Friday, March 9
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
7:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
at
Middle Tennessee State
WVU Begins Week in Tennessee
March 08, 2018 03:52 PM | Baseball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The West Virginia University baseball team concludes its season-opening roadtrip with five games in Tennessee, beginning with a weekend series at Middle Tennessee State from March 9-11, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
The series at Reese Smith Jr. Field begins on Friday, March 9, at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT. Saturday's first pitch is set for 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT, while the series finale on March 11 is at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT.
The Mountaineers (5-5) have won three in a row after a sweep at Western Kentucky last weekend. Following its five games in Tennessee, WVU returns home for the home-opening weekend at Monongalia County Ballpark, beginning on March 16.
The Mountaineers rank among the NCAA and Big 12 leaders in several statistical categories. WVU leads the Big 12 and is 11th in the NCAA with 17 home runs, while its .477 slugging percentage and seven sacrifice bunts are third in the Big 12.
Individually, Kevin Brophy ranks first in the country averaging 0.67 home runs per game and is ninth nationally and first in the Big 12 with a .935 slugging percentage. Darius Hill is first in the league and No. 6 in the NCAA with 0.70 doubles per game, while Andrew Zitel's 0.38 sacrifice bunts per game is also No. 1 in the Big 12 and 11th nationally. Additionally, Kyle Gray is second in the Big 12 and 22nd in the NCAA with 0.44 home runs per game, and Sam Kessler's three saves are second in the conference and No. 24 in the NCAA.
The Blue Raiders (7-6) are coming off a mid-week split against Memphis and have won three of their last five games. MTSU is the second of three Conference USA squads West Virginia will play this season, as WVU has a pair of mid-week games against Marshall later this season along with last weekend's series at Western Kentucky.
Friday's pitching matchup will feature a pair of seniors, with right-hander BJ Myers (0-0, 4.02 ERA) going for the Mountaineers and left-hander Jake Wyrick (0-0, 4.15) for the Blue Raiders. On Saturday, WVU sophomore righty Alek Manoah (0-2, 6.75) will face MTSU junior righty Carson Lester (1-1, 5.27). In Sunday's finale, sophomore right-hander Kade Strowd (1-1, 2.57) toes the rubber for West Virginia, while freshman lefty Peyton Wigginton starts for Middle Tennessee.
FOLLOWING ALONG
Middle Tennessee will have live video, audio and stats for all three games this weekend at Reese Smith Jr. Field. Links for each game 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.
SCOUTING MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE
Middle Tennessee comes into the weekend with a 7-6 record and a 5-3 mark at home. MTSU split a mid-week series vs. Memphis this week, with a 7-6 win on Wednesday after a 6-5 loss on Tuesday. Last weekend, at the Tri-Star Classic in Knoxville, Tennessee, the Blue Raiders lost to Memphis, 6-4, before a 16-8 win over East Tennessee State and a 7-5 victory against Tennessee.
Aaron Aucker paces the offense with a .347 batting average in 49 at-bats, and he joins Austin Dennis with a team-high-tying 17 hits. Aucker has 17 RBIs and a .612 slugging percentage with three home runs.
On the mound, Dennis has a 1.69 ERA in 5.1 innings pitched, while Jake Wyrick has 16 strikeouts in 8.2 innings. MTSU's seven wins have all been earned by different pitchers, while Drew Huff has two of the team's three saves.
The Blue Raiders are coached by Jim McGuire, in his sixth season. He owns a 142-154 record after serving as an MTSU assistant and associate head coach for 20 years. In his time as head coach, McGuire has coached 11 All-Conference players and has had 10 players drafted.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE BLUE RAIDERS
WVU is 0-1 all-time against Middle Tennessee. The lone meeting came in 1976, a 5-0 loss in Murfreesboro. The game was the fifth of seven in a span of six days to start the season for the Mountaineers, all on the road.
ON DECK: AT TENNESSEE TECH
WVU remains in the Volunteer State for its first mid-week contests of the season at Tennessee Tech. The series begins on Tuesday, March 13, at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT. First pitch on Wednesday, March 14, has been moved up to 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT, in Cookeville, Tenn.
LAST TIME OUT: WKU SWEEP
West Virginia swept Western Kentucky in a three-game series from March 2-4, in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The series began with a 7-5 victory before WVU secured the series win with an 11-9 win in 10 innings on Saturday. The Mountaineers completed the sweep with a 7-1 win on March 4.
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.
The series at Reese Smith Jr. Field begins on Friday, March 9, at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT. Saturday's first pitch is set for 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT, while the series finale on March 11 is at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT.
The Mountaineers (5-5) have won three in a row after a sweep at Western Kentucky last weekend. Following its five games in Tennessee, WVU returns home for the home-opening weekend at Monongalia County Ballpark, beginning on March 16.
The Mountaineers rank among the NCAA and Big 12 leaders in several statistical categories. WVU leads the Big 12 and is 11th in the NCAA with 17 home runs, while its .477 slugging percentage and seven sacrifice bunts are third in the Big 12.
