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Mountaineers Drop Opener to Paladins
April 08, 2016 09:40 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team suffered a 7-3 loss to Furman in the series-opener on Friday evening at Monongalia County Ballpark.
In what was a pitcher’s duel in the first five innings, junior right-hander Chad Donato (1-3) had a career-best 13 strikeouts in 7.2 innings for the Mountaineers (16-12), but the Paladins (12-17) struck with a five-run sixth inning.
Furman’s Will Gaddis (5-2) held the Mountaineers to two runs on seven hits in 8.0 innings. He struck out four and did not walk a batter.
“This was a matter of their guy with the ball in his hand controlling the game,” WVU coach Randy Mazey said. “You won’t go to a college baseball game anywhere and see an as-well-pitched game as that. Chad was so dominant in the first five innings, when I was looking at the scoreboard in the fifth inning, I really believed that one run was going to win it. I thought the final score was going to be 1-0. (Furman’s Gaddis) was so good, and Chad was so good, and then all of a sudden, somehow, against every law of averages that exists, they manage to get several hits in a row. That just doesn’t happen, especially with as dominant as Chad was. Credit goes to them.”
Donato was dominant on the mound early. Through five innings, he faced more than the minimum three batters in just one inning, the second. He had five strikeouts in the first two innings and matched his career high of 10 with a strikeout to begin the fifth inning.
In the sixth inning though, Furman notched six hits and scored five runs. After a groundout and back-to-back hits, Donato hit a batter to load the basses. The Paladins followed with four straight RBI hits to score five runs.
Gaddis matched Donato and held WVU to three hits through five innings. West Virginia answered Furman’s scoring spree in the top of the sixth with a pair of runs of its own in the bottom half. With one out, WVU notched three straight singles, followed by a fielder’s choice, to score two.
Sophomore second baseman Kyle Davis and senior center fielder KC Huth both singled. Freshman right fielder Darius Hill followed with a base hit to center to score Davis, and freshman Marques Inman reached on a fielder’s choice to score Huth.
Both Davis and Hill had a team-high-tying two hits on the day. Hill’s hits and RBI gave him 36 hits and 20 RBIs on the season, both team-high totals. Huth’s single was his 30th hit of the year, second-most on the team.
After seven total runs scored in the sixth inning, Donato and Gaddis settled down to throw 1-2-3 innings in the seventh.
Furman then added two runs in the eighth on two doubles and a single to take a 7-2 lead.
West Virginia attempted a rally in the ninth inning, but the Mountaineers only scored one run. Hill led off the inning with a single and junior first baseman Jackson Cramer doubled. A sacrifice fly by junior catcher Ray Guerrini scored Hill for the final run.
Cramer’s ninth-inning double extended his Big 12-leading reached base streak to 48 consecutive games.
In relief of Donato, sophomore righty Nick Wernke threw 1.1 innings and allowed just one hit. He did not issue a walk.
The series between the Mountaineers and Paladins continues on Saturday. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. ET at Monongalia County Ballpark, while Sunday’s series finale is slated to begin at 1 p.m.
NOTES: WVU falls to 16-12 on the season … Junior Chad Donato had a career-high 13 strikeouts in 7.2 innings while walking none, giving up 11 hits and seven runs … Freshman Darius Hill had a game-high-tying two hits and an RBI and continues to lead the team with 36 hits and 20 RBIs … Sophomore Nick Wernke pitched 1.1 scoreless innings in relief.
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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