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Corso, Campbell Lead WVU to Season’s 10th Win
March 15, 2016 08:15 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team concluded its opening homestand with a 6-2 victory over Radford on Tuesday afternoon at Monongalia County Ballpark.
Freshman right hander Tanner Campbell tossed six innings of one-run, four-hit ball as sophomore second baseman Shaun Corso drove in a career-high four runs to fuel the Mountaineers (10-4) to their 10th victory of the season. WVU capped its opening homestand with a 3-1 record.
Campbell recovered from a shaky first inning to earn his first career win. After giving up a run on two hits and facing seven batters in the first, Campbell allowed just two hits over the next five innings. On the day, the freshman struck out a career-high six batters and walked three.
“Things were sped up on Tanner in the first inning, he was rushing a little bit, just being a freshman,” said WVU coach Randy Mazey. “Once he settled in, I thought he was pretty good. He made some really good pitches when he needed too, with men on base and the game still up in the air. It was pretty encouraging.”
Corso led the WVU offense with two hits and a career-best four RBIs, including the game-winner in a four-run third inning.
West Virginia scored six runs on 10 hits. Along with Corso, freshmen shortstop Jimmy Galusky, designated hitter Marques Inman and catcher Ivan Vera all added two hits apiece. Inman and fellow freshman right fielder Darius Hill added RBIs.
In total, 10 freshmen saw the field on Tuesday, including six in the starting lineup. Four of WVU’s six runs and six of the Mountaineers’ 10 hits were recorded by freshmen. Galusky and Vera scored two runs in addition to their two hits.
On the mound, Campbell was joined by fellow freshmen Braden Zarbnisky and Endy Morales. Zarbnisky pitched 2.0 innings in relief and allowed just one hit with a pair of strikeouts.
“We’re not playing freshmen just to get them on the field, we’re playing freshmen because they’re good players,” said Mazey. “Three of them had two hits apiece and three of them pitched, one of them got the win. These guys are all good players, and they’re helping us win games.”
After Radford scored in the first, the Mountaineers jumped out with four runs in the third thanks to five singles. Vera led off with a single and advanced to second on a perfect bunt single by Galusky. Sophomore third baseman Kyle Davis singled to load the bases and Hill drove in Vera with a sacrifice fly.
WVU took the lead on Corso’s first hit of the day, a two-RBI single up the middle. Inman followed with a single of his own to plate Corso from second.
After a 1-2-3 innings from Campbell in the sixth and Zarbnisky in the seventh, the Mountaineers added two insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh. Again it was courtesy of singles, and it was the bottom of the order that got it started. Just like the third inning, Vera led off with a single and Galusky followed with a bunt single before they both scored with two outs on Corso’s single to left field.
Radford added a run in the ninth inning to make it 6-2, but the Highlanders (2-15) would get no closer after sophomore righty Nick Wernke came in to get the game’s final out.
Up next for the Mountaineers is the beginning of Big 12 Conference play, when WVU travels to No. 7 TCU for a three-game series against the Horned Frogs, beginning on Friday in Fort Worth, Texas. First pitch is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday before a 5 p.m. ET start on Saturday. The series finale will be on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. Fans can listen to all the action live on the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG, while live stats and a live video feed will be provided by TCU at GoFrogs.com. Additional updates from Lupton Stadium can be found by following the Mountaineers on social media at @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
NOTES: With the win, WVU improves to 10-4 on the year and 3-1 at home … Freshman Kyle Gray made his first career start in center field … Freshman Darius Hill drove in his team-leading 11th run of the season … Sophomore Shaun Corso’s two-RBI single in the third inning were his first two RBIs of the year … Freshman Marques Inman recorded his first career multi-hit game with a pair of singles … Freshman Tanner Campbell earned his first career win and pitched a career-high 6.0 innings allowing just one run on four hits with a career-best six strikeouts and one walk … Freshman Ivan Vera, making his second career start at catcher, had two hits, doubling his career high … Sophomore Shaun Corso notched a career-best four RBIs … Junior Jackson Cramer reached base in his 34th consecutive game, the longest active streak on the team … Sophomore Kyle Davis extended his hitting streak to a team-high 12 games, one shy of his career high, and he has reached base in 32 consecutive games.
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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