Friday, April 26
Austin, Texas
7:30 p.m.
West Virginia University
25-14, 9-7
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Texas
24-20, 5-10
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9
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West Virginia
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Texas
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Mountaineers Rally Late to Win Opener at Texas
April 26, 2019 11:45 PM | Baseball
AUSTIN, Texas – Two late home runs and another quality start by junior right-hander Alek Manoah powered the No. 17 West Virginia University baseball team to a 3-2, comeback win at Texas on Friday night to open the series at Disch-Falk Field in Austin, Texas.
The Mountaineers (25-14, 9-7 Big 12) were held hitless for 6.2 innings before junior pinch hitter TJ Lake hit a go-ahead home run with two outs in the eighth inning to take a 2-1 lead. After the Longhorns (24-20, 5-10 Big 12) rallied to tie it at 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth, junior first baseman Marques Inman launched a mammoth home run in the top of the ninth to regain a 3-2 advantage.
With the come-from-behind victory, WVU has won 11th of its last 14 games.
"That's a huge win, because the whole night, (Texas starter Bryce Elder) was dominating our hitters, just completely dominating them," WVU coach Randy Mazey said. "We had to run some left-handed hitters in the lineup to give them a different look, and TJ Lake got maybe the biggest hit of the season for us, with the two-run homer with two outs and two strikes. We're finding ways to win games without throwing a lot of hits on the board."
Manoah recorded his ninth quality start in 11 starts this season. In 7.0 innings, he held UT to one run on seven hits with eight strikeouts and two walks. He went up against Elder, who was perfect for 5.2 innings and no-hit WVU for 6.2 innings. He allowed two runs, both in the eighth, on two hits, one in the seventh and one in the eighth, with 13 strikeouts and three walks.
With the one run allowed, Manoah's shutout streak was snapped at 34.1 consecutive innings, and he walked his first batter in 28.1 consecutive innings. Both streaks came to an end in the third inning, as UT took a 1-0 lead.
West Virginia's eighth-inning rally began with two outs, as junior pinch hitter Kevin Brophy walked. Lake followed with his second home run of the season, on a 3-2 pitch he sent over the right field wall.
That gave WVU a 2-1 lead, but UT answered with a two-out RBI single off of the Mountaineer bullpen to make it 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth.
However, West Virginia answered right back in the ninth, on Inman's long blast into WVU's left field bullpen. The solo shot that made it 3-2 was Inman's seventh of the season and team-leading 16th of his career.
Manoah gave up a one-out single in the first, but faced the minimum with the help of senior catcher Ivan Gonzalez, who threw out his first runner of the game at second base. Manoah left two on in the second, and a great relay, from senior right fielder Darius Hill to Inman to Gonzalez, got a runner at home on a double to keep it a scoreless game.
The Longhorns got on the board in the third, on a two-out double and RBI single. Manoah added his first two strikeouts of the game in the inning. UT left one on in the fourth after a leadoff walk, and struck out another two in the fifth. Gonzalez threw out his second runner of the day to end the inning.
Freshman shortstop Tevin Tucker walked with two outs in the sixth for WVU's first baserunner of the game, and Inman broke up the no hitter with a two-out single in the seventh.
Following Lake's go-ahead home run in the top of the eighth, the Longhorns answered to tie the game at 2-2. A leadoff single off of junior left-hander Nick Snyder was followed by a two-out RBI single off of junior right-hander Sam Kessler.
Inman's home run gave WVU the lead back in the top of the ninth, and Kessler tossed a perfect bottom half to secure the win. Kessler improved to 4-2 on the season.
The series continues on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT. The finale at Disch-Falk Field is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT. Both games will air live on the Longhorn Network and on WatchESPN to subscribers. Fans can listen to the games 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 TexasSports.com. Direct links to video and radio streams and live stats are available on the baseball schedule page on WVUsports.com.
Notes: West Virginia improved to 25-14 on the season, 9-7 in Big 12 play and 12-11 on the road … WVU has won 11 of its last 14 games … Alek Manoah's shutout streak was snapped at 34.1 consecutive innings, and he walked his first batter in 28.1 consecutive innings, both occurring in the third inning … Manoah's quality start was his ninth in 11 starts this season … TJ Lake's pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning was his second of the season and second of his career … Marques Inman's ninth-inning home run was his seventh of the year and team-leading 16th of his career … Sam Kessler improved to 4-2 on the season.
