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Comeback Falls Short in DH-Opening Loss
March 12, 2016 07:50 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – For the second consecutive game, the West Virginia University baseball team made another late-inning comeback, but it ended with a different result on Saturday afternoon, a 5-4 loss in 10 innings in the first game of a doubleheader at Monongalia County Ballpark.
The Mountaineers (8-4) stormed back with three runs in the ninth inning to erase a 4-1 deficit, but the Monarchs (11-3) answered with a run in the 10th inning to earn the win.
West Virginia’s bats were held at bay in the first eight innings, recording seven hits and stranding nine baserunners, before an explosive ninth inning.
Freshman left fielder Kyle Gray led off the game with a double. Fellow freshman Jimmy Galusky followed with a single and then Gray scored on a passed ball.
After freshman Darius Hill doubled to send Galusky to third, freshman Cole Austin doubled home Galusky and freshman Braden Zarbnisky, running for Hill.
Austin got WVU’s second out of the inning when he tried to reach home from second on a wild pitch, and the inning ended on sophomore designated hitter Shaun Corso’s groundout.
Old Dominion led off the 10th inning with a solo home run to left field off of WVU freshman reliever Michael Grove. Grove suffered his first loss of the season, allowing one run on one hit with two walks and three strikeouts in one inning of work.
In WVU’s first extra-inning contest of the season, the Mountaineers notched four runs on 13 hits with two errors. ODU recorded five runs on nine hits with one error.
After Old Dominion notched one in the first, WVU scored its first run in the bottom of the first inning. Sophomore third baseman Kyle Davis led off with a double and scored on Austin’s sacrifice fly.
The Monarchs answered with a run in the third and two in the fourth to take a 4-1 lead that they would keep until the bottom of the ninth inning.
Senior left-hander Ross Vance was the starter for WVU, pitching and 3.2 innings, allowing four runs, three earned, on seven hits with seven strikeouts and no walks.
Junior Brandon Boone, sophomore Shane Ennis and junior Jackson Sigman all took the mound in relief and didn’t allowed any runs. Boone worked 4.1 scoreless innings and gave up just one hit, while Ennis and Sigman did not allow a hit, each striking out one.
With Sunday’s game shifted to a second game of today’s doubleheader, 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.
NOTES: WVU falls to 8-4 on the year and played in its first extra-inning contest of the season … Sophomore Kyle Davis led off the game with a double, extending his hit streak to a team-high 10 games and his reached base streak to 30 games … Freshman Cole Austin drove in his seventh run of the season with a sacrifice fly in the first inning … Senior Ross Vance pitched 3.2 innings, allowing four runs, three earned, on seven hits with seven strikeouts and no walks … Junior Brandon Boone pitched 4.1 scoreless innings in relief and allowed just one hit with four strikeouts and two walks … WVU scored three runs to tie the game in the ninth inning, with four of the five hits and all three runs scored by freshmen … Junior Jackson Cramer extended his reached base streak to a team-high 32 games with a ninth-inning single … Freshman Michael Grove pitched the 10th inning and suffered his first loss of the season.
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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