Mountaineers Host Backyard Brawl Wednesday

Wednesday, April 3

Morgantown, W.Va.

6:30 p.m.

West Virginia University

Pitt

Buy Tickets

Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks

April 02, 2019 04:18 PM | Baseball

Watch Live Listen Live Stats Game Notes

By: Charlie Healy

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The Backyard Brawl returns to Monongalia County Ballpark on Wednesday, April 3, at 6:30 p.m. ET, as the West Virginia University baseball team hosts Pitt.

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. Admission for WVU students is free with a valid student I.D.

The rivalry matchup is Dollar Night, with tickets and select concession items available for just $1, and fans also can play Baseball Bingo to win prizes.

In the oldest and most-played rivalry in program history, WVU and Pitt meet for the 196th time on Wednesday. West Virginia holds a 107-88 lead in the all-time series and has won four in a row and nine of the last 12 meetings.

The Mountaineers (16-11) are coming off a series win against No. 19 Oklahoma and have won three of their last four. In Sunday's win over OU, coach Randy Mazey became the 4th-winningest coach in program history, with his 205th victory. Mazey, who is 205-165 in seven seasons at WVU, passes Ira Errett Rodgers, who was 204-209-4 from 1921-42 and 1946.

The Panthers (8-18) come to Morgantown after a series loss to Miami over the weekend.

Wednesday's Backyard Brawl is the first of two meetings between WVU and Pitt this season. The two teams will square off again at PNC Park, on Tuesday, May 14, at 6 p.m. Tickets for the contest at the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates are available now at Pirates.com/CollegeBaseball.

Statistically, WVU is No. 17 in the country and first in the Big 12 with 56 stolen bases, while the Mountaineers are third in the Big 12 with 26 home runs. On the mound, West Virginia is No. 20 in the NCAA with 7.18 hits allowed per nine innings and third in the conference with a 3.48 ERA, 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings and a 1.32 WHIP.

Individually, junior center fielder Brandon White leads the Big 12 and is No. 26 in the country with 15 stolen bases, while sophomore catcher Paul McIntosh is second in the league with seven home runs. Junior right-hander Alek Manoah is second in the conference with 54 strikeouts and third with 11.13 strikeouts per nine innings. Additionally, freshman shortstop Tevin Tucker is third in the Big 12 with five sacrifice bunts, and sophomore second baseman Tyler Doanes also ranks No. 3 in the conference with 11 stolen bases and three triples.

FOLLOWING ALONG
There are a number of ways to follow along on Wednesday, with Dan Zangrilli and Ernie Galusky on the call.

The game will be streamed live for free on WVUsports.com/Watch and the WVU Gameday App, while fans also can watch the stream live via Roku and Apple TV by searching for the "West Virginia Mountaineers" channel.
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 WVUsports.com/Stats.
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 PITT
Pitt is 8-18 on the season, 1-7 on the road and 2-10 in ACC play. The Panthers are coming off a series loss to Miami, where an 11-10 win on Saturday snapped a six-game losing streak.

Connor Perry paces the team with a .359 batting average, 33 hits and eight home runs, and Ron Washington Jr. leads the Panthers with 15 RBIs and 13 doubles. Billy Corcoran leads the pitching staff with a 1.82 ERA in 29.2 innings pitched, while Dan Hammer has a team-high two wins and has 47 strikeouts.

In his first season, Mike Bell came to Pitt after seven years at Florida State as the associate head coach and pitching coach. Since 2005, Bell has helped three teams to four College World Series appearances.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE PANTHERS
West Virginia is 107-88 all-time against Pitt. In the Mountaineers' oldest and most-played rivalry, WVU is 63-38 at home, 41-48 on the road and 3-2 at a neutral site. West Virginia has won four in a row in the series and nine of the last 12. WVU and Pitt have met every season since 2008.

The two teams first met in WVU's fourth season, 1895. The Mountaineers won that first game, 13-6, in Pittsburgh. In 1981 and 1982, and again from 1996-2012, West Virginia and Pitt were conference rivals. First in the Eastern 8, and then in the Big East. As conference foes, the series is knotted at 27-27.

Last season in Morgantown, WVU beat Pitt, 12-1, on April 11. It was the lone matchup of the season, after rain canceled the contest in Pittsburgh. The Mountaineers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back. West Virginia pitchers combined to hold the Panthers to one run on just four hits while striking out 14. White had a career-high four hits with two RBIs and four runs scored, while Darius Hill had a career-best five RBIs.

LAST TIME OUT: TOP-25 SERIES WIN
West Virginia earned a series win against No. 19 Oklahoma from March 29-31, with a 12-4 victory on Saturday and a 5-1 win in Sunday's finale. OU edged WVU in Friday night's opener, 2-1.

Both teams had five hits in the series opener, but the Sooners scored two in the second, which proved to be the difference. Manoah had his fifth quality start in seven games this year, and allowed two runs on three hits with three strikeouts and four walks in 7.1 innings. WVU, which had the game-tying run on second base in the ninth inning, was held to one sixth-inning run.
West Virginia evened the series the next day, as the Mountaineers scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and added an eight-run eighth in the 12-4 victory. WVU took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, and led 3-0 after four, but OU rallied to tie the game in the sixth inning. McIntosh led the team with two hits and three RBIs, as he homered in the fourth inning and had a two-RBI single in the eighth. Sophomore righty Tristen Hudson earned the win, his first of the year, and held OU to one hit with a strikeout in 1.2 innings.
WVU jumped out to an early lead and never trailed for the second consecutive day to win the series on Sunday. Junior right-handed starter Kade Strowd earned the win and allowed a run on three hits with seven strikeouts and eight walks in 5.0 innings. Junior righty Sam Kessler collected his fourth save of the season and retired all four batters he faced. Junior first baseman Marques Inman provided the offense, with a two-run home run in the third inning and three total RBIs.

ON DECK: ANOTHER RANKED BIG 12 FOE
The Mountaineers return to the road this weekend for a matchup at No. 23 Oklahoma State, from April 5-7. The series in Stillwater, Oklahoma, begins on Friday, April 5, at 7:05 p.m. ET, in a contest broadcasted on FCS. Saturday's matchup is set for 3:05 p.m. at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. The series concludes on Sunday on FCS, and first pitch has been moved up one hour, to 1 p.m.

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.