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Baseball Hosts ODU in Home-Opening Series
March 10, 2016 05:44 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team hosts Old Dominion this weekend in the home-opening series at Monongalia County Ballpark on March 11-13.
First pitch on Opening Day, Friday, March 11, is set for 3 p.m. ET. The series continues on Saturday at 3 p.m. before the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Mountaineers (7-3) opened the year with a loss at Charleston Southern before winning five consecutive games, two at CSU and a sweep at UNLV. WVU then traveled to Honolulu and split a four game series at Hawaii.
Old Dominion (10-2) is coming off a 3-1 victory at VCU on Wednesday after a series win against Rutgers over the weekend. ODU has played just four of its first 12 games away from home, with one true road game, winning all four contests.
FOLLOWING ALONG
For fans unable to cheer on the Mountaineers in person at Monongalia County Ballpark, there are several ways to tune into the action. For all three games, a live video stream can be found at WVUsports.com, with Grant Dovey and Ernie Galusky on the call. Live stats will be available at WVUsports.com. Additional updates and notes can be found on social media by following and connecting with the team at @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
TICKETS
Season and single game tickets for the 2016 WVU baseball season are on sale now, and tickets remain available for this weekend’s home opening series. 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 Gate A of Monongalia County Ballpark.
PARKING AND SHUTTLE INFO
There are several new parking and shuttle options for fans to make cheering on the Mountaineers even easier this season.
Free parking will be available for all fans in the new parking lots behind the outfield fence. Lot 1 is located behind the right field wall and adjacent to the clubhouse facility at the ballpark, and lot 2 is located across the street from Gate A.
A limited amount of ADA accessible parking will be available on a first-come, first-served basis for free in the lot closest to Gate A. The lot is located behind the left-center field wall, behind the scoreboard. An ADA parking permit will be required to park in the spots reserved for ADA parking.
Free shuttle service for WVU students will also be offered to each WVU baseball home game this season through WVU Transportation. Student must have a valid WVU Student ID to ride the shuttle.
The shuttle schedule and complete parking information can be found at WVUsports.com.
SCOUTING OLD DOMINIONOld Dominion is 10-2 on the year after a 3-1 victory at VCU on Wednesday and a 2-1 series victory over Rutgers on March 5-6.
The Monarchs opened the year with a 5-0 victory over No. 10 NC State in Myrtle Beach, S.C. ODU went on to win its first five games of the season. ODU’s lone two losses came at home to Virginia Tech, 22-1 on Feb. 27 and in the series finale vs. Rutgers, a 5-2 defeat on March 6.
Old Dominion is 6-2 at home, 3-0 at neutral sites and just 1-0 on the road. The Monarchs’ lone road contest came on Wednesday at VCU, a 3-1 victory.
The Monarchs are led by Chris Finwood, in his fifth season at ODU. He owns a 122-115 record, which includes an NCAA Regional appearance in 2014. In 14 years as a head coach, including stops at VMI and Western Kentucky, Finwood is 364-366.
HISTORY VS. THE MONARCHS
West Virginia is 4-1 all-time against Old Dominion. Each of the previous five games have come at neutral sites. The 2015 meeting is the first as part of a series.
All four of WVU’s wins have come by scoring exactly seven runs, and all five previous contests have taken place either in North Carolina or South Carolina.
WVU won the first contest, 7-6 in 1982 in Columbia, S.C. Fifteen years later, the Mountaineers suffered a 12-6 loss in 1997 in Wilmington, N.C. WVU won the next three, a 7-5 win in 2001 in Wilmington, before a pair of victories in Charleston, S.C., 7-1 in 2002 and 7-4 in 2004.
ON DECK: VS. RADFORD
The Mountaineers conclude their home-opening homestand with a matchup vs. Radford on Tuesday, March 15. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. ET at Monongalia County Ballpark.
LAST TIME OUT: HAWAII CAPS ROADTRIP
West Virginia concluded an 11 day, seven game roadtrip with four games at Hawaii. The Mountaineers split the series, with a 4-1 victory on Friday and a 9-2 win on Sunday. Hawaii claimed a 4-1 win in Thursday’s series opener and prevailed 6-2 on Saturday.
Friday, senior Ross Vance improved to 3-0 on the year with another gem on the mound to lead WVU to a 4-1 win. Vance allowed just one run on four hits with four strikeouts and two walks in seven innings. Freshman Michael Grove pitched the final two innings and picked up his first save of his career. Freshman Kyle Gray and junior Jackson Cramer led the offense, each posting two hits, an RBI and a run scored.
Sunday, WVU’s offensive explosion was headlined by junior Ray Guerrini, who had two home runs, scored three runs and had three of the Mountaineers’ 13 hits. Freshman Darius Hill added three hits, was a home run shy of the cycle and had a pair of RBIs and three runs scored. Freshman Tanner Campbell made his first career appearance and got the start, pitching 4.1 strong innings allowing two runs on four hits with a pair of strikeouts and a walk. Sophomore Conner Dotson relieved Campbell and pitched 2.2 scoreless innings to earn the win and improve to 2-0 on the year.
In Thursday’s opener, WVU’s five game winning streak was snapped as the Mountaineers were held to seven hits in a 4-1 loss. Saturday, WVU lost 6-2 as sophomore BJ Myers suffered his first loss of the season and gave up his first earned runs of the year. Sophomore Kyle Davis had three hits, including his third home run of the season.
Coach Mazey Previews Old DominionLive with Coach Mazey, previewing this weekend's home-opening series vs. Old Dominion.
Posted by WVU Baseball on Wednesday, March 9, 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.
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