Friday, February 18
Conway, S.C.
11:00 a.m.
West Virginia University
vs
Central Michigan
Season Starts with Baseball at the Beach
February 17, 2022 01:39 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team opens the 2022 campaign with a four-game trip to the Baseball at the Beach event from Feb. 18-21, in Conway, South Carolina.
The Mountaineers take on No. 16 Central Michigan on Opening Day on Friday, before squaring off against Kent State on Saturday and CMU again on Sunday. All three games are set for 11 a.m. ET, at Springs Brooks Stadium. From there, WVU wraps the season-opening trip against host Coastal Carolina on Monday at 12 p.m.
Fans can follow the team all weekend long with live stats of all four games at WVUsports.com. Additionally, Monday's contest against the Chanticleers can be seen live on ESPN+.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Carlson Reed (4-5, 7.59 ERA in 2021) gets the ball to begin the year for WVU against the Chippewas, while CMU counters with right-hander Jordan Patty (10-2, 2.46 ERA in 2021). On Saturday, sophomore left-hander Ben Hampton (4-3, 4.83 ERA in 2021) takes on Kent State's lefty Collin Romel (3-7, 5.32 ERA in 2021), before freshman righty Chris Sleeper faces off against Central Michigan's Logan Buczkowski (1-0, 4.85 ERA in 2021) on Sunday. Monday's matchup features fifth-year senior right-hander Zach Bravo (5-2, 3.50 ERA at Lamar in 2021) against righty Elliot Carney (6-3, 3.07 ERA at Wofford in 2021) of Coastal Carolina.
The Mountaineers took on the Chippewas and Chanticleers last year and last played the Golden Flashes in 2020, when four West Virginia pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter on March 4, in Morgantown. Overall, CMU is 3-1 all-time against WVU, while Kent State and Coastal Carolina hold marks of 20-15 and 12-5, respectively, against the Mountaineers.
This weekend marks the 15th time in the last 18 years that WVU plays in the Myrtle Beach area. In all, the squad has competed in 49 games in either Myrtle Beach or Conway since 2005.
Led by 10th-year coach Randy Mazey, the Mountaineers feature 16 returning lettermen and 21 newcomers on the 40-man, 2022 roster. Mazey holds a 263-208 mark during his time at West Virginia, and he has totaled 450 careers wins in 15 seasons as a head coach.
Prior to the start of the campaign, junior right-handed pitcher Jacob Watters was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Preseason All-America Third Team, as well as the Preseason All-Big 12 Team. The Rocky Gap, Virginia, native finished 4-1 with a 3.33 ERA in 19 appearances last season. He logged 53 strikeouts in 27.0 innings of action and tied for the team lead with four saves. Additionally, opponents hit just .165 against the righty in 2021.
Along with Watters, senior outfielder Austin Davis also was placed on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team. A native of Orlando, Florida, Davis hit a team-best .320 last spring with 17 stolen bases.
Of note, the Mountaineers were one of four Big 12 teams to have multiple players named to the league's preseason squad.
Central Michigan, which is ranked at No. 16 in Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's preseason poll, is led by coach Jordan Bischel. CMU finished 42-18, won the Mid-American Conference championship and played in an NCAA Regional in 2021. This season, the Chippewas boast a trio of preseason All-Americans in right-handed pitchers Andrew Taylor and Patty, as well as infielder Mario Camilletti.
Kent State is led by Jeff Duncan, who helped the Golden Flashes finish 30-26 last spring. KSU was tabbed to finished third in this year's MAC Preseason Poll. The Flashes have tallied at least 30 wins in every full season since 1999.
Now in his 27th season at Coastal Carolina, coach Gary Gilmore led the Chanticleers to a 27-24 record in 2021. The squad, which was picked to finish third in the Sun Belt and feature the conference's preseason player of the year in infielder Eric Brown, has gone to six Regionals in the past 10 years.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The Mountaineers take on No. 16 Central Michigan on Opening Day on Friday, before squaring off against Kent State on Saturday and CMU again on Sunday. All three games are set for 11 a.m. ET, at Springs Brooks Stadium. From there, WVU wraps the season-opening trip against host Coastal Carolina on Monday at 12 p.m.
Fans can follow the team all weekend long with live stats of all four games at WVUsports.com. Additionally, Monday's contest against the Chanticleers can be seen live on ESPN+.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Carlson Reed (4-5, 7.59 ERA in 2021) gets the ball to begin the year for WVU against the Chippewas, while CMU counters with right-hander Jordan Patty (10-2, 2.46 ERA in 2021). On Saturday, sophomore left-hander Ben Hampton (4-3, 4.83 ERA in 2021) takes on Kent State's lefty Collin Romel (3-7, 5.32 ERA in 2021), before freshman righty Chris Sleeper faces off against Central Michigan's Logan Buczkowski (1-0, 4.85 ERA in 2021) on Sunday. Monday's matchup features fifth-year senior right-hander Zach Bravo (5-2, 3.50 ERA at Lamar in 2021) against righty Elliot Carney (6-3, 3.07 ERA at Wofford in 2021) of Coastal Carolina.
The Mountaineers took on the Chippewas and Chanticleers last year and last played the Golden Flashes in 2020, when four West Virginia pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter on March 4, in Morgantown. Overall, CMU is 3-1 all-time against WVU, while Kent State and Coastal Carolina hold marks of 20-15 and 12-5, respectively, against the Mountaineers.
This weekend marks the 15th time in the last 18 years that WVU plays in the Myrtle Beach area. In all, the squad has competed in 49 games in either Myrtle Beach or Conway since 2005.
Led by 10th-year coach Randy Mazey, the Mountaineers feature 16 returning lettermen and 21 newcomers on the 40-man, 2022 roster. Mazey holds a 263-208 mark during his time at West Virginia, and he has totaled 450 careers wins in 15 seasons as a head coach.
Prior to the start of the campaign, junior right-handed pitcher Jacob Watters was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Preseason All-America Third Team, as well as the Preseason All-Big 12 Team. The Rocky Gap, Virginia, native finished 4-1 with a 3.33 ERA in 19 appearances last season. He logged 53 strikeouts in 27.0 innings of action and tied for the team lead with four saves. Additionally, opponents hit just .165 against the righty in 2021.
Along with Watters, senior outfielder Austin Davis also was placed on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team. A native of Orlando, Florida, Davis hit a team-best .320 last spring with 17 stolen bases.
Of note, the Mountaineers were one of four Big 12 teams to have multiple players named to the league's preseason squad.
Central Michigan, which is ranked at No. 16 in Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's preseason poll, is led by coach Jordan Bischel. CMU finished 42-18, won the Mid-American Conference championship and played in an NCAA Regional in 2021. This season, the Chippewas boast a trio of preseason All-Americans in right-handed pitchers Andrew Taylor and Patty, as well as infielder Mario Camilletti.
Kent State is led by Jeff Duncan, who helped the Golden Flashes finish 30-26 last spring. KSU was tabbed to finished third in this year's MAC Preseason Poll. The Flashes have tallied at least 30 wins in every full season since 1999.
Now in his 27th season at Coastal Carolina, coach Gary Gilmore led the Chanticleers to a 27-24 record in 2021. The squad, which was picked to finish third in the Sun Belt and feature the conference's preseason player of the year in infielder Eric Brown, has gone to six Regionals in the past 10 years.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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