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Streak Snapped as WVU Makes 12th NCAA Appearance
June 01, 2017 01:36 PM | Baseball
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The West Virginia University baseball team makes its 12th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history this weekend at the Winston-Salem Regional in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Seeded second in the regional, WVU will face third-seeded Maryland on Friday, June 2, at 2 p.m. ET at David F. Couch Ballpark. No. 1-seeded Wake Forest, ranked 13th nationally, and fourth-seeded UMBC round out the regional and will play on Friday at 7 p.m. The WVU-UMD and WF-UMBC winners will meet on Saturday, June 3, at 7 p.m., while the two games’ losers will play Saturday at 2 p.m. The regional continues on Sunday, June 4, with games at noon and 5 p.m. If necessary, a final game will be played on Monday, June 4, at 7 p.m., to crown a regional champion.
The Mountaineers (34-24) earned an NCAA Regional berth for the first time since 1996 and the first NCAA at-large bid in program history. WVU owns an NCAA record of 8-22 and has made five previous trips to North Carolina in postseason play. WVU played a total of 12 NCAA Tournament games in Gastonia, North Carolina, all in the 1960s.
In the No. 1 RPI conference in the country, West Virginia is coming off a fourth-place finish in the Big 12 and a semifinal finish in the conference tournament. Seven of the nine Big 12 teams made the NCAA Tournament.
WVU will face a familiar foe in the Terrapins (37-21) on Friday. The two teams have met 64 times before, most recently in College Park, Maryland, on April 11, a 7-6 Maryland victory. West Virginia and UMD have never squared off in the NCAA Tournament.
The 13th-ranked Demon Deacons (39-18) are a familiar NCAA Tournament opponent for WVU. Six of WVU’s 30 postseason games have come against Wake Forest, including the first three in 1955. WF won the best-of-three regional in Morgantown, and added a win in 1962 and two victories in 1963, all in Gastonia. Should WVU play Wake Forest, it will be the Mountaineers’ 17th game against a top-25 foe, after going 10-6 in the first 16 games.
The Retrievers (23-23) earned an NCAA berth for the first time since 2001 after winning the America East Conference Tournament. WVU and UMBC have played just twice before, with the Mountaineers coming away victorious in both 2000 and 2013.
FOLLOWING ALONG
Every game at David F. Couch Ballpark will be broadcast on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. Doug Sherman and John Gregory will have the call.
Fans can listen to all of WVU’s 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 broadcast the action.
Links to video streams, radio broadcasts and live stats can be found on the baseball schedule page on WVUsports.com. Additional behind-the-scenes updates, news and notes from Winston-Salem can be found on social media by following and connecting with the team at @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
TICKETS
Single-session and all-session tickets for games at David F. Couch Ballpark are on sale now. All-Session tickets are $78, while single-session tickets are $15. Tickets are available by visiting WakeForestSports.com or by calling (336) 758-3322, ext. 2.
WVU’S NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The 2017 NCAA Winston-Salem Regional marks West Virginia’s 12th NCAA appearance in team history and first since 1996. The Mountaineers are 8-22 all-time in NCAA play, and have advanced to the regional finals twice, in 1961 and 1982.
Twelve of WVU’s 30 NCAA Tournament games have come in North Carolina, as West Virginia is 2-10 in Gastonia. WVU is 1-2 at home.
The Mountaineers are 1-9 against the ACC, 0-1 against the Big Ten and have not played a team in the America East.
WVU made its first NCAA appearance in 1955, when it hosted Wake Forest in the District 3 Playoffs. West Virginia lost the best-of-three series, 2-1, as the Demon Deacons advanced to the College World Series and won the national title. The Mountaineers’ first NCAA win came on May 30, 9-7.
West Virginia reached the NCAA Tournament five times in the 1960s, and played in the District 3 Playoffs in Gastonia, North Carolina, each time. WVU made the postseason in four consecutive seasons beginning in 1961. The Mountaineers’ wins in the stretch came in 1961, 4-3 against Florida State, and 1963, a 2-1 win against Auburn.
