MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - There are good days and then there are great days. West Virginia's Kyle Gray had a great day on Saturday.
 
The junior second baseman slugged two homers and drove in three runs to help propel the Mountaineers to a come-from-behind, 8-6 victory over 19^th-ranked Texas.
 
It was one of two victories West Virginia got against the second-place team in the Big 12 over the weekend to put the Mountaineers (22-19, 6-9) right back into the thick of things in the conference race.
 
Gray's special moment on Saturday turned into an unforgettable one because his grandfather Robert made the trip to Morgantown from Fredericksburg, Texas, to see him play in person.
 
It's the first time his grandfather has been on an airplane to watch him play a game at WVU. He joined seven other family members on the flight from San Antonio to Pittsburgh, arriving at Monongalia County Ballpark just a few hours before Friday night's game.
 
"I got to see them a little bit before the game started," Gray said Sunday. "It was pretty cool."
 
"He's a family kid," West Virginia coach Randy Mazey said. "They've got a super family, and they're super-close. The kid has been through a ton of adversity and has done nothing but work hard."
 
Gray said his grandpa frequently goes to his summer games when he's playing back in Texas and has been after him to hit a home run. Each time he's tried he has come up empty … that is until Saturday.
 
"I was starting to feel a little pressure," Gray chuckled.
 
Then came the third inning of Saturday's game against the Longhorns when he took Chase Shugart deep. Gray hit a second one two innings later to give the Mountaineers a 5-3 lead. 
 
Both blasts came with two outs. His teammates retrieved the home run Gray hit into the West Virginia bullpen.
 
"They got that to my mom and then she gave it to grandpa," Gray said. "It was a pretty cool experience because when I went back and played in Texas the past two years he's always asking me to him a home run."
 
Having those two home runs come against Texas made it even more meaningful. Just about every young kid growing up in Texas follows the Longhorns, Gray included.
 
"That's the team I always watched growing up," he said. "They were a pretty big powerhouse at the time when I was in my early childhood so doing it against them in front of my family, who traveled up here to watch me play, was awesome."
 
He said Texas never really showed any interest in him when he played at Blanco High in Blanco, Texas, despite hitting .477 with eight home runs during his senior season and earning district player of the year honors.
 
"I talked to (Texas) A&M, TCU and (Texas) Tech but never talked to UT," he said. "Earlier in my career in college I was kind of sore about it because you figured being so close they would look at me, but now I'm happy to be where I'm at doing what I'm doing."
 
Gray's recent power surge has come at the same time his team is beginning to surge. The Mountaineers have won 12 out of their last 17 games after dropping 10 out of their first 24 - mostly on the road.
 
West Virginia has won its last two conference home series against Kansas State and Texas and is just two victories behind TCU for sixth place. More importantly, the Mountaineers have distanced themselves from the bottom two teams, Kansas and Kansas State, with a weekend series at Kansas looming.
 
The top eight teams qualify for the Big 12 Tournament in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, May 23-27.
 
Before WVU travels to Kansas, it has is a midweek game against Maryland on Tuesday at Monongalia County Ballpark to wrap up a three-week stretch of games that has seen West Virginia play 16 of its last 19 games at home.
 
"Everything is kind of coming together like we planned," Gray said. "We were kind of hoping it would have happened a little earlier in the season, but we're right where we need to be right now. The pitching staff is coming together. We've got some good, young arms throwing well. The lineup is coming together, too."
 
Gray has played a major role in West Virginia's recent hot streak.
 
He's hitting .333, second on the team behind Marques Inman's .349 average, and he leads the Mountaineers in home runs (nine) and slugging percentage (.624) while striking out just 10 times, fewest of any regular in the WVU lineup this season.
 
His power numbers have been a big surprise and have helped offset the loss of the combined 21 home runs Jackson Cramer and Kyle Davis hit last season.
 
"I'm about half the size of old Cramer," Gray joked. "He's a great player and he was awesome to be around when he was here. Trying to do what he did is filling some big shoes, but I'm trying the best I can."
 
Gray admits he's not your typical No. 5 hitter.
 
"I look like I should be a leadoff or in the nine-hole," he said. "I'm just kind of a situational player and at times I need to be, but I'm just staying with my routine where I'm looking to hit the ball and good things keep happening."
 
Gray said he's really not sure where the newfound power is coming from this year, but suspects hitting behind Inman has allowed him to see more hittable pitches.
 
"I'm just letting fastballs get a little deeper and that's allowing me to hit the off-speed stuff a little better," he said. "It's allowing me to be on time with a lot more pitches and it's allowing me to hit for some more power. It's hard to explain because it's kind of surreal for me being at nine home runs right now after last year hitting three."
 
"Pound for pound, he's one of the strongest guys on our team," Mazey mentioned. "We figured him to be about a 10-home-run guy this year."
 
When Gray finally hit the home run for his grandpa on Saturday, he made it a point to acknowledge him before he crossed home plate. 
 
"It was a special moment to see him recognize his family after the home run. That's what college athletics is all about - representing people, your family and the people around the state," Mazey said.