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Penguins Descend on Morgantown Tuesday
April 18, 2016 04:16 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team concludes a nine-game homestand on Tuesday, April 19, against Youngstown State at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Tuesday is Dollar Day at Monongalia County Ballpark, where all tickets and select concession items are just $1.Both the Mountaineers (18-16) and Penguins (7-21) are coming off victories on Sunday thanks to eighth-inning, bases-loaded rallies. WVU used a four-run eighth with two outs to come back and beat Kansas State, 5-4. YSU and Northern Kentucky were tied at 1-1 before a first-pitch single scored two runs in the eighth inning for a 3-1 win.
Freshman right-hander Braden Zarbnisky (1-0) will get his first career start on the mound for the Mountaineers. He has made five appearances in relief and owns a 7.88 ERA in 8.0 innings pitched. Zarbnisky has allowed seven runs on 10 hits, struck out four and walked four.
Junior lefty Joe King (1-4) will take the mound for the Penguins. YSU’s normal starter on Fridays, he owns a 4.22 ERA with eight starts. In a team-best 42.2 innings pitched, he has allowed 33 runs, 20 earned, on 43 hits with 27 strikeouts and 18 walks.
TICKETS
Tickets are available for Tuesday’s games against Youngstown State. 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 Gate A of Monongalia County Ballpark.
FOLLOWING ALONG
For fans unable to cheer on the Mountaineers in person at Monongalia County Ballpark, there are several ways to tune in live. A live video stream and live stats can be found at WVUSports.com. Jeff Culhane and Ernie Galusky 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. Additional updates and notes can be found on social media by following and connecting with the team at @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
PARKING AND SHUTTLE INFO
There are several new parking and shuttle options for fans to make cheering on the Mountaineers even easier this season.
Free parking will be available for all fans in the new parking lots behind the outfield fence. Lot 1 is located behind the right field wall and adjacent to the clubhouse facility at the ballpark, and lot 2 is located across the street from Gate A.
A limited amount of ADA accessible parking will be available on a first-come, first-served basis for free in the lot closest to Gate A. The lot is located behind the left-center field wall, behind the scoreboard. An ADA parking permit will be required to park in the spots reserved for ADA parking.
Free shuttle service for WVU students will also be offered to each WVU baseball home game this season through WVU Transportation. Student must have a valid WVU Student ID to ride the shuttle.
The shuttle schedule and complete parking information can be found at WVUsports.com.
SCOUTING YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Youngstown State comes to Morgantown with a 7-21 record. The Penguins are 2-9 in Horizon League action, 2-7 at home and 5-14 on the road. YSU is coming off a 3-1 victory against Northern Kentucky on Sunday, a win that snapped a five game losing streak.
Last weekend, the Penguins went 1-2 in a Horizon League series at home against Northern Kentucky. The Norse won the first two games, 9-8 and 11-5 before Youngstown State prevailed in the finale, 3-1. Tied at 1-1 in the eighth inning, Web Charles hit a go-ahead two-run single to put YSU ahead. Charles’ single came on the first pitch of the at bat with one out and the bases loaded.
Andrew Kendrick leads the team with .279 batting average and .430 slugging percentage, while Billy Salem paces the squad with 28 hits. Five players have at least 20 hits, including Kendrick with 24. Kendrick’s 15 RBIs leads the team and Salem is second with 12. On the mound, Kevin Yarabinec’s 2.81 ERA and 4-1 record leads the team. He and Jared Wight each have one save.
The Penguins are coached by Steve Gillispie, in his fourth season. He owns a 54-136 record in Youngstown, Ohio, and an 86-188 career record. Gillispie led Youngstown State to the NCAA Tournament in his second season. The 2014 season included a Horizon League Tournament title in addition to YSU’s first ever victory at an NCAA Regional.
HISTORY VS. THE PENGUINS
West Virginia is 20-8 all-time against Youngstown State. The Mountaineers are 14-6 in Morgantown, 3-1 in Youngstown, Ohio, and 3-1 at neutral sites. WVU and YSU last met in 2013, where WVU won three of four games.
The series began in 1990. On Opening Day in Statesboro, Georgia, West Virginia won the opener, 14-2 before a 7-1 victory two days later. The Mountaineers and Penguins met at least once every year from 1992-2000.
WVU and YSU last met in 2013, coach Randy Mazey’s first season in Morgantown. In the second weekend of the season, Youngstown State won the opener in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 10-7 before West Virginia followed with a 7-3 victory the following day. Later in the season, the two clubs met again, where the Mountaineers won both contests, 5-1 at home and 7-6 in Youngstown, Ohio.
ON DECK: WVU AT OKLAHOMA
The Mountaineers continue Big 12 play this weekend with a series at Oklahoma from April 22-24. First pitch in the opener is set for 7 p.m. ET, while the final two games in Norman will begin at 1 p.m. All three games will air on FS Oklahoma + and FCS-Central.
UP NEXT AT HOME: WVU VS. MARSHALL
WVU returns home on Tuesday, April 26 for a matchup with in-state rival Marshall. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. ET at Monongalia County Ballpark. The game, which begins a season-ending 12-game homestand, is a Gold Rush, and all fans are encouraged to wear gold to cheer on the Mountaineers.
LAST TIME OUT: WVU VS. KANSAS STATE
West Virginia capped its weekend series against Kansas State with a comeback victory on Sunday. WVU rallied with four two-out runs in the eighth inning to beat the Wildcats, 5-4. In the series opener against K-State, WVU rallied with four runs to tie the game in the seventh, but it was not enough in an 8-6 loss. Kansas State won on Saturday, 15-2.
In Sunday’s comeback win, the Mountaineers trailed 4-1 before a four-run eighth inning. All five of WVU’s runs came with two outs against the Wildcats. With the bases loaded, the eighth-inning rally was highlighted by a two-run single to tie the game by freshman pinch hitter Braden Zarbnisky. Freshman right fielder Darius Hill then hit an infield single to the K-State shortstop that scored the go-ahead run. On the mound for the Mountaineers, sophomore right-hander BJ Myers (4-3) turned pitched 8.0 strong innings to earn his fourth win of the season and second in as many weeks. Senior righty Blake Smith pitched a perfect ninth inning, with two strikeouts, to pick up his fourth save of the year.
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 single game tickets and can be found at WVUsports.com, while flex plan ticket information is available here.
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