Box Score MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team lost the series-opener to No. 19 Texas, 11-6, on Friday night at Monongalia County Ballpark.
 
The Mountaineers (20-19, 4-9 Big 12) took a 2-0 lead and led 6-3 after six innings, but the 19th-ranked Longhorns (30-15, 12-4 Big 12) rallied to take the first game of the three-game series.
 
WVU scored six runs on eight hits with two errors, while UT tallied 11 runs on 15 hits with three errors.
 
Junior right fielder Darius Hill and sophomore center fielder Brandon White each had two hits and an RBI to lead the Mountaineers, and junior catcher Ivan Gonzalez had a team-best two RBIs. Hill's two hits extended his hit streak to a career-best 15 games.
 
On the mound, junior right-handed pitcher Braden Zarbnisky, who started the game in left field, came in in relief and suffered the loss. In 2.0 innings, he allowed four runs, three earned, on six hits.
 
Senior right-handed starter BJ Myers endured two weather delays lasting a total of one hour, 27 minutes. In 6.0 innings, he allowed three runs on eight hits with six strikeouts and three walks.
 
West Virginia jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning, scoring first for the 21st time this year and in the first for the 17th time. Zarbnisky led off the inning with a single up the middle and scored on a triple by White.
 
Myers threw his second 1-2-3 inning in the third before the Mountaineers extended their lead to 2-0 in the bottom half. Hill led off the inning with an infield single and advanced to third on a one-out single. He scored on a failed pickoff attempt at first base.
 
After the Mountaineer run scored in the bottom of the third, lightning in the area delayed the game for 51 minutes. In the top of the fourth, with one out, lightning returned to the area and the game was delayed for another 36 minutes. After the delay, Texas scored two runs with two outs. A walk was followed by an RBI triple and a game-tying single.
 
WVU regained the lead in the fifth, scoring three runs on two hits to take a 5-2 lead. Sophomore first baseman Marques Inman led off the inning with a walk and an error followed to put him on second and junior second baseman Kyle Gray on first. Then, freshman third baseman Tyler Doanes doubled down the right-field line to bring home a pair, and Gonzalez followed with a single up the middle to plate Doanes.
 
The Longhorns got a run back in the sixth on an RBI single, but Myers got back-to-back flyouts to end the inning and leave two on. The Mountaineers answered right back in the bottom half to extend their lead to 6-3. White led off the inning with a walk, stole second and scored on Hill's single up the middle.
 
Texas took the lead in the seventh, scoring six runs, two unearned, on four hits with one error off the WVU bullpen. With the bases loaded, an RBI single was followed by a two-RBI ground-rule double and a two-RBI single. A sac fly brought in the final run of the inning and gave UT a 9-6 lead.
 
The Longhorns added a run in the eighth on a run-scoring single through the left side to make it 10-6, and a solo home run by Masen Hibbeler in the ninth made it an 11-6 game.
 
West Virginia was retired in order in the eighth and got a one-out walk in the ninth but could not score.
 
The series continues on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET, while Sunday's finale commences at 1 p.m. Tickets are available at WVUGAME.com, by calling 1-800-WVU GAME or on game day at Monongalia County Ballpark. Admission for WVU students is free with a valid student I.D.
 
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.
 
NOTES: West Virginia falls to 20-19 on the season and 4-9 in Big 12 play … WVU leads the all-time series vs. Texas, 9-7, and 5-2 in Morgantown … The Mountaineers have won four of their last six … West Virginia scored first for the 21st time this season and in the first inning for the 17th time … Kyle Gray extended his team-best and career-long hit streak to 15 games and his reached-base streak to 17 games … Darius Hill extended his career-long hit streak to 14 games and his reached-base streak to 15 games … Braden Zarbnisky extended his reached-base streak to a team-high-tying 16 games … Marques Inman's hit streak was snapped at a career—long nine games, while his reached-base streak was extended to 14 games.
 
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.