MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team was held to three hits on Wednesday afternoon in a 9-0 loss to Canisius at Monongalia County Ballpark.
The Mountaineers (12-10) were shut out by four Golden Griffin (11-13) pitchers, who struck out four batters and walked five. WVU gave up nine runs, six of them earned, on 11 hits with one error.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever been a part of something like that,” WVU coach Randy Mazey said. “They were throwing pitchers that haven’t pitched much for them and our at-bats were just awful today. If you were to talk to Kansas’ coaches, and say ‘what do you have on the Mountaineers?’ They’d say ‘that’s a good hitting team, those guys can really hit.’ You talk to Canisius’ coaches about the Mountaineers, and they’d say the exact opposite. Now we just have to go figure it out.”
Freshman right-hander Tanner Campbell got his fourth start of the season and gave up four runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings. He struck out two and walked two while suffering his first loss of the year. Campbell gave up a run in the fourth and one in the sixth before he exited the game and his final two runs scored.
Six Mountaineers pitched in relief on Wednesday. Sophomore righty Shane Ennis recorded the final two outs of the sixth inning and allowed no hits with one strikeout. Sophomore right-hander Nick Wernke threw a scoreless seventh inning before allowing a run in the eighth.
After CC scored five in the eighth, freshman Endy Morales made his second career appearance on pitched 0.2 innings allowing just one hit with a strikeout. In the ninth, freshman Jacob Potock made his first appearance of his career and recorded the final two outs of the inning with one strikeout.
“When you get into the season, you have to count on six or seven guys, maybe eight guys, on your staff that can carry you through the toughest parts,” Mazey added. “I still feel really good about our top seven or eight guys. I still feel good about our top guys.”
At the plate, freshman designated hitter Ivan Vera reached base four times, with a hit and three walks. Fellow freshman Darius Hill and sophomore pinch hitter Kyle Casserly also recorded hits.
Junior first baseman Jackson Cramer walked in the fifth inning to extend his reached base streak to a team-high 42 games. Sophomore third baseman Kyle Davis also walked.
WVU’s best scoring chance came in the fifth inning. Trailing just 1-0 at the time, Cramer and Vera both walked. Junior catcher Ray Guerrini hit a sacrifice fly to right to send Cramer to third, but with runners on the corners and one out, a foul out and line out ended the inning.
Canisius responded with three runs on four hits in the top of the sixth to extend its lead to 4-0.
The Mountaineers had one runner reach in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings, but could not drive any runs in.
The Golden Griffins added five runs in the eighth inning to extend their lead to 9-0. The final two runs of the inning were unearned after a WVU fielding error.
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.
NOTES: WVU falls to 12-10 on the season and 3-3 at home … Junior Jackson Cramer’s fifth-inning walk extended his reached base streak to a team-high and career-best 42 games … Freshman Jacob Potock made his career debut and pitched 0.2 innings allowing no hits with one strikeout.
Single game and flex plan 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.
