Box Score MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The West Virginia University baseball team used a five-run fifth inning to fuel an 8-4 victory at Middle Tennessee on Saturday afternoon at Reese Smith Jr. Field in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
 
The Mountaineers (6-6) scored two runs in the second inning and hit two home runs as part of a five-run fifth to even the three-game weekend series against the Blue Raiders (8-7). WVU shut out MTSU for seven innings, allowing no runs on three hits with eight strikeouts and one walk.
 
Junior shortstop Jimmy Galusky hit his fourth home run of the season in the fifth inning and led the team with three hits, three RBIs and two runs scored. Sophomore designated hitter Marques Inman also homered in the fifth, his first of the year, and had two hits, three RBIs and scored twice.
 
Junior righty Christian Young relieved sophomore right-handed starter Alek Manoah in the fourth inning and earned the win to improve to 2-0. In 4.0 innings, Young did not allow a run on three hits with three strikeouts and a walk.
 
Young came in because Manoah was ejected in the fourth inning. With an 0-2 count to the leadoff hitter, time was called by the home plate umpire as Manoah began his windup. Manoah was unable to stop his delivery when time was called, and his pitch sailed inside, resulting in the ejection.
 
For the eighth time this season, West Virginia scored first, with a pair of runs in the second inning to take an early 2-0 lead. With runners on the corners after a leadoff double by Inman and a walk to sophomore catcher Chase Illig, Galusky doubled home Inman and Illig.
 
Young entered the game in the in the bottom of the fourth and got a groundout to short. He then gave up a double to break up the no-hitter, but followed it with a strikeout and a foul out to end the inning.
 
In 3.0 innings, Manoah did not allow a hit, run or walk, with five strikeouts. He hit two batters, both in the first inning, for the only two base runners against him.
 
The Mountaineers answered right back with five runs in the fifth, beginning with Galusky's leadoff home run, a long shot that bounced off the football stadium beyond the left-field fence. Junior third baseman Ivan Gonzalez followed with an RBI double to score sophomore center fielder Brandon White that made it 4-0. Inman's three-run home run two batters later extended the WVU lead to 7-0.
 
WVU added its eighth run an inning later, as Gonzalez drove in another run with a two-out single to center that brought home Galusky.
 
Young then got a big strikeout looking to end the sixth inning and strand the bases loaded. He followed with a 1-2-3 seventh inning, his final frame on the mound.
 
Middle Tennessee got on the board with a three-run home run in the eighth inning off of freshman left-hander Jackson Wolf. Freshman righty Tristen Hudson relieved Wolf and got all three outs, with a pair of strikeouts while stranding one.
 
Sophomore right-hander Sam Kessler got the final out of the ninth inning, after one run scored to cut the WVU lead to 8-4, but the home team would not get any closer.
 
The series at Reese Smith Jr. Field concludes tomorrow, with first pitch moved up to noon ET/11 a.m. CT, due to inclement weather expected in the area. Middle Tennessee will have live video, audio and stats, and direct links can be found on the baseball schedule page on WVUsports.com. Additional behind-the-scenes updates, news and notes from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, can be found on social media by following and connecting with the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @WVUBaseball.
 
NOTES: West Virginia improved to 6-6 on the season and 4-1 in its last five games … WVU earned its first win against Middle Tennessee and is now 1-2 in the all-time series … WVU scored first for the eighth time in 12 games this season … Jimmy Galusky and Marques Inman homered in the fifth inning, the third time this season the Mountaineers have hit multiple homers in an inning … It was Galusky's fourth home run of the season and ninth of his career, while Inman's homer was his first in 2018 and fourth of his career … With a fifth-inning double, Ivan Gonzalez extending his hitting streak to eight games … Brandon White extended his reached-base streak to 13 games, Braden Zarbnisky extended his to nine games and Galusky's is now at a career-long nine games … White and Zarbnisky have both reached base in every game they have appeared in this year, with reached-base streaks that extend back to the 2017 season … Christian Young improved to 2-0 on the season … In 4.0 innings, Young did not allow a run on three hits with three strikeouts and one walk … Alek Manoah did not allow a hit in 3.0 innings, striking out five.
 
Season tickets, single game 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.