Friday, February 22
Statesboro, Ga.
6:30 p.m.
West Virginia University
at
Georgia Southern
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
WVU Returns to Georgia for Series at Georgia Southern
February 21, 2019 03:37 PM | Baseball
STATESBORO, Ga. – For the second consecutive weekend, the West Virginia University baseball team travels to the state of Georgia, with a three-game series at Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Georgia, from Feb. 22-23.
The series will begin on Friday, Feb. 22, at 6:30 p.m., at Jack Stallings Field at J.I. Clements Stadium. Due to inclement weather expected in the area on Sunday, the two teams will now play a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 23. First pitch of Saturday's originally-scheduled contest is moved up two hours to 1 p.m., and Sunday's series finale will now be played as the second game of Saturday's doubleheader.
The Mountaineers (2-2) are coming off a 5-4, walk-off win over Canisius at home on Tuesday night after they opened the year at the Atlanta Challenge in Atlanta. The Eagles (1-2) opened the 2019 campaign with a series loss at No. 15 Auburn. This weekend's matchup is GSU's home-opening series, after its midweek outing against Georgia Tech was postponed due to rain.
Through four games, WVU's three sacrifice bunts are No. 19 in the NCAA and its eight stolen bases lead the Big 12 and are No. 26 nationally. Additionally, Mountaineer hitters have been hit by pitch four times, which is third-most in the conference.
Individually, junior right-hander Alek Manoah's 13 strikeouts and freshman righty Beau Lowery's three appearances on the mound both lead the country. Freshman Austin Davis, who's four stolen bases on Tuesday were one shy of tying the WVU record, ranks No. 5 nationally with five steals in 2019. Junior first baseman Marques Inman's two home runs is No. 14 in the NCAA.
On the mound this weekend, two junior right-handers will square off on Friday, as Alek Manoah (0-0, 1.50 ERA) faces GSU's Seth Shuman (0-1, 21.00). Saturday's first game will see a pair of leftys toe the rubber, with sophomore Jackson Wolf (1-0, 1.80) going for the Mountaineers and freshman Braden Hayes (0-0, 5.40) for the Eagles. The finale features West Virginia junior righty Kade Strowd (0-0, 6.23) against GSU senior right-hander Daniel Collins (0-0, 1.80).
FOLLOWING ALONG
There are a number of ways to follow along with this weekend's action in Statesboro.
SCOUTING GEORGIA SOUTHERN
Georgia Southern enters the weekend with a 1-2 mark after opening the season at No. 15 Auburn last weekend. The Eagles lost the opener, 11-2, before back-to-back 13-inning contests. GSU evened the series with a 7-5 win, but dropped Sunday's finale, 4-3.
Jason Swan leads the team with a .333 batting average with a team-high-tying five hits, one RBI and a .400 slugging percentage. On the mound, five pitchers boast a 0.00 ERA, including Hayden Harris, who has a team-high-tying four strikeouts in two appearances and 4.1 innings pitched.
Georgia Southern is coached by Rodney Hennan in his 20th season with the Eagles. Hennan has a 675-465 record at Georgia Southern and is 756-503-1 in his 22-year career as a head coach. He has led the Eagles to six NCAA Regionals and is a two-time SoCon Coach of the Year.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE EAGLES
West Virginia is 6-15 all-time against Georgia Southern, with all but one game played in Statesboro. The lone neutral-site game was at the 1996 NCAA Atlantic 1 Regional, where WVU captured a 9-4 victory in Clemson, South Carolina The last meeting between the two teams came in 2015, when the Eagles won a three-game series. After a 7-4 loss in the opener, WVU evened the series with a 12-4 victory. The weekend concluded with a 15-2 defeat.
UP NEXT: AT OREGON STATE
For the second time in program history, and second time in the last three years, the Mountaineers will play at the defending NCAA champions when they visit Oregon State next weekend. The series in Corvallis, Oregon, begins on Friday, March 1, at 8:35 p.m. ET/5:35 p.m. PT. On Saturday, first pitch at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field is set for 4:35 p.m. ET, while the series concludes on Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET.
LAST TIME OUT: WALK-OFF HOME OPENER
In the first February home game in program history, the Mountaineers walked off against Canisius, 5-4, on Tuesday afternoon.
Single game tickets, season tickets and mini-packages for the 2019 season are on sale now. Fans can join the excitement of WVU baseball and support the Mountaineers by purchasing tickets at WVUGAME.com, calling 1-800-WVU GAME or visiting the Mountaineer Ticket Office at the WVU Coliseum.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow WVU Baseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The series will begin on Friday, Feb. 22, at 6:30 p.m., at Jack Stallings Field at J.I. Clements Stadium. Due to inclement weather expected in the area on Sunday, the two teams will now play a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 23. First pitch of Saturday's originally-scheduled contest is moved up two hours to 1 p.m., and Sunday's series finale will now be played as the second game of Saturday's doubleheader.
