Late-Inning Rally Comes Up Short

Saturday, February 17

Jacksonville, Fla.

2:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

1-1

Jacksonville

1-1

West Virginia

Jacksonville

February 17, 2018 06:12 PM | Baseball

Box Score Season Stats Box Score

By: Charlie Healy

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The No. 22 West Virginia University baseball team rallied with four runs in the final three innings, but it was not enough in a 7-4 loss at Jacksonville on Saturday afternoon.

The Mountaineers (1-1) were held to one run on two hits in the first seven innings and trailed 7-1 before scoring three runs on five hits off of the Dolphins (1-1) bullpen.

JU starter Tyler Santana held WVU to one run on two hits in 7.0 innings with seven strikeouts and one walk. He did not allow a hit until the fifth inning and the lone run allowed came in the seventh.

Against the Jacksonville bullpen though, the Mountaineers scored two runs on two hits in the eighth inning and one run on three hits in the ninth. WVU sent the tying run to the plate in the ninth, but a groundout ended the game.

Junior shortstop Jimmy Galusky provided the offensive spark for West Virginia with a two-run home run in the eighth inning. He finished with a team-high two RBIs. Sophomore designated hitter Marques Inman was 2-for-3, including a single in the fifth inning for WVU's first hit of the game and a single in the ninth.

Trailing 7-1 in the eighth inning, The Mountaineers answered a two-run bottom of the seventh by the Dolphins with two runs of their own in the top of the eighth to make it 7-3. Junior pinch hitter Andrew Zitel led off the inning with a walk, and Galusky followed with his sixth career home run.

After a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth by freshman righty Tristen Hudson, junior right fielder Darius Hill led off the ninth with a double. He advanced to third and scored on Inman's single with a fielding error. A single put two on with no outs, but a strikeout and a fielder's choice was followed by a game-ending groundout.

Sophomore right-handed starter Alek Manoah suffered the loss. In 3.1 innings, he allowed two runs, one earned, on one hit with four strikeouts and five walks.

The Dolphins scored a run in the first, after the leadoff runner walked and scored on a wild pitch. Manoah stranded a pair of JU runners in the second before a leadoff walk in the third resulted in Jacksonville's second run.

Manoah issued back-to-back one-out walks in the fourth inning, and junior right-hander Christian Young relieved him to make his Mountaineer debut. Young got a flyout and a pop out in foul territory to end the inning and again leave two runners on base.

After Inman broke up the no-hitter with a leadoff single in the top of the fifth inning, Jacksonville added a run in the fifth on a two-out single and an RBI triple.

Two more runs came across for the Dolphins in the sixth to give the home team a 5-0, before sophomore right Jacob Potock stranded the bases loaded.

West Virginia got on the board in the seventh, as junior second baseman Kyle Gray tripled to lead off the inning and scored on junior catcher Ivan Gonzalez's groundout. Inman reached for the second time today with a two-out walk, but a hard-hit groundout ended the inning.

That made it 5-1, but JU answered in the bottom of the inning with a two-run, two-out home run to extend the advantage to 7-1, before WVU's two runs in the eighth and one in the ninth.

The series at John Sessions Stadium concludes on Sunday, with first pitch moved back an hour to 1 p.m. ET. Live stats and a link to Jacksonville's radio broadcasts can be found on the baseball schedule page on WVUsports.com. Additional behind-the-scenes updates, news and notes from Jacksonville can be found on social media by following and connecting with the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @WVUBaseball.

NOTES: WVU falls to 1-1 on the season … WVU continues to lead the all-time series against Jacksonville, 3-2 … Four Mountaineers made their WVU debuts in Saturday's game … Tyler Doanes made his career debut, getting the start at third base and walking to lead off the eighth inning and scoring a run … Reliever Christian Young made his Mountaineer debut in the fourth inning … Second baseman Kyle Gray hit the first triple of the season for the Mountaineers in the seventh inning … Reliever Nick Snyder made his WVU debut in the seventh inning … Shortstop Jimmy Galusky hit his first home run of the season and sixth of his career in the eighth inning … Reliever Tristen Hudson made his career debut in the eighth inning, throwing a 1-2-3 inning.

Season tickets and mini-packages for the 2018 season are on sale now. Fans can purchase tickets at WVUGAME.com, call 1-800-WVU GAME or visit the Mountaineer Ticket Office at the WVU Coliseum. The 2018 schedule, with game times, can be found on the baseball schedule page on WVUsports.com. A printable PDF and schedule breakdown also are available on WVUsports.com.

For more information on the Mountaineers, follow WVU Baseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and visit WVUsports.com.