After a postseason appearance in 1967, WVU would not return until 1982. West Virginia traveled to the East Regional in Columbia, South Carolina, where it went 2-2. The Mountaineers won back-to-back games, 7-6 in 10 innings against Old Dominion, before a 4-1 win against East Carolina. WVU also made the Tournament in 1985 and 1987, going 0-2 both years.
The Mountaineers went 1-2 in 1994, with a 19-7 win against Rider in Miami.
WVU’s last NCAA trip before 2017 was in 1996. West Virginia opened play in Clemson, South Carolina, with an 8-2 upset win over second-seeded Tennessee. A 9-4 win over Georgia Southern followed to send WVU to the regional semifinals, but the Mountaineers lost their next two games.
Prior to regional play, West Virginia played Lafayette in a play-in game in 1948, though the game is not recognized in the NCAA’s postseason record book. Lafayette won, 8-0, and advanced to the NCAA Finals.
SERIES HISTORY VS. MARYLAND
West Virginia and Maryland have met 64 times, most recently on April 11, in College Park. WVU is 23-41-1 all-time against UMD, including 10-6-1 at home, 12-33 on the road and 1-2 at a neutral site.
The Mountaineers have won each of the last two home games in the series, 14-2 in 2014 and 4-1 in 2016.
Earlier this year, the Terrapins won a 7-6 home contest. The Mountaineers scored three runs in the first inning and led 4-0 after three, but UMD, ranked No. 21 at the time, rallied with a two-run sixth inning and a five-run seventh to improve to 12-1 at home. Down by a pair in the ninth inning, WVU attempted to rally, loading the bases with one out, but could only bring one run across on a sacrifice fly.
SERIES HISTORY VS. WAKE FOREST
The Mountaineers have played Wake Forest 15 times, including six games in the NCAA Tournament. WFU leads the all-time series 12-3, but the two teams split the last two games, in 2013 in Winston-Salem. WVU is 1-3 in Morgantown, 2-5 on the road and 0-4 at a neutral site.
West Virginia and Wake Forest have met six times in the NCAA Tournament. The Demon Deacons hold a 5-1 edge, with the first three games coming in Morgantown in 1955, followed by a game in 1962 and two in 1962, all in Gastonia, North Carolina.
With a trip to the College World Series on the line, WVU and WF met in 1955 in Morgantown. Wake Forest won the three-game series, 2-1 and advanced to its second CWS in six seasons, where it would win its first national title.
The visiting team in the box score won all three games in 1955. The Demon Deacons claimed the opener, 5-1 on May 28, before the two teams split a doubleheader the following day. WVU evened the series with a 9-7 victory, which forced a winner-take-all third game. Wake Forest scored a run in the ninth inning to win it, 6-5, and advance to the College World Series. WVU’s 9-7 win was one of just two losses for WF in the postseason.
The two teams met again in the 1962 postseason. Wake Forest won that matchup, 8-3, in Gastonia. The game was tied 3-3 going into the seventh inning, when WF scored four runs to pull away.
Back in Gastonia the next year, WVU and WF played twice in the District 3 Playoffs. In the opening game, West Virginia was edged as the home team, 4-3. After a 2-1 win vs. Auburn, the Mountaineers fell to Wake Forest, 12-8, and were eliminated.
SERIES HISTORY VS. UMBC
The Mountaineers and UMBC have met twice before, in 2000 and 2013. WVU won both contests, 11-7 at home in 2000 and 4-0 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
The 4-0 win in 2013 came in coach Randy Mazey’s first season. WVU jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning and added a run in the fourth and two in the fifth inning. John Means and reliever Corey Holmes held UMBC to three hits with seven strikeouts in the contest. Matt Frazer led the team with two hits and two RBIs.
