.png&height=300&type=webp)
series(1).png
Baseball Begins 11-Day Roadtrip at UNLV
February 25, 2016 05:52 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team begins an 11-day, three-city roadtrip with a three-game series at UNLV from Feb. 26-28.
The series-opener is set for Friday, Feb. 26 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, at Earl E. Wilson Baseball Stadium. The series continues on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT and concludes on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT, in Las Vegas.
FOLLOWING ALONG
For fans unable to cheer on the Mountaineers in person, there are several ways to follow the action live. Live stats can be found at UNLVRebels.com, while UNLVRebels.com/Videos will have a live stream of each contest. Additional updates and notes from the team’s trip to Las Vegas will be available on social media by following and connecting with the team at @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
SCOUTING UNLV
UNLV is coming off a 1-2 weekend at No. 23 Texas. The Rebels earned a 12-inning, 4-3 victory in the opener before an 11-2 loss on Feb. 20 and a 7-0 defeat in the Feb. 21 finale.
In Friday’s win, UNLV rallied from a two-run deficit with a two-run triple by Cooper Esmay in the eighth inning to tie the game at 3-3. Andrew Yazdanbaksh hit a solo home run in the 12th inning to give UNLV its first and only lead of the contest. Dean Kremer pitched scoreless 5.2 innings of relief between the fifth and 10th innings.
Saturday, the Rebels committed five errors as Texas jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two innings. Yazdanbaksh hit his second homer in as many nights for UNLV and Corey Pool had an RBI single, but it was not enough for the visitors. Texas shut out UNLV in the finale, 7-0. The Longhorns again scored early, with three runs in the first two innings. UT added two in the fifth and seventh innings.
UNLV is led by first-year coach Stan Stolte. Stolte is in his sixth season at UNLV after serving as associate head coach since 2010.
.png)
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE REBELSWest Virginia is 1-1 all-time vs. UNLV, with both games taking place in Las Vegas. The Mountaineers are 0-1 under coach Randy Mazey after a 4-3 defeat in 2014.
In a 2014 midweek matchup, UNLV scored an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth to earn the 4-3 victory.
The first meeting between WVU and UNLV came in 2000, when the Mountaineers posted a 15-6 victory. The contest marked the fifth game in a four-day span in Las Vegas for West Virginia. Like 2016, the 2000 Mountaineers also opened the year in Charleston, South Carolina before a trip to Las Vegas.
ON DECK: AT ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS, HAWAII
The Mountaineers’ 11-day roadtrip continues in Scottsdale, Arizona, for an exhibition contest against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Feb. 29. WVU will then go to Hawaii for a four game series against the Rainbow Warriors, on March 3-6.
LAST TIME OUT: SERIES WIN AT CSU
WVU opened the 2016 season with a series win at Charleston Southern. The Mountaineers opened with a 4-3 loss on Friday before back-to-back shutout victories, 5-0 on Saturday and 3-0 on Sunday.
Friday, junior right-hander Chad Donato took the loss but allowed no earned runs. WVU mounted a 2-run, ninth-inning comeback, but it was not enough.
In Saturday’s 5-0 win, senior lefty Ross Vance earned the victory and junior catcher Ray Guerrini knocked in the winning run with a bases-loaded, two-RBI double in a four-run fourth inning.
Sunday, sophomore right-hander BJ Myers pitched eight shutout innings, and it was Guerrini who scored the winning run on a single by freshman leftfielder Kyle Gray, his first career hit and RBI.
MYERS NAMED PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore right-handed pitcher BJ Myers was named the Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 22.
Myers pitched eight shutout innings in WVU’s 3-0 win at Charleston Southern on Feb. 21. The win helped the Mountaineers to a season-opening series win.
A Flower Mound, Texas, native, Myers allowed no runs on five hits in eight innings. He struck out five and walked just one. CSU hit into three double plays as Myers faced 26 batters, just two over the minimum in his eight innings. With runners on base, Charleston Southern was 0-6.
Myers faced more than three batters in just two innings – the first and fifth.
This is the first Big 12 award of the season for West Virginia and the 13th since WVU joined the league for the 2013 season.
PITCHING FOR THE AGES
WVU’s pitching put on an impressive display in its three game series to open the year at Charleston Southern.
WVU recorded back-to-back shutouts, with a 5-0 win on Saturday and a 3-0 victory on Sunday. The last time WVU shut out an opponent in consecutive games was 2007, a double-header shutouts of Copin State, 10-0 and 12-0 on April 3.
The Mountaineers allowed just two earned runs all series and four runs total, all on Friday. WVU held CSU scoreless for the final 19 innings of the series. West Virginia held CSU to a .195 batting average and the WVU pitching staff had an ERA of 0.69, No. 1 in the Big 12 and sixth nationally. WVU is one of just seven teams in the country with two shutouts to open the season.
IMPACTFUL FRESHMEN
Eight freshman - Cole Austin, Jimmy Galusky, Kyle Gray, Michael Grove, Darius Hill, Marques Inman, Ivan Vera and Braden Zarbnisky - saw their first career action as Mountaineers at Charleston Southern.
Austin started at second base all three games and hit .364 with four hits. He scored the first and winning run Saturday and had two hits on Sunday.
Galusky started each game at shortstop and had three hits, all doubles. Saturday he notched two doubles, while Sunday’s ninth-inning double gave WVU a valuable insurance run.
Gray started two games in left and played in all three. He had two hits on Sunday. His fifth-inning single, his first career hit, drove in the game’s winning run.
Grove pitched a scoreless ninth inning on Saturday. He faced three batters, striking out one and issuing a walk before the game-ending double play.
Hill had three starts in right field and had two hits, both on Sunday.
Inman, Vera and Zarbnisky saw limited action Saturday. Inman pinch hit in the ninth and was hit by a pitch. Vera caught Grove and Zarbnisky played right field in the ninth inning.
WVU practices at UNLV's Earl E. Wilson Baseball Stadium, Feb. 25, 2016 | Photo by Charlie Healy, WVU Athletics
Posted by WVU Baseball on Friday, February 26, 2016
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.
Steve Sabins | April 14
Tuesday, April 14
Coal Rush Baseball Uniform Reveal
Wednesday, March 11
Steve Sabins | Feb. 16
Monday, February 16
Matthew Graveline | Feb. 16
Monday, February 16