Individually, Kevin Brophy ranks first in the country averaging 0.67 home runs per game and is ninth nationally and first in the Big 12 with a .935 slugging percentage. Darius Hill is first in the league and No. 6 in the NCAA with 0.70 doubles per game, while Andrew Zitel's 0.38 sacrifice bunts per game is also No. 1 in the Big 12 and 11th nationally. Additionally, Kyle Gray is second in the Big 12 and 22nd in the NCAA with 0.44 home runs per game, and Sam Kessler's three saves are second in the conference and No. 24 in the NCAA.
The Blue Raiders (7-6) are coming off a mid-week split against Memphis and have won three of their last five games. MTSU is the second of three Conference USA squads West Virginia will play this season, as WVU has a pair of mid-week games against Marshall later this season along with last weekend's series at Western Kentucky.
Friday's pitching matchup will feature a pair of seniors, with right-hander BJ Myers (0-0, 4.02 ERA) going for the Mountaineers and left-hander Jake Wyrick (0-0, 4.15) for the Blue Raiders. On Saturday, WVU sophomore righty Alek Manoah (0-2, 6.75) will face MTSU junior righty Carson Lester (1-1, 5.27). In Sunday's finale, sophomore right-hander Kade Strowd (1-1, 2.57) toes the rubber for West Virginia, while freshman lefty Peyton Wigginton starts for Middle Tennessee.
FOLLOWING ALONG
Middle Tennessee will have live video, audio and stats for all three games this weekend at Reese Smith Jr. Field. Links for each game 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.
SCOUTING MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE
Middle Tennessee comes into the weekend with a 7-6 record and a 5-3 mark at home. MTSU split a mid-week series vs. Memphis this week, with a 7-6 win on Wednesday after a 6-5 loss on Tuesday. Last weekend, at the Tri-Star Classic in Knoxville, Tennessee, the Blue Raiders lost to Memphis, 6-4, before a 16-8 win over East Tennessee State and a 7-5 victory against Tennessee.
Aaron Aucker paces the offense with a .347 batting average in 49 at-bats, and he joins Austin Dennis with a team-high-tying 17 hits. Aucker has 17 RBIs and a .612 slugging percentage with three home runs.
On the mound, Dennis has a 1.69 ERA in 5.1 innings pitched, while Jake Wyrick has 16 strikeouts in 8.2 innings. MTSU's seven wins have all been earned by different pitchers, while Drew Huff has two of the team's three saves.
The Blue Raiders are coached by Jim McGuire, in his sixth season. He owns a 142-154 record after serving as an MTSU assistant and associate head coach for 20 years. In his time as head coach, McGuire has coached 11 All-Conference players and has had 10 players drafted.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE BLUE RAIDERS
WVU is 0-1 all-time against Middle Tennessee. The lone meeting came in 1976, a 5-0 loss in Murfreesboro. The game was the fifth of seven in a span of six days to start the season for the Mountaineers, all on the road.
ON DECK: AT TENNESSEE TECH
WVU remains in the Volunteer State for its first mid-week contests of the season at Tennessee Tech. The series begins on Tuesday, March 13, at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT. First pitch on Wednesday, March 14, has been moved up to 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT, in Cookeville, Tenn.
LAST TIME OUT: WKU SWEEP
West Virginia swept Western Kentucky in a three-game series from March 2-4, in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The series began with a 7-5 victory before WVU secured the series win with an 11-9 win in 10 innings on Saturday. The Mountaineers completed the sweep with a 7-1 win on March 4.
- WVU used a four-run eighth inning rally to win the opener, 7-5, holding WKU to one run on three hits in the final 4.0 innings. Darius Hill led the offense with four hits, including a home run and two doubles, while Chase Illig came off the bench in the eighth inning to hit a three-run home run. Shane Ennis got the win to improve to 2-0 on the season, while Sam Kessler picked up his third save.
- The Mountaineers won a 10-inning slugfest the next day, 11-9. WVU hit a season-high four home runs and every starter had at least one hit, seven had at least one RBI and seven scored one or more runs. Braden Zarbnisky had a career-high five hits and drove in the game-winning run in the 10th inning while also earning the win on the mound, pitching 2.0 innings in relief.
- West Virginia concluded the weekend with a 7-1 win as Kyle Gray hit his third home run in the last two games. Kade Strowd earned the win, holding WKU to one run on four hits in 5.2 innings pitched.
- WVU hit seven home runs at WKU, while the 15 hits on Saturday marked the fifth time this year West Virginia has had 10 or more hits in a game. Andrew Zitel extended his career-long and team-leading hitting streak to seven consecutive games with a hit in each game, and added a career-high-tying two RBIs on Saturday. Brandon White extended his reached-base streak to 11 consecutive games, dating back to last year, and he has reached base in all 10 games to start the 2018 season.
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.
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