WVU Faces Marshall in Charleston Tuesday

Tuesday, April 24

Charleston, W.Va. / Power Park

6:30 p.m.

West Virginia University

Marshall

Tickets

April 23, 2018 04:03 PM | Baseball

Game Notes Tickets Radio, Video and Live Stats Twitter

By: Charlie Healy

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team plays its only true road game in the month of April when it travels to Charleston, West Virginia, for a matchup against in-state foe Marshall on Tuesday, April 24, at 6:30 p.m. ET, at Appalachian Power Park.

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The game is hosted by Marshall and tickets are available at HerdZone.com.

WVU and Marshall meet for the 70th time on Tuesday, and the Mountaineers lead the all-time series 45-24. West Virginia has won four in a row in the series, six of the last seven and 15 of the last 18.

The Mountaineers (19-17) have won eight of their last 11 games. West Virginia is ranked No. 32 in the NCAA RPI and has the No. 5 strength of schedule in the nation, according to WarrenNolen.com.

The Mountaineers rank among the NCAA and Big 12 leaders in several statistical categories. West Virginia is second in the Big 12 and No. 21 nationally with 66 stolen bases, while WVU is third in the league and No. 16 nationally with 39 double plays turned. The Mountaineers also are No. 3 in the Big 12 with 13 triples and are fourth with 32 home runs.

Individually, Braden Zarbnisky ranks No. 7 nationally with 1.03 walks per game, while he is No. 14 in the NCAA with 0.60 stolen bases per game. Darius Hill leads the Big 12 and is No. 8 in the country with an average of 19.4 at-bats per strikeout, while he is second in the conference with 0.41 doubles per game, just behind teammate Marques Inman, who leads the league with a 0.42 average.

The Thundering Herd (17-20) were swept by Louisiana Tech last weekend. Tuesday's game marks the fourth consecutive year that MU has hosted WVU at Power Park in Charleston.

FOLLOWING ALONG
There are a number of ways to follow along with Tuesday's game.

The game will be streamed on ConferenceUSA.com/Watch. A subscription is required.
Fans can listen to the game on the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG on various affiliates throughout the state, while fans across the country can tune in to the broadcasts online at WVUsports.com and on the WVU Gameday App, as well as the TuneIn App on their mobile device. Dan Zangrilli and Ernie Galusky will call the action.
Additionally, WMXE 100.9 FM in Charleston and WWQB 102.3 FM in Huntington will broadcast Tuesday's game on the radio.
Direct 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 can be found on social media by following and connecting with the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @WVUBaseball.

SCOUTING MARSHALL
Marshall is 17-20 on the season and 5-12 in Conference USA play. The Thundering Herd are 5-10 at home and 12-10 on the road. Marshall enters the week having lost three in a row to Louisiana Tech in a home series played in Beckley, West Virginia, after a pair of midweek wins over Ohio last week.

Reynaldo Pastrana leads the team with a .351 batting average, 53 hits and 36 RBIs. He is second with eight home runs, behind Peter Hutzal, who has nine. Shane Hanon is second on the team with a .324 average and 45 hits.

On the mound, Will Ray owns a 1.57 ERA in 34.1 innings, while Brad O'Connor has a team-best 45 strikeouts while leading the team with three wins.

Jeff Waggoner is in his 12th season at Marshall and owns a record of 273-357-1. Under Waggoner, 28 players have earned All-Conference USA accolades. He was named the Conference USA Coach of the Year in 2016 after Marshall won a school-record 34 games.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THUNDERING HERD
West Virginia is 45-24 all-time vs. Marshall in a series that begin in 1915. The Mountaineers are 30-8 at home, 11-16 on the road and 4-0 at a neutral site. Under coach Randy Mazey, since 2013, the Mountaineers are 7-3 in the in-state series.

WVU has won six of the last seven meetings and 15 of the last 18, dating back to 1993. The stretch began with eight consecutive wins from 1993-2008. The series resumed in 2013, when Marshall won two of three. The Mountaineers won the lone matchup in 2014 before a two-game split in 2015. West Virginia swept the season series in 2016, marking the first series sweep for either team since 1997.

WVU also swept last season's series, with a 14-7 victory in Morgantown on April 4 and an 8-4 win in Charleston on April 18.

The Mountaineers won the first meeting behind an offensive explosion that scored 14 runs on 16 hits, with the help of five Marshall errors. West Virginia benefited from a strong pitching performance from Isaiah Kearns and Sam Kessler. The Mountaineers were led by Jackson Cramer, who had a team-high four RBIs with a team-high-tying three hits with three runs scored.
Two weeks later in front of a near-capacity crowd of 4,217 at Power Park, the Mountaineers scored in five of the first six innings on the way to an 8-4 win. Ivan Gonzalez had four hits, three RBIs and three runs scored to lead the offense and was a triple shy of the cycle. On the mound, WVU was fueled by a strong start from Kade Strowd and 5.0 shutout relief innings from Riley Troutt.

ON DECK: NO. 19 TEXAS IN TOWN
This weekend, from April 27-29, West Virginia hosts No. 19 Texas at Monongalia County Ballpark. The Big 12 series begins on Friday, April 27, at 6:30 p.m. ET. The series continues on Saturday at 4 p.m. before Sunday's finale at 1 p.m.

Tickets for all three games are available at WVUGAME.com, by calling 1-800-WVU GAME, at the Mountaineer Ticket Office at the WVU Coliseum or on game day at Monongalia County Ballpark. Friday's promotions include Friday Night Happy Hour, with half-off beverages from 5:30-6:30, and all fans can play Baseball Bingo. Saturday is Family Day, where fans can purchase four tickets and receive a $10 concession voucher for just $25. Sunday is the third trading card giveaway of the season, Kids Day, postgame autographs and running the bases, with a new Kids Zone Presented by WVU Medicine Children's and Mr. Twister's Balloon Art and Face Painting.

LAST TIME OUT: BIG 12 SERIES WIN
West Virginia won their first Big 12 series with a weekend series win over Kansas State. The Mountaineers won the first two games, 8-5 and 6-0, before a 7-4 loss in the finale.

In the series opener on April 20, 8-5, the Mountaineers trailed 4-0 in the third inning and 5-3 in the middle of the seventh before they rallied with two runs in the seventh inning, one on a wild pitch and another unearned to tie the game. The rally continued with three runs in the eighth, one on another wild pitch to take the lead and the next two on a two-run home run by Darius Hill. Marques Inman led the offensive attack with a career-high-tying four hits, while Hill had three hits and a team-best two RBIs.
The next day, WVU held K-State to just four hits in a 6-0 shutout victory. WVU's offense again was led by Inman, who had a team-leading three hits with two RBIs, both coming on two-out run-scoring doubles. Chase Illig hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning to join Inman with two RBIs. On the mound, Kade Strowd allowed just two hits and no runs in 5.2 innings while striking out seven and walking seven. He gave up a single in the first and another in the second but did not surrender a base hit the rest of the day.
In Sunday's finale, WVU scored two runs in the eighth inning and one in the ninth, but could not add any more in a 7-4 loss. The Mountaineers trailed 7-1 in the eighth inning, but rallied to send the tying run to the plate in the ninth with two outs. However, the Wildcats got a lineout to end the game to avoid the sweep. All but one starter had at least one hit, while six had an RBI or scored a run. Inman continued his hot hitting and was one of three Mountaineers with two hits. Kyle Gray (14 games), Hill (13) and Inman (8) all extended their career-long hitting streaks in the contest.

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.