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WVU Begins Week Against Top-25 Teams at Maryland
April 10, 2017 06:36 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team begins a four-game week against top-25 opponents with a road contest at No. 21 Maryland. First pitch at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium in College Park, Maryland, is set for 4 p.m. ET.
The Mountaineers (19-11) have won four consecutive weekend series and 11 of their last 15 games. WVU is coming off a series win against Kansas, capping a 4-1 homestand. WVU enters the week tied for second place in the Big 12 Conference with a 6-3 record.
The Terrapins (20-10) are coming off a series loss at Nebraska, which snapped a four-game winning streak. UM has won all but one game at home this season and is tied for third place in the Big Ten with a 6-3 record.
WVU is 23-39-1 all-time against Maryland, following a 4-1 home victory in 2016. UM holds a 32-12 edge in College Park, while West Virginia is 10-6-1 at home. The series began in 1899.
Freshman right-hander Alek Manoah (0-0, 0.77 ERA) will make his second career start on Tuesday. He will face junior righty Taylor Bloom (3-2, 4.50), who typically starts for the Terrapins on Saturdays.
FOLLOWING ALONG
Tuesday’s game will air on BTN Plus, and a BTN subscription is required. Fans can listen to the games on the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG on various affiliates throughout the state, online at WVUsports.com, on the Mountaineer Gameday App and the TuneInRadio App. Dan Zangrilli will call the action.
Links to the live stream, radio broadcast and live stats can be found on the baseball schedule page on WVUsports.com.
Additional behind-the-scenes updates, news and notes from College Park can be found on social media by following and connecting with the team at @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
SCOUTING MARYLAND
Maryland is 20-10 on the season and 6-3 in Big Ten play. The Terrapins are 11-1 at home, 5-7 on the road and 4-2 at a neutral site. UM has also posted a 3-6 record against top-25 teams.
Last week, Maryland won a midweek contest against Richmond, 12-11, before a series loss at Nebraska. The Cornhuskers took the opener, 3-1, before an 8-5 UM win the following day. In the finale, NU won the rubber match, 8-4, to claim the series.
Offensively, Maryland is led by Marty Costes, who leads the team with a .361 average, 44 hits, 21 RBIs, a .598 slugging percentage and seven home runs.
On the mound, Andrew Miller’s 1.26 ERA in 14 relief appearances is a team-best, while Tyler Blohm has notched five wins in eight starts and Brian Shaffer has struck out 56.
John Szefc is in his fifth season at Maryland. The seventh head coach in team history, he led UM to back-to-back 40-win seasons and NCAA Super Regional appearances in 2014 and 2015. He is 162-109 with the Terrapins
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE TERRAPINS
West Virginia is 23-39-1 all-time against Maryland, with the series beginning in 1899. WVU is 10-6-1 at home and 12-32 in College Park. Under coach Randy Mazey, since 2013, both teams have won two games.
Last year, WVU beat UM, 4-1 on a rainy evening at Monongalia County Ballpark. The Mountaineers scored four unanswered runs to back up a strong start by then-freshman right-hander Michael Grove.
Grove, who earned the win, held the Terrapins to one run on six hits in 6.2 innings. He tied a career high with 13 strikeouts, tied for the most by a Big 12 pitcher in 2016. He walked just three.
Offensively, it was Jackson Cramer leading the charge. He recorded his sixth multi-hit game in the last seven contests with a two-hit, one-RBI day. Cramer hit a solo home run in the fourth inning, the eventual game-winning run. Ivan Gonzalez added a hit and drove in two runs, while Darius Hill added two hits and a run scored. Kyle Gray had a hit and an RBI.
The series between the Mountaineers and Terrapins began in 1899 with a 19-6 loss at Maryland. WVU got revenge three years later with a 19-5 victory, also in College Park. The Terrapins’ first visit to Morgantown didn’t come until 1922, when they earned an 8-2 win.
From 1951-1953, WVU and UM played in the Southern Conference. West Virginia went 3-4 against Maryland, including a 4-3 win in the 1951 SoCon Tournament.
