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Bats, Arms Power WVU to Midweek Win
April 19, 2016 11:19 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A pair of big innings at the plate and a strong performance from five pitchers helped lead the West Virginia University baseball team to a 13-3 victory over Youngstown State on Tuesday evening.
In front of 1,316 fans at Monongalia County Ballpark, the Mountaineers (19-16) capped a nine-game homestand with a 13-run, 12-hit barrage. Five WVU pitchers held the Penguins (7-22) to three runs, one of them earned, on six hits.
“Twelve hits, nine of them were extra-base hits, going into the weekend at Oklahoma, we couldn’t have scripted this any better,” WVU coach Randy Mazey said. “With the pitching the way it was, and the offense the way it was, getting some of the young guys going, like I said, we couldn’t have scripted it any better.”
West Virginia’s nine extra-base hits included home runs from freshmen Darius Hill and Cole Austin, who each hit their third of the season. Freshman Kyle Gray added a triple and Austin was one of six Mountaineers with a double.
Hill, Austin and junior catcher Ray Guerrini each had two hits. Austin led the team with three RBIs, while Hill and freshman shortstop Andrew Zitel both added two. Guerrini, Hill and sophomore left fielder Kyle Davis all scored two runs apiece.
On the mound, freshman right-hander Braden Zarbnisky got his first career start and pitched 3.0 innings. He allowed one unearned run on two hits with four strikeouts and a walk.
Junior righty Brandon Boone followed with 4.0 strong innings to earn his first career victory. Boone allowed one unearned run on two hits and struck out three while walking two.
WVU jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Hill hit a two-run home run to lead off the first inning. It was his third homer of the season.
After Youngstown State evened the score at 1-1 in the third, the Mountaineers answered with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to regain a lead they would not relinquish.
Austin led off the inning with a first-pitch home run. His third of the season, it was Austin’s first at home and first since Feb. 27 at UNLV. With two outs, junior first baseman Jackson Cramer doubled down the right field line to score sophomore left fielder Kyle Davis, who walked.
West Virginia tacked on a run in the sixth when senior center fielder KC Huth doubled to score Guerrini. The RBI again came with two outs and was Huth’s 17th on the season, second-most on the team. The run turned out to be the game-winning run, Huth's first game-winning RBI of the year and third of his career.
In the seventh, Youngstown State cut the WVU lead in half with an unearned run off of Boone. A walk and a fielding error was followed by a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2.
The Mountaineers responded though by breaking it open with a four-run bottom of the seventh.
Gray opened the inning with a leadoff triple. Hill singled him home and scored one batter later when Davis doubled to center. With one out, Guerrini hit a sky-high pop fly that the YSU second baseman couldn’t catch and reached on the error, which scored Davis. Zitel followed with a double to score junior pinch hitter Shaun Wood for the final run of the inning.
The Penguins answered with a run in the top of the eighth, but West Virginia responded right back with its second consecutive big inning. Five runs crossed the plate to give the Mountaineers a 13-3 advantage.
The first three WVU batters reached to load the bases. Guerrini singled to score one, and Zitel walked to score another. With two outs, Austin doubled to score a pair before Zitel scored the game’s final run on a wild pitch.
Freshman righty Endy Morales recorded the first two outs of the ninth inning before junior right-hander Jackson Sigman struck out the final YSU batter to seal the victory.
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.
NOTES: WVU improved to 19-16 on the season … Freshman Darius Hill hit his third home run of the season in the first inning and had two hits and two RBIs and continues to lead the team with 48 hits and 27 RBIs … Freshman Cole Austin hit his third home run of the season to lead off the fifth inning … Junior Brandon Boone earned his first career victory with 4.0 innings of work, allowing one unearned run on three hits with three strikeouts … Senior KC Huth drove in the game-winning run in the sixth inning, his first game-winning RBI of the season and third of his career ... Freshman Braden Zarbnisky got his first career start and pitched 3.0 innings, allowing one unearned run on two hits with four strikeouts and a walk … Junior Brandon Boone earned his first career victory, and in 4.0 innings allowed one unearned run on two hits with three strikeouts and two walks.
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 Gate A of Monongalia County Ballpark. 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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