Wednesday, February 27
Morgantown, W.Va.
2:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
vs
Towson
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
WVU Back Home to Face Towson Wednesday
February 26, 2019 04:30 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team returns to Morgantown to host Towson on Wednesday, Feb. 27, at 2 p.m. ET, at Monongalia County Ballpark.
Admission will be free for all fans for the contest.
Due to the game's late addition to the schedule and prior to the originally-scheduled home opener on March 8, concession stands will not be open for Wednesday's game. Fans will be permitted to bring their own food and beverage into Monongalia County Ballpark on Wednesday.
The Mountaineers (4-3) have won three of their last four games and are coming off a weekend series win at Georgia Southern. The Tigers (1-5) are coming off a series loss at Kennesaw State.
Through seven games, WVU's earned run average of 1.88 is No. 13 in the NCAA, while the Mountaineer pitching staff is No. 22 in the country with a 1.07 WHIP. West Virginia leads the league with a 3.19 strikeout-to-walk ratio, is second with 6.64 hits allowed per nine innings and third with 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings. WVU's eight sacrifice bunts ranks No. 5 in the country and its four sac flies and 1.57 stolen bases per game are both third-most in the Big 12.
Individually, junior right-hander Alek Manoah's 21 strikeouts is No. 5 in the NCAA, his strikeout-to-walk ratio of 10.50 is No. 25 nationally and his 0.73 ERA is No. 3 in the Big 12. Sophomore lefty Jackson Wolf's two wins ranks No. 4 in the country.
Sophomore infielder Tristen Hudson is No. 9 nationally with two sacrifice flies and junior center fielder Brandon White and freshman shortstop Tevin Tucker are tied for No. 21 in the country with two sacrifice bunts. Additionally, freshman outfielder Austin Davis has five stolen bases, which is No. 19 in the NCAA.
Wednesday's matchup is the second February home game in program history, after WVU added a contest against Canisius last week. West Virginia beat CC, 5-4, on Feb. 19.
Junior left-hander Nick Snyder (0-1, 4.91 ERA) will make his second career start for the Mountaineers and will face freshman righty Dallas Repine (0-0, 47.25 ERA).
Live stats will be provided at WVUsports.com/Stats, and updates also can be found on social media by following and connecting with the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @WVUBaseball.
SCOUTING TOWSON
Towson enters Wednesday's contest with a 1-5 record after dropping a three-game series at Kennesaw State last weekend. On Saturday, the Tigers won the opening game of the series, 5-2 in 10 innings, in the first game of a doubleheader. TU lost the second game of the doubleheader, 5-2, and Sunday's finale, 11-5.
Tom Flacco leads the team with 10 hits, three RBIs and a .417 batting average in 24 at-bats.
On the mound, Austin Weber leads the team with one win and a 0.00 ERA in 6.1 innings pitched. Matt Watters paces the squad with 10 strikeouts in 5.0 innings.
Matt Tyner is in his second season at the helm and owns a 14-47 record at Towson. Last year, he coached the Tigers offense to three top-five finishes in the league, in batting average (.280), hits (522) and doubles (103).
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE TIGERS
West Virginia is 3-3-1 all-time against Towson. The series dates back to 1984, a 9-9 tie in Statesboro, Georgia. The teams last met in 2010, when the Mountaineers lost a 10-4 home contest on April 6, before an 8-4 road win on May 18.
LAST TIME OUT: SERIES WIN AT GSU
The Mountaineers are coming off a weekend series win at Georgia Southern from Feb. 22-23. WVU opened the series with a 5-1 win on Friday night before the two teams split a doubleheader on Saturday. The Mountaineers claimed a 3-1 win in the opener before a 1-0 loss on Saturday night. The pitching staff held GSU to three runs, two unearned, on 13 hits in the series, and every Mountaineer starter had a quality start.
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.
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.
Admission will be free for all fans for the contest.
Due to the game's late addition to the schedule and prior to the originally-scheduled home opener on March 8, concession stands will not be open for Wednesday's game. Fans will be permitted to bring their own food and beverage into Monongalia County Ballpark on Wednesday.
The Mountaineers (4-3) have won three of their last four games and are coming off a weekend series win at Georgia Southern. The Tigers (1-5) are coming off a series loss at Kennesaw State.
Through seven games, WVU's earned run average of 1.88 is No. 13 in the NCAA, while the Mountaineer pitching staff is No. 22 in the country with a 1.07 WHIP. West Virginia leads the league with a 3.19 strikeout-to-walk ratio, is second with 6.64 hits allowed per nine innings and third with 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings. WVU's eight sacrifice bunts ranks No. 5 in the country and its four sac flies and 1.57 stolen bases per game are both third-most in the Big 12.
