Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
No. 20 WVU Travels to Penn State Wednesday
April 16, 2019 05:01 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 20 West Virginia University baseball team returns to the road to face Penn State on Wednesday, April 17, at 6:30 p.m. ET, at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park in University Park, Pennsylvania.
The Mountaineers (22-13) have won eight of their last 10 games and are coming off a series win over No. 11 Texas Tech, their third consecutive series win over a top-25 opponent. WVU is ranked for the first time this season and comes in as high as No. 20 in this week's D1Baseball poll, its highest national ranking since 1982.
The Nittany Lions (17-15) have lost four in a row after getting swept by Nebraska over the weekend. PSU is 4-2 in midweek contests.
Junior left-hander Nick Snyder (5-1, 1.76 ERA) will get the ball for the Mountaineers against Nittany Lion sophomore right-hander Conor Larkin (2-1, 3.47 ERA).
Statistically, West Virginia's pitching staff is No. 7 nationally with 6.87 hits allowed per nine innings, No. 16 with a 3.26 ERA, No. 17 with 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings and No. 27 with a 1.26 WHIP. The Mountaineers also rank No. 18 in the NCAA with 72 stolen bases on the season.
Individually, junior right-handed pitcher Alek Manoah is No. 10 in the country with 80 strikeouts and No. 24 with a 0.87 WHIP, while he also leads the Big 12 with 11.87 strikeouts per nine innings and is second in the league with 5.64 hits allowed per nine innings. Junior center fielder Brandon White is No. 24 in the NCAA with 0.61 stolen bases per game and senior right fielder Darius Hill is No. 30 with 14 doubles.
FOLLOWING ALONG
There are a number of ways to follow along with the action, with Dan Zangrilli on the call.
SCOUTING PENN STATE
Penn State is 17-15 on the season, 6-8 at home and 1-10 in Big Ten action. Over the weekend, the Nittany Lions were swept by Nebraska, after the Cornhuskers claimed both games of a doubleheader on Saturday.
Jordan Bowersox leads the team with a .344 batting average, 42 hits and 22 runs in 122 at-bats. Gavin Homer has a team-best .481 slugging percentage and is tied with Kris Kremer for a team-high four home runs. On the mound, Dante Biasi has a team-high 1.93 ERA in 51.1 innings pitched. Mason Mellott leads the pitchers with four victories and 14 appearances this season.
In his sixth season at Penn State, Rob Cooper has compiled a 184-175 record in University Park and a 400-405 mark in 15 years as a head coach. Under Cooper's guidance, four Penn State players have been drafted and five have signed with MLB teams in the last three years.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE NITTANY LIONS
West Virginia is 43-69 all-time against Penn State, 24-26 at home, 15-42 in State College and 4-1 at a neutral site. The Mountaineers have won the last two meetings, both at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. WVU won the first matchup at the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-2 in 2017, before a 3-2, walk-off win in 10 innings in 2018.
Chase Illig drove in the game-winning run with a 10th-inning, two-out single last year. WVU scored two runs in the first before PSU tallied one in the third and another in the ninth to tie it at 2-2. Reliever Sam Kessler earned the win after he got a groundout to strand the bases loaded in the top of the 10th. Hill led the Mountaineers with two hits, had an RBI and scored two runs, including the game winner.
LAST TIME OUT: ANOTHER TOP-25 SERIES WIN
WVU notched its third consecutive series win over a top-25 team with a pair of victories over No. 11 Texas Tech, from April 12-14, at Monongalia County Ballpark.
ON DECK: MOUNTAINEERS HOST JAYHAWKS
The Mountaineers continue Big 12 play against Kansas at Monongalia County Ballpark from April 19-21. The series begins on Friday, April 19, at 6:30 p.m. ET and continues on Saturday, at 4 p.m. The finale is set for Sunday, at 1 p.m. Tickets 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 is Friday Night Happy Hour, with half-off beverages available from 5:30-6:30 p.m., and all fans can play Baseball Bingo to win prizes. Saturday is Family Day, where fans can purchase four tickets and receive a $10 concession voucher for just $25. The first 300 fans to Saturday's game will get a free WVU baseball hat, courtesy of WVU Medicine. The weekend concludes on Sunday with the second of four trading card giveaways, courtesy of United Bank, to the first 250 kids, 16 and under. Sunday also is Kids Day, presented by WVU Medicine, which features a Kids Zone, inflatables and Mr. Twister's Balloon Art and Face Painting, and kids can run the bases after the game.
Single game tickets and flex plan 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 Mountaineers (22-13) have won eight of their last 10 games and are coming off a series win over No. 11 Texas Tech, their third consecutive series win over a top-25 opponent. WVU is ranked for the first time this season and comes in as high as No. 20 in this week's D1Baseball poll, its highest national ranking since 1982.
The Nittany Lions (17-15) have lost four in a row after getting swept by Nebraska over the weekend. PSU is 4-2 in midweek contests.
Junior left-hander Nick Snyder (5-1, 1.76 ERA) will get the ball for the Mountaineers against Nittany Lion sophomore right-hander Conor Larkin (2-1, 3.47 ERA).