The Mountaineers (2-2) are coming off a 5-4, walk-off win over Canisius at home on Tuesday night after they opened the year at the Atlanta Challenge in Atlanta. The Eagles (1-2) opened the 2019 campaign with a series loss at No. 15 Auburn. This weekend's matchup is GSU's home-opening series, after its midweek outing against Georgia Tech was postponed due to rain.
Through four games, WVU's three sacrifice bunts are No. 19 in the NCAA and its eight stolen bases lead the Big 12 and are No. 26 nationally. Additionally, Mountaineer hitters have been hit by pitch four times, which is third-most in the conference.
Individually, junior right-hander Alek Manoah's 13 strikeouts and freshman righty Beau Lowery's three appearances on the mound both lead the country. Freshman Austin Davis, who's four stolen bases on Tuesday were one shy of tying the WVU record, ranks No. 5 nationally with five steals in 2019. Junior first baseman Marques Inman's two home runs is No. 14 in the NCAA.
On the mound this weekend, two junior right-handers will square off on Friday, as Alek Manoah (0-0, 1.50 ERA) faces GSU's Seth Shuman (0-1, 21.00). Saturday's first game will see a pair of leftys toe the rubber, with sophomore Jackson Wolf (1-0, 1.80) going for the Mountaineers and freshman Braden Hayes (0-0, 5.40) for the Eagles. The finale features West Virginia junior righty Kade Strowd (0-0, 6.23) against GSU senior right-hander Daniel Collins (0-0, 1.80).
FOLLOWING ALONG
There are a number of ways to follow along with this weekend's action in Statesboro.
- Friday's series opener can be viewed on ESPN+, while Saturday's doubleheader will be streamed on GSEagles.com/Watch.
- Live stats for all three games can be found at GeorgiaSouthern.Statebroadcast.com.
- Direct links to video streams and live stats are available 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 GEORGIA SOUTHERN
Georgia Southern enters the weekend with a 1-2 mark after opening the season at No. 15 Auburn last weekend. The Eagles lost the opener, 11-2, before back-to-back 13-inning contests. GSU evened the series with a 7-5 win, but dropped Sunday's finale, 4-3.
Jason Swan leads the team with a .333 batting average with a team-high-tying five hits, one RBI and a .400 slugging percentage. On the mound, five pitchers boast a 0.00 ERA, including Hayden Harris, who has a team-high-tying four strikeouts in two appearances and 4.1 innings pitched.
Georgia Southern is coached by Rodney Hennan in his 20th season with the Eagles. Hennan has a 675-465 record at Georgia Southern and is 756-503-1 in his 22-year career as a head coach. He has led the Eagles to six NCAA Regionals and is a two-time SoCon Coach of the Year.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE EAGLES
West Virginia is 6-15 all-time against Georgia Southern, with all but one game played in Statesboro. The lone neutral-site game was at the 1996 NCAA Atlantic 1 Regional, where WVU captured a 9-4 victory in Clemson, South Carolina The last meeting between the two teams came in 2015, when the Eagles won a three-game series. After a 7-4 loss in the opener, WVU evened the series with a 12-4 victory. The weekend concluded with a 15-2 defeat.
UP NEXT: AT OREGON STATE
For the second time in program history, and second time in the last three years, the Mountaineers will play at the defending NCAA champions when they visit Oregon State next weekend. The series in Corvallis, Oregon, begins on Friday, March 1, at 8:35 p.m. ET/5:35 p.m. PT. On Saturday, first pitch at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field is set for 4:35 p.m. ET, while the series concludes on Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET.
LAST TIME OUT: WALK-OFF HOME OPENER
In the first February home game in program history, the Mountaineers walked off against Canisius, 5-4, on Tuesday afternoon.
- WVU never trailed, but withstood a pair of Golden Griffin rallies, who tied the game at 3-3 in the sixth inning and 4-4 in the top of the ninth. In the bottom of the ninth, pinch hitter Tristen Hudson delivered the game-winner with a two-out single into shallow right field, which scored pinch runner TJ Lake from second.
- Prior to Hudson's ninth-inning heroics, Inman homered in the third inning and catcher Ivan Gonzalez homered in the fifth. RBI groundouts scored runs in the fourth and eighth.
- Davis stole four bases, second-most in program history behind Babe Barna's five in 1937, had a hit, walked once and scored a run.
- Right-hander Sam Kessler picked up his first win of the season, and six WVU pitchers combined to allow two earned runs with 12 strikeouts. Lefty Nick Snyder made his first career start and did not allow a run on four hits with six strikeouts.
Single game tickets, season tickets and mini-packages for the 2019 season are on sale now. Fans can join the excitement of WVU baseball and support the Mountaineers by purchasing tickets at WVUGAME.com, calling 1-800-WVU GAME or visiting the Mountaineer Ticket Office at the WVU Coliseum.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow WVU Baseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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