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 (25-14, 9-7 Big 12) were held hitless for 6.2 innings before junior pinch hitter TJ Lake hit a go-ahead home run with two outs in the eighth inning to take a 2-1 lead. After the Longhorns (24-20, 5-10 Big 12) rallied to tie it at 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth, junior first baseman Marques Inman launched a mammoth home run in the top of the ninth to regain a 3-2 advantage.
With the come-from-behind victory, WVU has won 11th of its last 14 games.
"That's a huge win, because the whole night, (Texas starter Bryce Elder) was dominating our hitters, just completely dominating them," WVU coach Randy Mazey said. "We had to run some left-handed hitters in the lineup to give them a different look, and TJ Lake got maybe the biggest hit of the season for us, with the two-run homer with two outs and two strikes. We're finding ways to win games without throwing a lot of hits on the board."
Manoah recorded his ninth quality start in 11 starts this season. In 7.0 innings, he held UT to one run on seven hits with eight strikeouts and two walks. He went up against Elder, who was perfect for 5.2 innings and no-hit WVU for 6.2 innings. He allowed two runs, both in the eighth, on two hits, one in the seventh and one in the eighth, with 13 strikeouts and three walks.
With the one run allowed, Manoah's shutout streak was snapped at 34.1 consecutive innings, and he walked his first batter in 28.1 consecutive innings. Both streaks came to an end in the third inning, as UT took a 1-0 lead.
West Virginia's eighth-inning rally began with two outs, as junior pinch hitter Kevin Brophy walked. Lake followed with his second home run of the season, on a 3-2 pitch he sent over the right field wall.
That gave WVU a 2-1 lead, but UT answered with a two-out RBI single off of the Mountaineer bullpen to make it 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth.
However, West Virginia answered right back in the ninth, on Inman's long blast into WVU's left field bullpen. The solo shot that made it 3-2 was Inman's seventh of the season and team-leading 16th of his career.
Manoah gave up a one-out single in the first, but faced the minimum with the help of senior catcher Ivan Gonzalez, who threw out his first runner of the game at second base. Manoah left two on in the second, and a great relay, from senior right fielder Darius Hill to Inman to Gonzalez, got a runner at home on a double to keep it a scoreless game.
The Longhorns got on the board in the third, on a two-out double and RBI single. Manoah added his first two strikeouts of the game in the inning. UT left one on in the fourth after a leadoff walk, and struck out another two in the fifth. Gonzalez threw out his second runner of the day to end the inning.
Freshman shortstop Tevin Tucker walked with two outs in the sixth for WVU's first baserunner of the game, and Inman broke up the no hitter with a two-out single in the seventh.
Following Lake's go-ahead home run in the top of the eighth, the Longhorns answered to tie the game at 2-2. A leadoff single off of junior left-hander Nick Snyder was followed by a two-out RBI single off of junior right-hander Sam Kessler.
Inman's home run gave WVU the lead back in the top of the ninth, and Kessler tossed a perfect bottom half to secure the win. Kessler improved to 4-2 on the season.
The series continues on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT. The finale at Disch-Falk Field is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT. Both games will air live on the Longhorn Network and on WatchESPN to subscribers. Fans can listen to the games 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 TexasSports.com. Direct links to video and radio streams and live stats are available on the baseball schedule page on WVUsports.com.
Notes: West Virginia improved to 25-14 on the season, 9-7 in Big 12 play and 12-11 on the road … WVU has won 11 of its last 14 games … Alek Manoah's shutout streak was snapped at 34.1 consecutive innings, and he walked his first batter in 28.1 consecutive innings, both occurring in the third inning … Manoah's quality start was his ninth in 11 starts this season … TJ Lake's pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning was his second of the season and second of his career … Marques Inman's ninth-inning home run was his seventh of the year and team-leading 16th of his career … Sam Kessler improved to 4-2 on the season.
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.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kessler, Sam (4-2)
L: Bocchi, Matteo (2-1)
Batting:
HR: Inman, Marques 1 ; Lake, TJ 1
RBI: Inman, Marques 1 ; Lake, TJ 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Inman, Marques 1 ; Brophy, Kevin 1 ; Lake, TJ 1
Batting:
2B: Kennedy, Eric 1 ; Shaw, Tate 1
RBI: Todd, Austin 1 ; Reynolds, Ryan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kennedy, Eric 2
CS: Kennedy, Eric 2
HBP: Ford, Lance 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
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C/3B
/ Baseball
OF
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RHP
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RHP/1B
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LHP
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INF
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