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Baseball Concludes 11-Day Roadtrip at Hawaii
March 02, 2016 01:21 PM | Baseball
HONOLULU – Coming off a sweep at UNLV and an exhibition contest against MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks, the West Virginia University baseball team wraps up an 11-day, three-city roadtrip with a four-game series at Hawai’i from March 3-6.
The Mountaineers (5-1) are off to their best start to a season since 2006 and meet the Rainbow Warriors (4-5) for the first time in program history. WVU has won five consecutive games, excluding the exhibition contest to the Diamondbacks, a 7-4 defeat that does not count towards its record or season statistics.
First pitch between WVU and UH is slated for 11:35 p.m. ET/6:35 p.m. HT on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at UH’s Les Murakami Stadium. The series concludes at 6:05 p.m. ET/1:05 p.m. HT on Sunday in Honolulu.FOLLOWING ALONG
For fans unable to cheer on the Mountaineers in person, live stats and a live radio feed can be found at HawaiiAthletics.com. Additional updates and notes from the team’s trip to Hawai’i will be available on social media by following and connecting with the team at @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
SCOUTING HAWAI’I
Hawai’i owns a 4-5 mark on the season and is coming off a 2-1 weekend vs. San Francisco in Moraga, Calif. The Rainbow Warriors earned an 11-3 victory in the opener and suffered a 5-4 loss on Feb. 27 before a 9-7, 10-inning win in the finale on Feb. 28.
In Friday’s win, UH trailed 2-1 before scoring eight runs in the fifth inning to blow the game open. Leadoff hitter Matt LoCoco had four hits and three RBIs in the contest, including a home run. Catcher Kekai Rios also had three RBIs on two hits.
Saturday, San Francisco scored three in the ninth inning to walk off with a 5-4 victory. UH took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning before USF evened the score in the second, taking advantage of a Hawai’i error. In the third though, the Rainbow Warriors responded to take a 4-2 lead. In the ninth, a bases-loaded walk was followed by a two-RBI single to win it for San Francisco.
In Sunday’s series finale, Hawai’i fought off San Francisco’s extra-inning rally after the Dons tied the game in the ninth inning. UH took a 7-4 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning, but USF tied the contest at 7-7. Heading into the 10th inning, the Rainbow Warriors scored two in the top of the frame to secure the 9-7 victory.
The West Virginia baseball team practices at Hawaii's Les Murakami Stadium on March 1 before opening a four-game series against the Rainbow Warriors on March 3, 2016. | Photo by Charlie Healy, WVU Athletics
Posted by WVU Baseball on Wednesday, March 2, 2016
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE RAINBOW WARRIORS
This weekend marks the first meeting between WVU and UH. Additionally, in 121 years of varsity baseball, this marks West Virginia’s first trip to the Hawaiian Islands.
Against current Big West Conference competition, the Mountaineers own a 4-2 mark. WVU is 2-2 vs. Cal St. Northridge and 2-0 against UC Riverside. On a similar multi-weekend roadtrip in 2014, West Virginia traveled to UC Riverside and posted 2-1 and 7-4 victories. The following weekend, the Mountaineers played at Cal State Northridge, where they went 2-1. WVU also played CSNU in 2000 and lost, 6-4.
ON DECK: HOME OPENERThe Mountaineers return home for the home opener at Monongalia County Ballpark on March 11-13. WVU hosts Old Dominion in the weekend series that begins on Friday, March 11 at 3 p.m. The series continues on March 12 at 3 p.m. and concludes on March 13 with a 1 p.m. first pitch.
LAST TIME OUT: OFFENSE EXPLODES IN LAS VEGAS SWEEP
West Virginia began its roadtrip with a three game sweep of UNLV. WVU posted a 9-6 victory on Feb. 26 before a 13-1 win on Feb. 27 and a 9-4 victory in the finale. The offense exploded for 31 runs on 40 hits as starters Ross Vance and BJ Myers allowed just one earned run in the final two games.
