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WVU Faces Marshall in Charleston, Hosts EMU
April 04, 2016 07:11 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team resumes its in-state rivalry with Marshall on Tuesday, April 5 in Charleston. WVU then returns home the following day for a matchup with Eastern Michigan.
First pitch between the Mountaineers (14-11) and Thundering Herd (15-11) is set for 6 p.m. ET at Appalachian Power Park in Charleston.
WVU will play two midweek games for the second consecutive week when it welcomes the Eagles (11-15) to Morgantown on Wednesday, April 6. First pitch at Monongalia County Ballpark will be at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Tuesday, West Virginia and Marshall will meet for the 66th time. WVU owns a 41-24 advantage in the series after both teams posted 3-2 home victories.
Wednesday, WVU looks to improve on a 12-4 all-time record against Eastern Michigan. The Mountaineers have won three of the last four meetings, including a 2-1 victory in 2012.
A pair of freshmen right-handers will get the midweek starts for WVU. Michael Grove will make his first career start on Tuesday, while Tanner Campbell will start for the fifth time on Wednesday.
Grove will face Marshall’s freshman lefty Joshua Shapiro on Tuesday, while Campbell will go up against senior righty Austin Wilson.
Live Stats: Tuesday, Wednesday | Live Video: Tuesday, Wednesday | Radio: Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG, Online
FOLLOWING ALONG
For fans unable to cheer on the Mountaineers in person, there are several ways to tune in live. For both games, 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.
Tuesday, a live video stream and live stats can be found at HerdZone.com. Wednesday, live video and stats will be available at WVUSports.com.
Additional updates and notes can be found on social media by following and connecting with the team at @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
TICKETS
Tickets are available for Wednesday’s game against Eastern Michigan. 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.
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 15-11 on the season and 12-4 at home. The Thundering Herd are coming off a series win against Conference USA foe Louisiana Tech.
Marshall is 5-4 in C-USA play, with series wins at FIU and against Louisiana Tech. The Thundering Herd lost their conference-opening series to Southern Miss. Against Louisiana Tech, Marshall won the opener, 7-4 before a 10-6 loss on April 2. In Sunday’s finale, Marshall won 10-4.
At Charleston’s Appalachian Power Park, where the Thundering Herd play their conference games, they are 3-3. The rivalry vs. West Virginia is the only midweek contest Marshall plays in Charleston.
The Thundering Herd are led by Jeff Waggoner, in his 10th season as head coach. He owns a 212-299-1 record in Huntington after Marshall went 20-32 a year ago.
HISTORY VS. THE THUNDERING HERD
West Virginia is 41-24 all-time against Marshall after a split in last season’s series, with both teams earning 3-2 home victories.
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.
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 9-16 on the road. West Virginia is an even 3-3 under coach Randy Mazey, since 2013.
SCOUTING EASTERN MICHIGAN
Easter Michigan enters the week with an 11-15 record after a series win at Mid-American Conference foe Buffalo. Before traveling to Morgantown, the Eagles play at Michigan State on Tuesday.
EMU is 5-1 in MAC action. The Eagles opened conference play with a sweep of Bowling Green before taking two out of three at Buffalo. In Olean, N.Y., Eastern Michigan lost the opening game of Friday’s doubleheader, 12-4. The Eagles rebounded for a 4-3 win in the nightcap before a 2-1 win on April 2.
Eastern Michigan is 3-10 in road games. The Eagles are in the midst of a six game roadtrip.
The Eagles are led by Mark Van Ameyde, in his second season as head coach. He is 31-47 at EMU, his first head coaching position. Last year, Eastern Michigan posted a 20-35 record.
HISTORY VS. THE EAGLES
West Virginia is 12-4 all-time against Eastern Michigan since the first meeting in 1987. All but three meetings have taken place in Morgantown, where WVU owns a 10-3 edge in the series.
The Mountaineers and Eagles last met in 2012, when WVU earned a 2-1 victory.
The 2012 meeting marked the third consecutive season WVU and EMU meet, after a four-game series in 2010 and two games in 2011.
ON DECK: WVU VS. FURMAN
WVU’s nine game homestand continues with a weekend series against Furman. The series begins on Friday, April 8 at 6:30 p.m. Saturday’s contest, which begins at 4 p.m., is Military Appreciation Day. First pitch of the finale will be at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 10.
LAST TIME OUT: DRAMA-FILLED SERIES WIN OVER NO. 16 OKLAHOMA STATE
WVU is coming off a series win vs. No. 16 Oklahoma State, with a dramatic 5-4 walk-0ff victory in the 10th inning in the opener before a 4-3 win on April 2. OSU avoided the sweep and claimed the series finale, 8-1.
In the series opener on April 1, junior Jackson Cramer belted a walk-off home run in the 10th inning to give WVU a 5-4 upset victory over No. 16 Oklahoma State. Cramer hit the first pitch of the bottom of the 10th inning over the center field fence. The home run came after a roller coaster ninth inning. The Mountaineers were one out away from a 3-1 win, but the Cowboys took their only lead of the day on a three-run homer. WVU bounced right back though to tie it at 4-4 in the ninth. With two outs, freshman pinch hitter Marques Inman singled to right field to score freshman Jimmy Galusky from second.
On April 2, senior lefty Ross Vance and back-to-back home runs led WVU to a 4-3 victory over the Cowboys. The Mountaineers won the series over the Cowboys as Vance threw 7.1 innings of four-hit, three-run ball to earn his team-high-tying fourth win. Vance was backed up by back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning by senior center fielder KC Huth and freshman right fielder Darius Hill. Hill had two RBIs on the day. Cramer added three hits and an RBI.
CRAMER THE BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
WVU junior first baseman Jackson Cramer was named the Big 12 Baseball Co-Player of the Week on April 4. Cramer hit two home runs, including the walk-off winner in the 10th inning, to fuel WVU’s upset of No. 16 Oklahoma State on April 1.
In WVU’s 5-4 series-opening victory against OSU on April 1, Cramer homered in the sixth before hitting the game-winning shot in the 10th on a first-pitch offering. The walk-off came after OSU took its first lead of the game with three runs in the ninth inning. His home runs were his team-leading fourth and fifth of the season.
In the weekend series against the Cowboys, the Coppell, Texas, native hit .556 with a 1.33 slugging percentage and a .692 on-base percentage with five hits, three RBI, 12 total bases and three walks.
Cramer has reached base in a Big 12-best 45 consecutive games after three hits on April 2 and a pair of walks on April 3.
It is the third Big 12 weekly honor of the season for the Mountaineers and the first of Cramer’s career.
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.
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