first.
After a 1-2-3 fifth inning for the Buccaneers, Donato allowed a 1-out single in the sixth and was replaced by sophomore Conner Dotson. Dotson walked the first batter, but put an end to the CSU scoring threat with a foul out and a strike out.
WVU had two runners on in the fifth, with two outs, and two on again in the eighth, with one out, but a pair of groundouts ended both scoring threats.
Charleston Southern added two runs in the eighth inning to take a 4-1 lead. It began with a leadoff home run by Blanchard, followed by a one-out double by Edwards, who scored on a single from Singleton.
The Mountaineers put together a rally in the ninth inning, but it was not enough. Guerrini led off with a triple to right field, his second hit of the day, and scored on a grounder by Huth. Huth reached on an error by the CSU third baseman and advanced to second on the errant throw. After a flyout and a single, Davis reached on a fielder’s choice, which scored Huth. With two outs though, a strikeout halted WVU’s rally and ended the game.
The series resumes on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET at Joseph P. Riley Park and concludes on Sunday at 10 a.m. Live stats can be found at
CSUsports.com, and updates and notes from the team’s trip to Charleston, South Carolina, will be available on social media by following and connecting with @WVUBaseball on
Twitter,
Facebook and
Instagram.
Notes: WVU falls to 9-5 all-time vs. Charleston Southern … The series resumes on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET and concludes on Sunday at 10 a.m. … Jackson Cramer’s second-inning home run was the 10th of his career after he hit one as a freshman and eight last year as a sophomore … Going back to last season, Cramer has now reached base in a team and career-high 21 consecutive games … With a third-inning single, sophomore Kyle Davis extended his career-long hitting streak to 13 games, dating back to last season, the longest active streak for the Mountaineers … Freshman Cole Austin recorded his first career hit with a single to left in the fifth inning … Junior pitcher Chad Donato retired the first nine hitters he faced … Donato pitched 5.1 innings, allowing 2 runs, 0 earned, on three hits with five strikeouts and no walks.
Season and single game tickets for the 2016 WVU baseball season are on sale now. Fans can join the excitement of WVU baseball and contribute to the home field advantage at Monongalia County Ballpark by calling 1-800-WVU GAME, purchasing tickets at
WVUGAME.com or visiting the Mountaineer Ticket Office at the WVU Coliseum. More information on season tickets and the 30-game home schedule can be found at
WVUsports.com, while single game ticket information is available
here.