Individually, junior right-hander Alek Manoah's 21 strikeouts is No. 5 in the NCAA, his strikeout-to-walk ratio of 10.50 is No. 25 nationally and his 0.73 ERA is No. 3 in the Big 12. Sophomore lefty Jackson Wolf's two wins ranks No. 4 in the country.
Sophomore infielder Tristen Hudson is No. 9 nationally with two sacrifice flies and junior center fielder Brandon White and freshman shortstop Tevin Tucker are tied for No. 21 in the country with two sacrifice bunts. Additionally, freshman outfielder Austin Davis has five stolen bases, which is No. 19 in the NCAA.
Wednesday's matchup is the second February home game in program history, after WVU added a contest against Canisius last week. West Virginia beat CC, 5-4, on Feb. 19.
Junior left-hander Nick Snyder (0-1, 4.91 ERA) will make his second career start for the Mountaineers and will face freshman righty Dallas Repine (0-0, 47.25 ERA).
Live stats will be provided at WVUsports.com/Stats, and updates also can be found on social media by following and connecting with the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @WVUBaseball.
SCOUTING TOWSON
Towson enters Wednesday's contest with a 1-5 record after dropping a three-game series at Kennesaw State last weekend. On Saturday, the Tigers won the opening game of the series, 5-2 in 10 innings, in the first game of a doubleheader. TU lost the second game of the doubleheader, 5-2, and Sunday's finale, 11-5.
Tom Flacco leads the team with 10 hits, three RBIs and a .417 batting average in 24 at-bats.
On the mound, Austin Weber leads the team with one win and a 0.00 ERA in 6.1 innings pitched. Matt Watters paces the squad with 10 strikeouts in 5.0 innings.
Matt Tyner is in his second season at the helm and owns a 14-47 record at Towson. Last year, he coached the Tigers offense to three top-five finishes in the league, in batting average (.280), hits (522) and doubles (103).
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE TIGERS
West Virginia is 3-3-1 all-time against Towson. The series dates back to 1984, a 9-9 tie in Statesboro, Georgia. The teams last met in 2010, when the Mountaineers lost a 10-4 home contest on April 6, before an 8-4 road win on May 18.
LAST TIME OUT: SERIES WIN AT GSU
The Mountaineers are coming off a weekend series win at Georgia Southern from Feb. 22-23. WVU opened the series with a 5-1 win on Friday night before the two teams split a doubleheader on Saturday. The Mountaineers claimed a 3-1 win in the opener before a 1-0 loss on Saturday night. The pitching staff held GSU to three runs, two unearned, on 13 hits in the series, and every Mountaineer starter had a quality start.
- Manoah took a no hitter into the fifth inning as WVU opened the series with a 5-1 victory. Manoah struck out eight batters and allowed one unearned run on two hits with two walks in 6.1 innings to earn the win, while junior righty Sam Kessler got the save and limited GSU to three hits with five strikeouts in the final 2.2 innings. Manoah did not allow a runner to reach second base when he was on the mound.
- The next day, WVU opened a doubleheader with a 3-1 win, as the Mountaineers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and Wolf and freshman lefty Beau Lowery combined to hold the Eagles to one run on five hits. In his second quality start, Wolf allowed a run on three hits with two strikeouts in a career-best 7.1 innings to improve to 2-0 on the year. Lowery collected his first career save, as he held GSU to no runs on two hits in 1.2 innings.
- Junior righty Kade Strowd took a perfect game into the fifth inning and allowed one unearned run on two hits, but WVU could not complete the sweep in a 1-0 loss in Saturday's nightcap. Strowd and a pair of relievers held the Eagles to one unearned run on three hits, all infield singles, with 10 strikeouts and a walk. Strowd allowed just one unearned run on two hits with eight strikeouts and a walk in 6.2 innings and threw 97 pitches, 74 for strikes. In his first four innings, Strowd threw 41 pitches, all but six for strikes.
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.
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.
Players Mentioned
INF/OF
/ Baseball
RHP/INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP/1B
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF/RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballSteve Sabins | Oct. 29
Wednesday, October 29
Kentucky TV Highlights (NCAA Clemson Regional Final) | June 1
Monday, June 02
Clemson TV Highlights (NCAA Clemson Regional) | May 31
Saturday, May 31
BSB: Clemson Regional Game 1 Recap (vs. Kentucky)
Saturday, May 31
