HONOLULU – The West Virginia University baseball team dropped the third game of a four game series at Hawaii, 6-2, on Saturday evening at Les Murakami Stadium.
The Mountaineers (6-3) scored two runs on 10 hits with one error, while the Rainbow Warriors (6-6) tallied six runs on seven hits with one error. WVU left 10 runners on base, and UH stranded five.
Sophomore right hander BJ Myers suffered his first loss of the season and gave up five runs, four earned. They are the first earned runs he has given up this year. Myers pitched six innings and gave up seven hits with five strikeouts and a walk.
“The character of our team is being tested right now,” WVU coach Randy Mazey said. “We were feeling really good coming here for this series, but we haven’t played well out here. Tomorrow will be a statement on the character of the team, so tomorrow’s game will tell a lot about how the rest of the season is going to go.”
Sophomore designated hitter Kyle Davis led the WVU offense with three hits, including his third home run of the season.
Davis’ home run to left field, the first Mountaineer homer of the weekend and his third of the season, came in the sixth inning. The leadoff blast cut Hawaii’s lead to 4-1, but UH answered right back with a run in the sixth and seventh innings.
West Virginia tried to put together a rally in the eighth, and added a run. Freshman right fielder Darius Hill led off the inning with a double and he scored on a one-out single by junior first baseman Jackson Cramer. Sophomore third baseman Shaun Corso then singled to put two runners on with one out, but a strikeout and a foul out ended the inning and WVU’s threat for a big inning.
Two Mountaineers reached in the top of the ninth, but WVU could not add on to extend the game.
Myers got into trouble early in the contest, and several WVU miscues helped Hawaii score four runs in the first three innings. UH scored one in the first on fielder’s choice that followed a single, walk and throwing error by junior catcher Ray Guerrini.
The Rainbow Warriors added another run in the second inning. UH’s Jonathan Weeks hit a one-out single, advanced to second on a balk and reached third on a wild pitch. He scored on a sacrifice fly. Hawaii’s two runs in the third inning all came with two outs, with a single and a home run by Eric Ramirez.
Myers settled down the next two innings, allowing a lone single in the fourth and retiring the side in order in the fifth on just nine pitches.
Meanwhile, following a double by Davis to lead off the game, the Mountaineers were shut down in order in their next nine plate appearances. In the fourth, freshman second baseman Cole Austin snapped that streak with a single and Corso reached on a dropped third strike, but they were stranded on the base paths. A 1-2-3 fifth inning was followed by Davis’ homer in the sixth.
After the home run though, UH answered back with a run of its own in the sixth and seventh. In the sixth, Weeks singled home Alex Fitchett, who was hit by a pitch and advanced to third on a double. The seventh inning saw four walks, including three consecutive, to add to the Rainbow Warriors’ advantage.
After sophomore righty Shane Ennis and junior right-hander Jackson Sigman threw the seventh inning, sophomore righty Nick Wernke tossed a scoreless eighth inning, allowing just one walk.
The four game series concludes at 6:05 p.m. ET/1:05 p.m. HT on Sunday in Honolulu. Live stats and a radio feed can be found at
HawaiiAthletics.com. Additional updates and notes from the team’s trip to Hawaii will be available on social media by following and connecting with the team at @WVUBaseball on
Twitter,
Facebook and
Instagram.
NOTES: WVU falls to 6-3 on the year and 1-2 all-time against Hawaii … The four-game series concludes on Sunday at 6:05 p.m. ET in Honolulu ... Sophomore Kyle Davis and senior KC Huth extended their hitting streaks to a team-high seven games and Davis has reached base in 27 consecutive games, the second-longest active streak on the team … With a sixth-inning single, junior Jackson Cramer has reached base in a career-best 29 consecutive games … Davis’ home run in the sixth inning was his third of the season after he hit four last year.
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.