Statistically, West Virginia's pitching staff is No. 7 nationally with 6.87 hits allowed per nine innings, No. 16 with a 3.26 ERA, No. 17 with 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings and No. 27 with a 1.26 WHIP. The Mountaineers also rank No. 18 in the NCAA with 72 stolen bases on the season.
Individually, junior right-handed pitcher Alek Manoah is No. 10 in the country with 80 strikeouts and No. 24 with a 0.87 WHIP, while he also leads the Big 12 with 11.87 strikeouts per nine innings and is second in the league with 5.64 hits allowed per nine innings. Junior center fielder Brandon White is No. 24 in the NCAA with 0.61 stolen bases per game and senior right fielder Darius Hill is No. 30 with 14 doubles.
FOLLOWING ALONG
There are a number of ways to follow along with the action, with Dan Zangrilli on the call.
- The game will be streamed live for free on GoPSUsports.com/Watch.
- Fans can listen to the game on the Mountaineer Sports Network from Learfield IMG College on various affiliates throughout the state, while fans across the country can tune into the broadcast online at WVUsports.com/Watch and on the WVU Gameday and TuneIn Radio Apps.
- Live stats can be found at GoPSUsports.com.
- Direct links to video and radio 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 PENN STATE
Penn State is 17-15 on the season, 6-8 at home and 1-10 in Big Ten action. Over the weekend, the Nittany Lions were swept by Nebraska, after the Cornhuskers claimed both games of a doubleheader on Saturday.
Jordan Bowersox leads the team with a .344 batting average, 42 hits and 22 runs in 122 at-bats. Gavin Homer has a team-best .481 slugging percentage and is tied with Kris Kremer for a team-high four home runs. On the mound, Dante Biasi has a team-high 1.93 ERA in 51.1 innings pitched. Mason Mellott leads the pitchers with four victories and 14 appearances this season.
In his sixth season at Penn State, Rob Cooper has compiled a 184-175 record in University Park and a 400-405 mark in 15 years as a head coach. Under Cooper's guidance, four Penn State players have been drafted and five have signed with MLB teams in the last three years.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE NITTANY LIONS
West Virginia is 43-69 all-time against Penn State, 24-26 at home, 15-42 in State College and 4-1 at a neutral site. The Mountaineers have won the last two meetings, both at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. WVU won the first matchup at the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-2 in 2017, before a 3-2, walk-off win in 10 innings in 2018.
Chase Illig drove in the game-winning run with a 10th-inning, two-out single last year. WVU scored two runs in the first before PSU tallied one in the third and another in the ninth to tie it at 2-2. Reliever Sam Kessler earned the win after he got a groundout to strand the bases loaded in the top of the 10th. Hill led the Mountaineers with two hits, had an RBI and scored two runs, including the game winner.
LAST TIME OUT: ANOTHER TOP-25 SERIES WIN
WVU notched its third consecutive series win over a top-25 team with a pair of victories over No. 11 Texas Tech, from April 12-14, at Monongalia County Ballpark.
- Manoah tossed a four-hit, complete-game shutout with a career-high 15 strikeouts and no walks to lead WVU to a series-opening, 2-0 victory on April 12. Offensively, the Mountaineers scored two two-out runs, on RBI singles by junior first baseman Marques Inman in the first inning and sophomore designated hitter Paul McIntosh in the third. Manoah's outing earned him several honors, including Big 12 Pitcher of the Week.
- A walk-off walk in front of a record-breaking crowd lifted West Virginia to the series win the next day, with a 4-3 victory on April 13. In front of 3,494 fans, the largest home crowd in program history, Inman drew a four-pitch walk with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning to bring in the winning run. WVU took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but TTU rallied with a run in the fourth and two in the fifth to take a 3-2 lead before West Virginia answered in the bottom of the fifth to tie it at 3-3. Inman and senior third baseman Ivan Gonzalez each had two hits and two RBIs in the win, while four pitchers held Tech to three runs on nine hits.
- West Virginia was shut out in the series, finale on April 14, 3-0. The Mountaineers were held to two hits as the Red Raiders scored two in the fifth and one in the eighth.
ON DECK: MOUNTAINEERS HOST JAYHAWKS
The Mountaineers continue Big 12 play against Kansas at Monongalia County Ballpark from April 19-21. The series begins on Friday, April 19, at 6:30 p.m. ET and continues on Saturday, at 4 p.m. The finale is set for Sunday, at 1 p.m. Tickets 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 is Friday Night Happy Hour, with half-off beverages available from 5:30-6:30 p.m., and all fans can play Baseball Bingo to win prizes. Saturday is Family Day, where fans can purchase four tickets and receive a $10 concession voucher for just $25. The first 300 fans to Saturday's game will get a free WVU baseball hat, courtesy of WVU Medicine. The weekend concludes on Sunday with the second of four trading card giveaways, courtesy of United Bank, to the first 250 kids, 16 and under. Sunday also is Kids Day, presented by WVU Medicine, which features a Kids Zone, inflatables and Mr. Twister's Balloon Art and Face Painting, and kids can run the bases after the game.
Single game tickets and flex plan 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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