Recently, the Mountaineers and Terrapins met in 2012, twice in 2014 and once in 2015. The teams split in 2014, with a 14-2 home win for WVU before UM won on its home field, 4-2. Maryland also won in 2015, 12-7 at home.
ON DECK: MOUNTAINEERS HOST NO. 2 TCU
West Virginia returns home for a three-game series against No. 2 TCU at Monongalia County Ballpark. The matchup between two of the top teams in the Big 12 Conference standings begins on Friday, April 14, at 6:30 p.m. ET. Saturday’s game is set for 4 p.m., while Sunday’s series finale will be at noon.
Tickets for the TCU series are still available, at 1-800-WVU GAME, WVUGAME.com or at the Mountaineer Ticket Office in the WVU Coliseum or on gameday at Monongalia County Ballpark. There are multiple promotions set for all three games against TCU, which can be found on WVUsports.com/promotions. Friday night’s game against TCU will be broadcast nationally on FCS Atlantic, the first televised game in Monongalia County Ballpark history. Sunday’s game will be broadcast locally on the Nexstar Media Group’s network of statewide affiliates.
LAST TIME OUT: ANOTHER BIG 12 SERIES WIN
West Virginia won its fourth consecutive weekend series thanks to a 2-1 weekend against Kansas. BJ Myers struck out a career-high-tying 10 batters and pitched his first career complete game on April 7, leading WVU to a 10-1 win in the opener. West Virginia secured the series win the next day as Michael Grove took a perfect game into the eighth inning in an 8-0 win. Grove held KU to one hit, with two outs in the eighth, with a season-best 12 strikeouts and no walks. The Mountaineers were unable to complete the sweep with a 7-2 loss to Kansas on April 9.
GROVE HONORED FOR DOMINANCE
After taking a perfect game into the eighth inning, sophomore Michael Grove was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week and one of the National Players of the Week by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, on April 10.
A Wheeling, West Virginia, native, Grove is the first Mountaineer to be named a player of the week by either the Big 12 or Collegiate Baseball this season. The Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honor is also the first of his career, after he earned Newcomer of the Week accolades twice as a freshman in 2016.
In WVU’s 8-0 win over Kansas on, April 8, Grove was dominant on the mound, retiring the first 23 batters he faced. He did not allow a baserunner until giving up a two-out single in the eighth inning.
In 8.0 innings pitched, Grove struck out a season-best 12 batters, one shy of tying his career high. Throwing 109 pitches, he did not allow a run and gave up one hit and no walks.
With his 12 strikeouts, Grove has struck out at least eight batters in four of his last five starts. While improving to 3-1 on the year, Grove had his third consecutive quality start of the season and sixth of his career.
Along with his Big 12 and Collegiate Baseball honors, Grove was named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week.
QUICK HITS: KEY TEAM NOTES
- West Virginia is celebrating its 125th year of baseball. Founded in 1892, WVU owns an all-time record of 2,114-1,513-19. The Mountaineers are the second-oldest program in the Big 12.
- WVU is ranked No. 17 in the NCAA RPI. The Big 12 has five teams in the top 17 and the league also owns the No. 1 conference RPI in the nation.
- The Mountaineers are 19-11 on the season, 6-2 at home and have won 11 of their last 15 games and four consecutive weekend series.
- WVU is tied for second in the Big 12, with a 6-3 record.
- A season-high 2,085 fans attended Saturday’s game, the 13th-largest home crowd in team history and the seventh-largest at Monongalia County Ballpark. Six of WVU’s first eight games have featured a crowd of more than 1,600 fans.
- Sophomore right-hander Michael Grove was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week and one of the National Players of the Week by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, on April 10, after taking a perfect game into the eighth inning in WVU’s 8-0 win against Kansas on April 8.
- Senior Jackson Cramer has been named one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award. The award recognizes senior student-athletes who have shown a commitment in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition.
Single game tickets, flex plan tickets and mini packs for the 2017 WVU baseball season are on sale now. Fans can purchase tickets by calling 1-800-WVU GAME, going to WVUGAME.com or visiting the Mountaineer Ticket Office in the WVU Coliseum. The 2017 schedule is available on WVUsports.com.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow WVU Baseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and visit WVUsports.com.
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