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Road Trip Concludes at Virginia Tech
April 24, 2017 07:33 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 25 West Virginia University baseball team wraps up a five-game road trip at Virginia Tech on Tuesday, April 25, at 5:30 p.m. ET, at English Park in Blacksburg, Virginia.
The game marks the 88th meeting between the two schools. WVU is 33-53-1 all-time in the series, but West Virginia has claimed two of the last three and seven of the last 11.
Ranked No. 25 by Baseball America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) this week, the Mountaineers (23-15, 9-6 Big 12) are coming off a 1-2 weekend at Kansas State, which snapped a string of five consecutive weekend series wins. West Virginia became the final Big 12 team to lose a conference series this season. WVU won the opener, 9-7, before an 8-4 loss on Saturday and an 11-4 defeat in the finale.
The Hokies (20-22, 8-13 ACC) went 1-3 last week, with a mid-week loss at East Tennessee State, followed by a weekend series loss to Georgia Tech. Tuesday’s game marks Tech’s fourth game against a ranked opponent in the last two weeks, after going 1-2 against No. 12 Virginia from April 13-15.
FOLLOWING ALONG
The game will be streamed on the ACC Digital Network and the Watch ESPN app. Fans can listen to the game 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 video 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 Blacksburg, Virginia can be found on social media by following and connecting with the team at @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
SCOUTING VIRGINIA TECH
Virginia Tech enters the week with a 20-22 record and an 8-13 mark in ACC action. The Hokies are 12-10 at home and 8-12 on the road. VT has posted a 3-6 mark against top-25 clubs.
The Hokies are coming off a series loss at home to Georgia Tech. The two teams split a doubleheader on Friday before GT won Saturday’s finale, 6-4. Virginia Tech won Friday’s second game, 8-4, after dropping the opener by a 13-3 score. Last Tuesday, the Hokies traveled to East Tennessee State, where they suffered a 7-4 loss.
Offensively, Virginia Tech is led by Jack Owens, with a .356 batting average and 67 hits. Tom Stoffel is second with 60 hits and a .349 average, while he leads the team with 43 RBIs.
On the mound, Tech’s ERA leader is Tom Stoffel, who has a 3.00 ERA in six appearances and 9.0 innings pitched. Packy Naughton has a team-best 55 strikeouts in 47.1 innings, with 12 appearances and seven starts.
The Hokies are led by Patrick Mason, in his fourth season. He owns an 87-116-1 record in Blacksburg, after serving as an assistant coach for three seasons.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE HOKIES
Former Big East rivals, West Virginia and Virginia Tech have met 87 times. WVU trails the all-time series 33-53-1 but has won two of the last three, including a 5-4 win at home in 2016. Under coach Randy Mazey, the Mountaineers are 2-1 against the Hokies. West Virginia is 17-15 at home, 11-27-1 in Blacksburg and 4-11 at a neutral site.
Last year, WVU scored a run in five of the first six innings and fought off a late comeback attempt by the Hokies to beat Virginia Tech, 5-4 in Morgantown.
- WVU was out-hit by VT, but a pair of errors helped result in three unearned Mountaineer runs.
- Right-hander Braden Zarbnisky got the start and earned his first victory as a starter. In 4.0 innings, he did not give up a run on three hits with three strikeouts and a walk.
- First baseman Jackson Cramer accounted for two of WVU’s eight hits. He added a solo home run in the fifth inning. It was the sixth multi-hit showing in the last seven games for Cramer, the reigning Big 12 Player of the Week at the time.
WVU and Virginia Tech met for the first time in 1905. The Hokies won the first meeting, 6-9 in Morgantown. West Virginia got its first win in the third game of the series, in 1922. The Mountaineers won both games that year, 3-2 and 11-7, both in Blacksburg.
In 2014, West Virginia beat Virginia Tech 4-3 in Princeton, W.Va. The Mountaineers used three different comebacks, including a two-run eighth inning to secure the victory. Jacob Rice drove in the game winning run with a two-run double in the eighth inning after the Hokies had taken a 3-2 lead in the top of the inning.
