Box Score MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team returned home to take down Marshall, 9-3, on Wednesday night at Monongalia County Ballpark in Morgantown.
The Mountaineers, who were playing their first home game since March 27, scored multiple runs in four different innings, totaling nine total runs on 11 hits with two errors. MU tallied three runs on three hits with one error.
Sophomore left-handed pitcher
Jake Carr earned the win over the Thundering Herd after allowing just one run on two hits in 4.0 innings of work. The St. Albans, West Virginia, native struck out three on 61 pitches.
"We're starting to swing it OK, and our defense has been pretty solid the whole season," WVU coach
Randy Mazey said. "It's just all about those guys on the mound. It was refreshing to see some guys throw pretty well tonight."
Marshall (4-20) took a quick, 1-0 lead with a pair of hits in the top of the first. However, WVU (13-14) was able to limit the damage by turning an inning-ending double play.
From there, the Mountaineers took the lead with a two-run second. After West Virginia loaded the bases, fifth-year senior infielder
Kevin Brophy tied the game with an RBI groundout, before junior outfielder
Austin Davis' RBI single to right put WVU in front, 2-1.
Carr recorded a 1-2-3 third inning, fanning two in the frame and tacked on another zero in the fourth. In the bottom half, Davis drove in another run after ripping a double down the line to make it 3-1.
Davis finished 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored.
After freshman right-hander
Carlson Reed tossed a scoreless fifth in relief, WVU added two more runs in the bottom half to make it 5-1. Fifth-year senior first baseman/outfielder
Hudson Byorick hit a two-out, RBI triple and stole home moments later to push the Mountaineer lead to four.
In the top of the sixth, Marshall gathered a two-on with two-out situation to try to climb back into the contest. But sophomore right-hander
Skylar Gonzalez tallied an inning-end strikeout to deny the opportunity. The bottom half saw senior infielder
Tyler Doanes hit into an RBI fielder's choice and Byorick earn a bases-loaded walk, bumping the West Virginia lead to 7-1.
The Herd scored twice in the top of the seventh, before Doanes brought two more runs home in the bottom of the inning with a single to left.
Meanwhile, Marshall tallied just one hit after the first inning. Six Mountaineer relievers – Reed, freshman right-hander
Tyler Chadwick, Gonzalez, junior right-hander
Zach Ottinger, sophomore righty
Tim Wynia and junior right-hander
Madison Jeffrey – combined to yield just one hit in 5.0 innings, while striking out 10.
Freshman catcher
McGwire Holbrook finished 3-for-3 at the plate, while Doanes registered two hits and three RBI in the win. Byorick and Brophy each scored a pair of runs.
With the win, WVU improved to 49-25 all-time against the Thundering Herd. What's more, the Mountaineers have now won 10 of the last 12 meetings against their in-state foe.
West Virginia also extended its streak of consecutive midweek, home wins to 17, dating back to April 3, 2017.
Next up, WVU welcomes No. 7 Texas Tech to Morgantown for a three-game series from April 16-18, at Monongalia County Ballpark. First pitch of Friday's series opener is set for 6:30 p.m. ET, while Saturday and Sunday's games will begin at 4 p.m., and 1 p.m., respectively.
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