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Big 12 Play Continues at Kansas
March 24, 2016 05:41 PM | Baseball
LAWRENCE, Kan. (March 24, 2016) – The West Virginia University baseball team concludes a seven game roadtrip with a weekend series at Kansas, from March 25-27 at Hoglund Ballpark.
The series begins on Friday, March 25 at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT. First pitch on Saturday is slated for 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT, while first pitch of Sunday’s series finale has been moved up to 12:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. CT.
The Mountaineers (10-8) will use the same pitching rotation they have used in the first six weekends to begin the season. Junior right-hander Chad Donato (0-2) will get the start on Friday, followed by senior lefty Ross Vance (3-1) and sophomore righty BJ Myers (2-2).The Jayhawks (7-11) will start senior left-hander Ben Krauth (1-3) on Friday, freshman righty Jackson Goddard (1-1) on Saturday and sophomore left-hander Blake Weiman (1-1) on Sunday.
FOLLOWING ALONG
For fans unable to cheer on the Mountaineers in person, there are several ways to tune in live. A live video stream can be found on ESPN3.com and the Watch ESPN app. Jeff Culhane will call the action on the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG on various affiliates throughout the state. The radio broadcast can also be found online at WVUsports.com or on the TuneIn Radio App and the Mountaineer Gameday App. Live stats will be available at KUathletics.com. Additional updates and notes from Lawrence, Kansas, can be found on social media by following and connecting with the team at @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
SCOUTING KANSAS
Kansas enters the weekend, its first Big 12 series of the season, with a 7-11 record. KU is 6-4 at home and has won four of its last five at Hoglund Ballpark.
The Jayhawks are coming off an 0-3 weekend at Stanford. KU was shut out in the series opener, 2-0, before a 10-4 loss on March 19 and a 6-2 defeat on Sunday.
At home, Kansas split a midweek series against Murray State on March 16-17 after winning the Millard Management Classic. In the weekend event from March 11-12, KU shut out North Dakota, 7-0 before a doubleheader sweep of Saint Louis, 5-3, and Purdue, 8-1.
Along with its 6-4 home record, Kansas is 0-4 in road contests and 1-3 at a neutral site. The Jayhawks are 0-2 vs. top 25 teams, with 9-3 and 3-1 losses to No. 5 Oregon State in Surprise, Arizona, as part of the Big 12/Pac 12 Challenge.
The Jayhawks are under the direction of Ritch Price, in his 14th season as head coach. Price owns a 422-378-2 mark in Lawrence and has guided KU to three NCAA Tournaments, most recently in 2014.
HISTORY VS. THE JAYHAWKSWest Virginia is 5-6 all-time against Kansas after going 1-2 vs. the Jayhawks last season at Monongalia County Ballpark. All 11 meetings have come since the Mountaineers joined the Big 12 Conference for the 2013 season.
In the first meeting between the two teams, WVU swept the series in Beckley, W.Va. The Mountaineers won a trio of one-run games, 1-0, 4-3 and 3-2.
Last season, West Virginia lost the first two games of the series, 3-1 and 9-5, before a 5-4 win in the series finale.
In Lawrence, Kansas, KU swept the only previous series, in 2014. It was a close three games, with the Jayhawks winning 5-3, 5-2 and 9-8.
The Mountaineers and Jayhawks have also met twice at the Big 12 Championships. WVU lost a 7-2 contest in 2013 before a 10-9 win in 2014.
ON DECK: VS. CANISIUS, OSU
The Mountaineers return home for a five game homestand, beginning with a midweek series vs. Canisius at Monongalia County Ballpark. The series begins on Tuesday, March 29 at 6:30 p.m. ET and concludes on Wednesday at 3 p.m. Tuesday’s contest is a Dollar Night, where all tickets and select concession items are just $1.
WVU welcomes Big 12 foe Oklahoma State to Morgantown from April 1-3. Friday’s series opener, slated for a 6:30 p.m. ET first pitch, is a True Blue game, and all fans are encouraged to wear blue to cheer on the Mountaineers. There will also be a postgame fireworks show. Saturday’s contest, which begins at 4 p.m., is Family Day. Fans can purchase four tickets and receive a $10 concession voucher for just $25. The series concludes on Sunday, April 3 at 1 p.m. As part of the first Kids’ Day of the year, fans can get autographs from the Mountaineers and run the bases after the game.
LAST TIME OUT: WVU EDGED AT PENN ST.
WVU is coming off its first midweek road game of the season, a 5-4 loss at Penn State on Tuesday evening. The Mountaineers scored four runs on eight hits but stranded 11 runners on base. The Nittany Lions had nine hits and left 12 runners on base but scored five runs. Both teams recorded an error.
Jackson Cramer led the WVU offense with his third home run of the season, a two-run shot in the third inning. Seven different Mountaineers accounted for WVU’s nine hits, with freshmen Kyle Gray and Darius Hill notching two hits apiece.
Conner Dotson (3-1) pitched three strong innings in relief, but gave up one run in the seventh inning and suffered his first loss of the season. He held PSU to three hits and struck out two with two walks.
IMPACTFUL FRESHMEN
Eleven freshman - Cole Austin, Tanner Campbell, Jimmy Galusky, Kyle Gray, Michael Grove, Darius Hill, Marques Inman, Endy Morales, Ivan Vera, Braden Zarbnisky and Andrew Zitel - have seen action this season, and have had a major impact.
Austin started at second base the first 12 games and is hitting .222 with 12 hits and is fourth on the team with 9 RBIs. At Charleston Southern, he scored the first and winning run on Feb. 20, while he belted his first career home run on Feb. 26 at UNLV and another the following day.
Campbell made his career debut and started in WVU’s 9-2 win at Hawaii on March 6. He earned his first career victory in his next start, giving up just one run on four hits in 6.0 innings against Radford on March 15, all career-high totals.
Galusky has started every game at shortstop and is fourth on the team with 17 hits. He knocked in the game-tying and winning runs with a two-RBI single in the 12th inning on March 12 vs. Old Dominion. At UNLV, he hit his first career home run and went 5-5 in the series finale.
Gray has played in 17 games, with 14 starts in left and one in center He leads the team with a .333 average. In WVU’s win at CSU on Feb. 21, his first career hit drove in the game’s winning run, and he had a nine game hitting streak.
Grove has made five appearances with 6.0 innings pitched. He earned his first career save in WVU’s 4-1 win at Hawaii on March 4, pitching two innings and allowing just two hits with three strikeouts.
Hill has started all 18 games in right field and leads the team with 24 hits and 13 RBIs and is third with a .324 average. He drove in the game winning run on Feb. 27 at UNLV and again on March 4 at Hawaii. At UNLV, he hit .400 with six hits, including his first career home run, had a team-best seven RBIs and scored a team-high-tying six runs. He also posted a nine game hit streak in the stretch.
Inman has played in 10 games with four starts, where he recorded his first career hit on March 3 at Hawaii and went 2-3 vs. Radford. At TCU, he drove in a pair of runs to open the game on March 20.
Zarbnisky has made three appearances, allowing five hits in 4.1 innings. In WVU’s win over Radford, he threw 2.0 scoreless innings in relief. With the bat, he recorded his first career hit on Feb. 27 at UNLV and has one hit in two at-bats.
Morales, Vera and Zitel have seen limited action. Zitel notched two hits, including the first of his career, on Feb. 27 at UNLV and started at third base once vs. Old Dominion. Vera has made seven appearances behind the plate. In his two starts, he posted two hits in both contests, vs. Old Dominion and Radford. Morales has made one appearance on the mound, allowing a run on one hit in 0.2 innings of work against Radford.
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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