In the opener on Feb. 26, WVU used three three-run innings, including in the ninth, to defeat UNLV 9-6. The Mountaineers took an early 6-1 lead after two innings, but the Rebels came back to tie the game at 6-6 in the eighth. Freshman Jimmy Galusky drove in the game-winner to begin a three-run ninth inning and freshman Darius Hill capped a three-hit, four-RBI day with a two-run home run in the ninth to give WVU a three run cushion. In relief, sophomore Conner Dotson earned his first career victory and got the final four outs of the game.
On Feb. 27, WVU put on an offensive show as senior Ross Vance shut down UNLV in a 13-1 victory. The Mountaineers scored at least one run in six innings en route to their biggest offensive output of the season. Meanwhile, Vance improved to 2-0 on the young season as he held the Rebels to one run on just three hits with eight strikeouts in seven innings of work. Freshman right fielder Darius Hill paced the WVU offense with three hits for the second consecutive day. He added three RBI and scored two runs.
On Feb. 28, WVU won its fifth consecutive game, 9-4, as sophomore BJ Myers shut down the Rebels to improve to 2-0 on the season. He allowed one run, unearned, on three hits in seven innings of work while striking out four and walking one. West Virginia’s offense, which had 14 hits, was led by senior center fielder KC Huth and freshman shortstop Jimmy Galusky. Both hit a home run and knocked in two runs, while Galusky went 5-5 in the No. 9 spot in the lineup and Huth went 3-4, hitting seventh. WVU also used the help of four UNLV errors to nail down the sweep.
WVU PLAYS MLB’S ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
West Virginia played an exhibition contest vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks on Feb. 29 in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Mountaineers jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a pair of hits in the first inning before suffering a 7-4 loss. The game is believed to be the first in program history against an MLB club.
The seven-inning exhibition contest at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, Arizona’s Spring Training home ballpark, featured a mix of Major League and Minor League talent for the Diamondbacks. The majority of WVU’s roster also saw playing time in the game.
While official stats were not recorded, WVU totaled four runs on six hits, while the Diamondbacks had seven runs on 13 hits with two errors.
Junior catcher Ray Guerrini reached base three times, with a hit and two walks, while freshman second baseman Cole Austin and sophomore left fielder Caleb Potter reached base twice, each with a hit and a walk. Senior center fielder KC Huth and freshmen pinch hitters Kyle Gray and Marques Inman also recorded hits.
RBIs were credited to Potter, driving in Austin in the first, Austin, plating Huth in the fourth and Inman, who doubled home Guerrini in the fifth. WVU also scored in the third inning, when sophomore third baseman Kyle Davis came home on a bases-loaded wild pitch.
OFF TO A HOT START
With a 5-1 record to open the season and having won five consecutive games, West Virginia is off to one of the best starts in program history. It is the best start to the season since 2006, when WVU also started the year 5-1.
WVU’s five consecutive wins have all come in road games. The last time the Mountaineers won five or more consecutive true road games was 2004, when they won six in a row in a stretch separated by a homestand. In 2014, WVU won six in a row away from home, with three coming in neutral site contests.
The Mountaineers are off to their best start to the season under fourth-year head coach Randy Mazey. In 2013, Mazey’s first season, it took WVU 11 games to record its fifth win and it took nine games in 2014 and 11 in 2015.
HUTH NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior center fielder KC Huth was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Feb. 29, the second consecutive week to open the year that WVU has earned a conference accolade.
Huth led the WVU offense in its sweep at UNLV, hitting .636 (7-11) with a 1.182 slugging percentage. He hit his first two home runs of the season and had four RBIs, a walk and 13 total bases while stealing two bases on two attempts. n the field, Huth added six putouts without an error.
Friday, Huth went 1-3 and scored the eventual winning run in the ninth inning after a leadoff walk.
Saturday, he led WVU with three hits and two runs and added two RBIs. He hit his first home run of the season, a leadoff shot in the eighth inning that hit off the scoreboard beyond the left field fence and jumpstarted a five run inning.
Sunday, Huth went 3-4 with a two run home run, and a team-high-tying two RBIs with two runs scored. His home run opened the scoring for WVU in the second inning. I
This is the second Big 12 award of the season for West Virginia and the 14th since WVU joined the league for the 2013 season. Last week, freshman BJ Myers was named the Pitcher of the Week.
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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