In 2015, Virginia Tech posted a 13-3 win in Blacksburg. The Hokies used four multi-run innings and nine walks as WVU was held to three runs on nine hits.
ON DECK: MOUNTAINEERS HOST OKLAHOMA
WVU returns home for a series against Oklahoma, from April 28-30. The series begins on Friday, April 28, at 6:30 p.m. ET. Saturday’s first pitch is set for 4 p.m., while Sunday’s contest commences at noon. Sunday’s finale will be broadcast locally on the Nexstar Media Group’s network of statewide affiliates. Tickets are 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 OU, which can be found on WVUsports.com/promotions. Links to live streams, radio broadcasts and live stats can be found on the baseball schedule page on WVUsports.com.
LAST TIME OUT: SERIES WINNING STREAK ENDS AT K-STATE
West Virginia suffered its first Big 12 series loss of the season and became the final conference team to lose a Big 12 weekend series after going 1-2 at Kansas State. The loss snapped a stretch of five straight weekend series wins. Kyle Gray led WVU offensively, with three hits in each game.
WVU opened the series with a back-and-forth, 9-7 win at K-State, trading the lead five times before scoring four runs in the eighth inning. Both teams had 13 hits, but reliever Braden Zarbnisky held the Wildcats to just two hits in the final 2.2 innings as he picked up his team-leading fifth win of the year. Trailing 7-5 in the eighth inning, WVU rallied with four runs on four hits with five stolen bases, including TJ Lake stealing home to score the tying run.
The series was evened the following day with an 8-4 loss, as both teams scored two unearned runs. Reliever Sam Kessler suffered the loss, allowing just two hits and two unearned runs in 4.1 innings with a strikeout and two walks. Kessler relieved sophomore right-handed starter Michael Grove, who faced three batters in the first inning before leaving with an arm injury.
WVU lost the finale, 11-4 on Sunday. Gray had another three hits, including a home run, and was a triple shy of the cycle. Freshman starter Alek Manoah pitched 4.0 innings and allowed one run on one hit with a strikeout and four walks, but earned a no-decision.
MOUNTAINEERS REMAIN IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
West Virginia is ranked nationally for the second consecutive week, at No. 25 in two polls. The Mountaineers entered the national rankings last week for the first time since 1982.
West Virginia is ranked No. 25 by both Baseball America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). Collegiate Baseball Newspaper has WVU at No. 26 in its Top 30 poll.
West Virginia is also receiving votes in the Coaches Poll.
Additionally, WVU is ranked No. 9 in the NCAA RPI. West Virginia is one of three Big 12 teams in the top 10 and one of four in the top 15. The Big 12 has the No. 1 conference RPI in the country.
Last week, the Mountaineers were ranked in five of the six major polls. WVU was ranked for the first time since 1982 and ranked in four polls for the first time in program history. West Virginia’s highest ranking was No. 21, by Baseball America and D1 Baseball.
QUICK HITS: KEY TEAM NOTES
- West Virginia is celebrating its 125th year of baseball. Founded in 1892, WVU owns an all-time record of 2,118-1,517-19. The Mountaineers are the second-oldest program in the Big 12.
- The Mountaineers are ranked nationally for the second consecutive week, highlighted by a No. 25 ranking by Baseball America. WVU has been ranked for the first time in program history in four polls, and is in the top 25 for the first time since 1982.
- West Virginia is ranked No. 9 in the NCAA RPI. The Big 12 has four teams in the top 15 and the league has the No. 1 conference RPI in the nation.
- WVU is 23-15 on the season, 8-3 at home and had won five consecutive weekend series before last weekend’s series loss at Kansas State.
- WVU is tied for second place in the Big 12, with a 9-6 record and became the last team to lose a weekend series in conference play.
- The Mountaineers are 8-4 against top-25 teams, with all but three games coming on the road.
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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