Main-CramerWalkoff-040116.png
WVU Hosts In-State Rival Marshall on Wednesday
April 25, 2016 02:17 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Tonight’s West Virginia University baseball game against in-state rival Marshall has been moved to Wednesday, April 27, due to inclement weather expected in the area. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. ET at Monongalia County Ballpark.
Tickets for Tuesday’s game will be valid on Wednesday. Fans who cannot make it to the rescheduled game can exchange their ticket for a future game at the box office 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.
Wednesday's contest is the second game in the season series between the two rivals. On April 5, WVU earned a 5-4 victory over Marshall in 10 innings in Charleston, West Virginia. With the win, the Mountaineers improved to 42-24 against its in-state rivals.
The Mountaineers (20-18, 6-8 Big 12) will start freshman right-hander Braden Zarbnisky (1-0, 5.73 ERA). It will be Zarbnisky’s second consecutive start. A week ago against Youngstown State, Zarbnisky allowed one unearned run on two hits with four strikeouts in 3.0 innings in his first career start.
Taking the mound for the Thundering Herd (21-16, 10-8 C-USA) will be freshman righty Wade Martin (1-0, 2.61 ERA). He will be making his second start of the season and has pitched 10.1 innings this year.
TICKETS
Tickets are available for Wednesday's game against Marshall. 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 MARSHALL
Marshall is 21-16 on the season and 7-7 on the road. The Thundering Herd are coming off a series win at Conference USA foe Charlotte.
Marshall is 10-8 in C-USA play after last weekend’s wins at Charlotte. The Thundering Herd opened the series with a 7-2 victory before a 10-5 win on Saturday. Charlotte claimed the series finale, 5-0.
The Thundering Herd had won four in a row before Sunday’s loss. On the road, Marshall has won six of its last nine, with series wins at FIU, UTSA and Charlotte.
The Thundering Herd are led by Jeff Waggoner, in his 10th season as head coach. He owns a 218-304-1 record in Huntington after Marshall went 20-32 a year ago.
HISTORY VS. THE THUNDERING HERD
West Virginia is 42-24 all-time against Marshall after a 5-4, 10-inning victory against the Thundering Herd on April 5.
WVU and Marshall met for the first time in 1910, a 5-2 West Virginia victory in Morgantown.
The two teams did not meet from 1999-2012, but at least two games have been scheduled every year since 2013.
Earlier this year, WVU came back to score three runs in the eighth inning and one in the 10th to beat Marshall, 5-4. West Virginia took advantage of an error in the 10th to score the eventual game-winner.
Last season, WVU earned a 3-2 home victory before a 3-2 loss in Charleston. In the first game, on April 21 at Monongalia County Ballpark, KC Huth drew an eighth-inning, bases loaded walk with two outs to score the game-winning run. A week later, Marshall scored three runs in the second inning, a deficit WVU could not overcome.
The Mountaineers are 41-24 all-time against Marshall. WVU is 28-8 in home contests and 10-16 on the road. West Virginia is 4-3 under coach Randy Mazey, since 2013.
ON DECK: WVU HOSTS BAYLOR
WVU welcomes Baylor to Monongalia County Ballpark from April 29-May 1. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. ET on Friday, 4 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
The series begins on Friday, April 29 at 6:30 p.m. ET. There will be postgame fireworks, presented by United Bank, and the national-champion WVU rifle team will be honored throughout the game.
Saturday is Family Day, where fans can purchase four tickets and get a $10 concession voucher for just $25. Before the game, the WVU men’s basketball team will host Hoops ‘n Home Runs. The tailgate will take place in the parking lot outside the center field fence and begin at 2 p.m. Food and beverages will be available, and fans will receive a voucher for $2 off their ticket to the 4 p.m. game.
Sunday is Kids’ Day and Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day. At the 1 p.m. series finale, WVU faculty and staff can get a ticket for just $3 with their ID. Following the game, kids will have the opportunity to run the bases and get autographs from their favorite players.
LAST TIME OUT: WILD WIN AT OKLAHOMA
Behind 8.1 scoreless innings in relief by freshman Michael Grove, West Virginia rallied with 10 unanswered runs to beat Oklahoma 12-7 on Sunday in Norman, Oklahoma.
The Mountaineers trailed 7-2 after the first inning but slowly cut into the deficit and used a home run by junior Ray Guerrini and a grand slam by freshman Cole Austin to secure the victory.
The Sooners scored seven runs on seven hits in the first inning before Grove shut them down in the final eight innings. Grove pitched a career-long 8.1 innings in relief and allowed just four hits with a career-best 13 strikeouts and two walks. The right-hander from Wheeling, West Virginia, earned his first career victory.
Offensively, all but one WVU starter had at least one hit and all but two scored a run. Six Mountaineers drove in at least one run.
Guerrini’s two-run homer in the fifth inning, his fourth of the season and seventh of his career, was the eventual game-winning hit. It capped the comeback, drove in the game-tying run and put the Mountaineers ahead, 8-7.
Guerrini had two hits, two RBIs and scored three runs. Freshmen Darius Hill and Kyle Gray and junior Jackson Cramer also had two hits. Gray scored three runs and Cramer scored two.
Austin’s grand slam in the seventh inning put an exclamation point on the WVU rally and gave West Virginia a 12-7 lead. It was his first career grand slam and fourth home run of the season.
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.
WVU Baseball Defensive Highlights
Tuesday, May 12
Kansas Recap
Tuesday, May 12
Steve Sabins | May 11
Monday, May 11
Kansas State Recap
Tuesday, May 05
