Baseball Set to Host No. 4 TCU
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (April 30, 2015) – The West Virginia University baseball team will host No. 4 TCU in a pivotal Big 12 series from May 1-3 at Monongalia County Ballpark.
Friday’s opener will begin at 6 p.m., Saturday’s game is set for 4 p.m. and Sunday’s finale is at 1 p.m.
There will be a postgame fireworks show courtesy of WVU Healthcare 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.
This weekend is baseball alumni weekend and all returning alumni will be honored prior to Saturday’s contest.
Sunday’s game has been designated as Kid’s Day, where kids 12 and under can run the bases and receive autographs following the game.
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.
West Virginia (24-19, 6-9 Big 12) is currently in seventh place in the Big 12 standings and is looking for its first home Big 12 series win of the season. TCU (34-9, 10-5 Big 12) is tied for first place with Oklahoma State, despite playing three less Big 12 games than Oklahoma State.
“What an unbelievable opportunity for our guys,” coach Randy Mazey said. “At this point in the season you want to play the best people we can and great stories are born through great opportunities. If we were to win this series, this would be a story.”
The Mountaineers are looking to get back on track after dropping four of their last five, including a pair of midweek contests at Marshall and Radford.
Freshman second baseman Kyle Davis continues to swing a hot bat, batting at a .352 clip with 15 doubles, four home runs and 26 RBIs. Senior shortstop Taylor Munden leads the team and the Big 12 with 10 home runs to go along with a .278 batting average, nine doubles and 27 RBIs. Sophomore right fielder Shaun Wood has a team-leading 31 RBIs and he is third on the team with seven home runs.
As a team, the Mountaineers are batting .272 with 83 doubles, five triples, 46 home runs and 47 stolen bases.
Mazey will start freshman right-hander BJ Myers (2-3, 3.35 ERA) on Friday, junior left-hander Ross Vance (6-3, 2.89 ERA) on Saturday and sophomore right-hander Chad Donato (6-4, 2.89 ERA) on Sunday.
TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle will counter with one of the nation’s top pitching rotations in sophomore left-hander Tyler Alexander (3-2, 2.95 ERA) on Friday, senior right-hander Preston Morrison (9-1, 2.00 ERA) on Saturday and junior left-hander Alex Young (8-2, 1.65 ERA) on Sunday.
“It’s almost silly how good their pitchers are, but they have to get us out by throwing the ball across home plate just like everybody does,” Mazey said. “They have guys coming out of the bullpen that don’t pitch much that would be No. 1 starters for other teams.”
The pitching staff has a 2.23 ERA with 380 strikeouts and only 84 walks in 387.1 innings. At the plate the Horned Frogs are batting .293 with 60 doubles, nine triples, 12 home runs and 77 stolen bases.
“They’re leading the league in hitting and defense as well,” Mazey said. “They’re really good at all facets of the game, so it’s no surprise they went to Omaha last year and they’re swinging to be a national seed this year.”
Freshman outfielder Connor Wanhanen, senior outfielder Cody Jones, junior outfielder Dane Steinhagen and junior outfielder Nolan Brown are all batting above .300, led by Wanhanen at .389. Jones is tied for the team lead in home runs with three, while freshman catcher Evan Skoug has 11 doubles, three home runs and 29 RBIs.
TCU leads the all-time series at 6-2, including a 4-0 mark in 2014. The Horned Frogs swept the Mountaineers in Fort Worth, as well as a win in the Big 12 tournament.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (April 30, 2015) – The West Virginia University baseball team will host No. 4 TCU in a pivotal Big 12 series from May 1-3 at Monongalia County Ballpark.
Friday’s opener will begin at 6 p.m., Saturday’s game is set for 4 p.m. and Sunday’s finale is at 1 p.m.
There will be a postgame fireworks show courtesy of WVU Healthcare 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.
This weekend is baseball alumni weekend and all returning alumni will be honored prior to Saturday’s contest.
Sunday’s game has been designated as Kid’s Day, where kids 12 and under can run the bases and receive autographs following the game.
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.
West Virginia (24-19, 6-9 Big 12) is currently in seventh place in the Big 12 standings and is looking for its first home Big 12 series win of the season. TCU (34-9, 10-5 Big 12) is tied for first place with Oklahoma State, despite playing three less Big 12 games than Oklahoma State.
“What an unbelievable opportunity for our guys,” coach Randy Mazey said. “At this point in the season you want to play the best people we can and great stories are born through great opportunities. If we were to win this series, this would be a story.”
The Mountaineers are looking to get back on track after dropping four of their last five, including a pair of midweek contests at Marshall and Radford.
Freshman second baseman Kyle Davis continues to swing a hot bat, batting at a .352 clip with 15 doubles, four home runs and 26 RBIs. Senior shortstop Taylor Munden leads the team and the Big 12 with 10 home runs to go along with a .278 batting average, nine doubles and 27 RBIs. Sophomore right fielder Shaun Wood has a team-leading 31 RBIs and he is third on the team with seven home runs.
As a team, the Mountaineers are batting .272 with 83 doubles, five triples, 46 home runs and 47 stolen bases.
Mazey will start freshman right-hander BJ Myers (2-3, 3.35 ERA) on Friday, junior left-hander Ross Vance (6-3, 2.89 ERA) on Saturday and sophomore right-hander Chad Donato (6-4, 2.89 ERA) on Sunday.
TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle will counter with one of the nation’s top pitching rotations in sophomore left-hander Tyler Alexander (3-2, 2.95 ERA) on Friday, senior right-hander Preston Morrison (9-1, 2.00 ERA) on Saturday and junior left-hander Alex Young (8-2, 1.65 ERA) on Sunday.
“It’s almost silly how good their pitchers are, but they have to get us out by throwing the ball across home plate just like everybody does,” Mazey said. “They have guys coming out of the bullpen that don’t pitch much that would be No. 1 starters for other teams.”
The pitching staff has a 2.23 ERA with 380 strikeouts and only 84 walks in 387.1 innings. At the plate the Horned Frogs are batting .293 with 60 doubles, nine triples, 12 home runs and 77 stolen bases.
“They’re leading the league in hitting and defense as well,” Mazey said. “They’re really good at all facets of the game, so it’s no surprise they went to Omaha last year and they’re swinging to be a national seed this year.”
Freshman outfielder Connor Wanhanen, senior outfielder Cody Jones, junior outfielder Dane Steinhagen and junior outfielder Nolan Brown are all batting above .300, led by Wanhanen at .389. