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WVU Wins Series Against Texas in Saturday Slugfest
May 07, 2016 08:10 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team scored in all but one inning to outlast Texas, 14-7 on Saturday afternoon.
The victory secured a series win for the Mountaineers (26-19, 10-9 Big 12), their third against the Longhorns (21-26, 9-11) in the last four years. The two teams meet tomorrow in the series finale at 1 p.m. ET, as WVU looks for its second Big 12 series sweep of the year.
On a sunny afternoon, 2,274 fans were on hand, the second-largest crowd of the season. It is the fifth-largest crowd at Monongalia County Ballpark and the 11th-largest home crowd in program history.
“It was a great day and a great crowd,” WVU coach Randy Mazey said. “When we joined the Big 12, you really didn’t know what to expect. Since we’ve joined this league, we’ve shown that we’re right there as good as anybody. As this program matures, this is going to happen a lot more often. We’re excited about where we are right now, but we need to go get that one tomorrow, it’s the biggest game of the year right now.”
A day after scoring 11 runs on 15 hits, West Virginia backed it up with 14 runs on 13 hits on Saturday. Seven Mountaineers had at least one hit, six had one or more RBIs and eight scored at least one run.
The offensive onslaught was headlined by four players with both multiple hits and RBIs. Sophomore Kyle Davis and freshman Kyle Gray had three hits and two RBIs, while freshman Darius Hill had two hits and three RBIs and freshman Ivan Vera had two hits and drove in two runs.
Freshman Marques Inman hit his first career home run and drove in three runs. Davis also added a home run and joined Gray with three runs scored. Hill and junior Ray Guerrini each scored two runs.
“It’s big, because when the game starts, you know Texas is always going to have a great pitcher on the mound,” added Mazey. “They’re always capable of holding you to no runs, or one run. To come out and score five in the first two innings, we’ve been trying to get into their bullpen, and I think that set the tone for how the rest of the day was going to go, coming out and swinging it pretty well early.”
The Mountaineers have won four in a row and seven of their last eight. West Virginia is in fourth place in the Big 12 standings with one series remaining in league play following tomorrow’s finale against Texas. Saturday’s win ensured WVU of its fourth series victory against a Big 12 opponent this season.
“Things are going our way pretty well right now, and we’re pretty fortunate that way,” Mazey said. “We have a young team that works really hard, they play really hard, and when you do that, good things will eventually happen to you. This game has a way of rewarding you when you deserve it. The way we went at it when things weren’t going so well, we kept grinding and stayed positive, I think we deserved to get rewarded for it and that’s why we’re playing well right now.”
Texas scored two runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings to keep the game close before the WVU bullpen held UT to just one run on two hits in the final four innings.
Freshman right-hander Braden Zarbnisky relieved senior left-handed starter Ross Vance and gave up just one run on one hit in 3.1 innings. Zarbnisky earned the win and improved to 3-0 on the season. Junior righty Jackson Sigman pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
Vance allowed six runs on six hits with seven strikeouts and four walks in 4.2 innings.
The scoring began in the first inning as WVU took an early 1-0 lead on an RBI double by Vera. Vera’s first hit of the day scored Davis, who led off the inning with a single. It was the 26th time this season the Mountaineers scored before their opponent and the 15th time they scored in the first inning.
West Virginia’s lead increased to 5-0 with four runs in the second inning. It all began with two outs, when Gray singled and freshman Jimmy Galusky walked. Davis followed with a single up the middle to score Gray and Hill then doubled down the left field line to bring home Galusky and Davis. Hill scored on Vera’s single, his second RBI hit in as many innings.
Texas cut into WVU’s lead with two runs in the second on a sacrifice fly and a solo home run by Tres Barrera. After WVU was retired in order in the third, UT added two more runs in the fourth. A leadoff walk and a double scored one before a groundout brought in the final run of the inning.
With their lead cut to one at 5-4, the Mountaineers added one run in the bottom of the fourth to make it 6-4. Gray scored from third as Hill got caught stealing second base for the final out of the inning.
The lead was short-lived, as the Longhorns scored two in the top of the fifth to tie the game at 6-6.
WVU would not allow UT to take the lead and answered right back with two runs in the bottom half of the fifth. With two outs and the bases loaded, Gray singled through the left side to bring home junior Jackson Cramer, the go-ahead run, and Guerrini, the eventual winning run.
With an 8-6 advantage, Zarbnisky gave up a run in the top of the sixth on an RBI double, but that would be the last time the Longhorns scored a run.
WVU scored the first four of six insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. The frame began with back-to-back walks. After a strikeout, Guerrini singled to score Hill from second.
Inman followed with his first career homer, a blast that landed in the Texas bullpen in left field. Guerrini and Vera scored to give West Virginia a 12-7 lead.
Zarbnisky followed with a 1-2-3 top of the seventh. On the second pitch of the bottom of the inning, Davis homered to left center. His seventh of the season and 11th of his career gave the Mountaineers a 13-7 advantage.
Zarbnisky pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the eighth, and West Virginia again added a run in the bottom half. With the bases loaded and one out, Hill grounded into a fielder’s choice to score Gray.
The leadoff batter for the Longhorns walked in the top of the ninth and Sigman gave up a double with one out, but back-to-back fly-outs ended the game.
The series concludes on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Sunday is Kids’ Day and Mother’s Day. Any mom that brings a child to the game will receive a $3 ticket at the gate. Following the game, kids will have the opportunity to run the bases and get autographs from their favorite players. Tickets can be purchased at WVUGAME.com or on gameday at the Mountaineer Ticket Office at Gate A of Monongalia County Ballpark
NOTES: WVU improved to 26-19 on the season, 10-9 in Big 12 play and 15-10 at home … WVU is 7-4 all-time against Texas and has won three of the four series played between the two teams … Saturday’s attendance of 2,274 is the 11th-largest home crowd in program history and the 5th-largest at Monongalia County Ballpark … Freshman Marques Inman hit his first career home run in the sixth inning … Sophomore Kyle Davis hit his seventh home run of the season and 11th of his career in the seventh inning … Freshman Braden Zarbnisky picked up his third win of the season with 3.1 innings of one-run, one-hit work in relief … WVU scored a run in the first inning for the 15th time this season and scored before its opponent for the 26th time.
Single game 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.
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