Bases Loaded Walk Leads Baseball Over Marshall
GRANVILLE, W.Va. (April 19, 2015) – Junior center fielder KC Huth drew an eighth inning bases loaded walk to give the West Virginia University baseball team a 3-2 victory over Marshall on Tuesday afternoon at Monongalia County Ballpark.
With two outs and a full count, Huth plated senior shortstop Taylor Munden to score the game-winning run. West Virginia sent seven players to the plate in the inning as Munden singled to lead off the inning, sophomore designated hitter Ray Guerrini walked and senior left fielder Brad Johnson walked to load the bases.
West Virginia (23-15) had three runs on four hits, while the Mountaineer pitching staff held Marshall (13-26) to just two unearned runs on two hits and struck out 14 Thundering Herd batters.
“This is two midweek games in a row that I feel like we were a little bit unmotivated,” coach Randy Mazey said. “If you’re going to be a good player and a good team, you have to be a self-motivator. You have to find a way to motivate yourself to be really good no matter who you face.
“I think our guys looked at the stat sheet today and saw that their starting pitcher had over a 10.00 ERA and they thought it was going to be easy. That kid went out and pitched a really good game. That’s what happens every time you think its going to be really easy.”
Freshman right-hander Adam Keller (1-1) picked up his first career win in three innings of relief. Keller gave up one run, unearned, on one hit with four strikeouts. The save was awarded to junior right-hander Blake Smith, who pitched a perfect ninth inning with one strikeout for his fourth save.
Freshman right-hander Shane Ennis went three innings in the start, giving up one unearned run on one hit with five strikeouts and one walk. Junior right-hander Jeff Hardy struck out four in two innings of shutout relief.
The Mountaineers were scored on in the top of the first with two outs for the third-straight game. With runners on second and third, Aaron Bossi singled up the middle to score Corey Bird and give Marshall a 1-0 lead.
West Virginia took a 2-1 lead with two outs in the bottom of the third as Munden and freshman second baseman Kyle Davis hit back-to-back solo home runs to left center field. The homer was Munden’s team-leading ninth of the season, while Davis now has four.
Marshall took advantage of a West Virginia error in the top of the fourth to tie the game at 2-2. Robert Fajardo reached to leadoff the inning as senior third baseman Justin Fox could not handle a ground ball. Fajardo advanced to second on a passed ball and third on a balk, and scored on a ground out to second base by TJ Diffenderfer.
The loss went to Marshall reliever Kolin Stanley, who gave up one run on one hit with two strikeouts and two walks in two innings.
West Virginia will host Kansas this weekend in a Big 12 series at Monongalia County Ballpark from April 23-25. Friday’s game will begin at 6 p.m., Saturday’s game starts at 4 p.m. and Sunday’s finale begins at 1 p.m.
There will be a postgame fireworks show courtesy of Coca-Cola on Friday, while the game also has been designated as Family Day. The promotion features four tickets, four hot dogs, four Cokes and one popcorn for just $25 at WVUGAME.com and 1-800-WVU GAME. Family Day packages must be purchased in advance and are not available on game day.
The entire series will feature a free video stream, courtesy of Coca-Cola. The game can be heard on the affiliates of the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG with Jeff Culhane and Ernie Galusky on the call.
Additionally, fans can listen to the broadcast via the WVU Gameday App on their mobile device, as well as the TuneIn Radio App. WVUsports.com also will carry free live audio via the LeanStream Player at WVUsports.com/audio.
A link to live stats is available on WVUsports.com.
GRANVILLE, W.Va. (April 19, 2015) – Junior center fielder KC Huth drew an eighth inning bases loaded walk to give the West Virginia University baseball team a 3-2 victory over Marshall on Tuesday afternoon at Monongalia County Ballpark.
With two outs and a full count, Huth plated senior shortstop Taylor Munden to score the game-winning run. West Virginia sent seven players to the plate in the inning as Munden singled to lead off the inning, sophomore designated hitter Ray Guerrini walked and senior left fielder Brad Johnson walked to load the bases.
West Virginia (23-15) had three runs on four hits, while the Mountaineer pitching staff held Marshall (13-26) to just two unearned runs on two hits and struck out 14 Thundering Herd batters.
“This is two midweek games in a row that I feel like we were a little bit unmotivated,” coach Randy Mazey said. “If you’re going to be a good player and a good team, you have to be a self-motivator. You have to find a way to motivate yourself to be really good no matter who you face.
“I think our guys looked at the stat sheet today and saw that their starting pitcher had over a 10.00 ERA and they thought it was going to be easy. That kid went out and pitched a really good game. That’s what happens every time you think its going to be really easy.”
Freshman right-hander Adam Keller (1-1) picked up his first career win in three innings of relief. Keller gave up one run, unearned, on one hit with four strikeouts. The save was awarded to junior right-hander Blake Smith, who pitched a perfect ninth inning with one strikeout for his fourth save.
Freshman right-hander Shane Ennis went three innings in the start, giving up one unearned run on one hit with five strikeouts and one walk. Junior right-hander Jeff Hardy struck out four in two innings of shutout relief.
The Mountaineers were scored on in the top of the first with two outs for the third-straight game. With runners on second and third, Aaron Bossi singled up the middle to score Corey Bird and give Marshall a 1-0 lead.
West Virginia took a 2-1 lead with two outs in the bottom of the third as Munden and freshman second baseman Kyle Davis hit back-to-back solo home runs to left center field. The homer was Munden’s team-leading ninth of the season, while Davis now has four.
Marshall took advantage of a West Virginia error in the top of the fourth to tie the game at 2-2. Robert Fajardo reached to leadoff the inning as senior third baseman Justin Fox could not handle a ground ball. Fajardo advanced to second on a passed ball and third on a balk, and scored on a ground out to second base by TJ Diffenderfer.
The loss went to Marshall reliever Kolin Stanley, who gave up one run on one hit with two strikeouts and two walks in two innings.
West Virginia will host Kansas this weekend in a Big 12 series at Monongalia County Ballpark from April 23-25. Friday’s game will begin at 6 p.m., Saturday’s game starts at 4 p.m. and Sunday’s finale begins at 1 p.m.
There will be a postgame fireworks show courtesy of Coca-Cola on Friday, while the game also has been designated as Family Day. The promotion features four tickets, four hot dogs, four Cokes and one popcorn for just $25 at WVUGAME.com and 1-800-WVU GAME. Family Day packages must be purchased in advance and are not available on game day.
The entire series will feature a free video stream, courtesy of Coca-Cola. The game can be heard on the affiliates of the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG with Jeff Culhane and Ernie Galusky on the call.
Additionally, fans can listen to the broadcast via the WVU Gameday App on their mobile device, as well as the TuneIn Radio App. WVUsports.com also will carry free live audio via the LeanStream Player at WVUsports.com/audio.
A link to live stats is available on WVUsports.com.