ON DECK: NCAA SUPER REGIONAL
The winner of the Winston-Salem Regional will advance to the NCAA Super Regional. The winner will face the winner of the Gainesville Regional, featuring No. 1-seed Florida, No. 2 South Florida, third-seeded Bethune-Cookman and No. 4 Marist. Florida is seeded third nationally.
LAST WEEK: MOUNTAINEERS RALLY TWICE, ROUTE ONCE IN BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP SPLIT
West Virginia is coming off a 2-2 week at the Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City. The Mountaineers advanced to the semifinals for the second consecutive season.
- Starter Isaiah Kearns was lights-out on the mound and the offense scored seven runs in the first inning as West Virginia opened the championship with an 11-1, eight-inning victory over Baylor on May 24. Kearns held Baylor to three hits with six strikeouts while throwing his first career complete game. The three hits allowed is a program-record low at the Big 12 Championship, and it is the first complete game at the tournament by a WVU pitcher.
- West Virginia lost its winner’s bracket matchup against Oklahoma State, 8-4 on May 25. The Mountaineers had 13 hits but were held to four runs against the Cowboys. WVU was led by Braden Zarbnisky, who had a career-high four hits, an RBI and a run scored. The four hits are the most in a Big 12 Championship game by a Mountaineer in team history.
- The next day, West Virginia rallied to beat No. 3 Texas Tech, 12-7 in 10 innings. The Mountaineers erased a 6-3 deficit with a run in the eighth inning and two in the ninth to tie the game at 6-6. WVU then scored six runs in the 10th inning to beat top-seeded TTU. Jackson Cramer scored the game-tying run in the ninth on an RBI single and three-base error and followed it up with a three-RBI triple in the 10th inning. His five RBIs in the contest are the most by a Mountaineer in program history at the Big 12 Championship. West Virginia’s 12 runs scored and 17 hits are also both the most in a Big 12 Championship game in team history
- In the semifinals on May 27, WVU rallied again to tie the game in the ninth inning, but lost in the 10th inning to Oklahoma State, 4-3. West Virginia trailed 3-2 in the ninth inning when Jimmy Galusky singled in the tying run. However, OSU, who would go on to win the tournament title the following day, scored a run in the 10th to win it.
QUICK HITS: KEY TEAM NOTES
- West Virginia is celebrating its 125th year of baseball. Founded in 1892, WVU owns an all-time record of 2,129-1,526-19. The Mountaineers are the second-oldest program in the Big 12.
- WVU is 34-24 on the season, 14-8 at home, 15-14 on the road and 5-2 at a neutral site.
- West Virginia is ranked No. 19 in the NCAA RPI. The Big 12 has six teams in the top 25 and the league has the No. 1 RPI in the nation.
- The Mountaineers are making their 12th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and the first since 1996. WVU is 8-22 in NCAA play and earned its first at-large berth in program history.
- WVU is one of seven of the Big 12’s nine teams to earn a postseason berth. The 77.8 percent of Big 12 teams to make the tournament is the most of any conference.
- WVU finished tied for fourth place in the Big 12, with a 12-12 record, and won its first four weekend series in conference play. West Virginia earned the No. 4 seed in the Big 12 Championship for the second consecutive season and has reached the semifinals in back-to-back years.
- The Mountaineers are 10-6 against top-25 teams, with all but six games coming on the road.
- Sophomore designated hitter/right-handed pitcher Braden Zarbnisky has been named one of five finalists for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year award watch list, presented by the College Baseball Foundation. An All-Big 12 First Team honoree, Zarbnisky is hitting .339 in 42 games with 24 starts and has a team-leading six wins and six saves while posting a 2.63 ERA in 22 relief appearances.
- Senior right-handed reliever Jackson Sigman has made 35 appearances this year, the most in a single season in program history, and is second on the team lead with five wins.
- Senior Jackson Cramer has been named one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award. The award recognizes senior student-athletes who have shown a commitment in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. Fans can vote for Cramer at seniorCLASSaward.com.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow WVU Baseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and visit WVUsports.com.
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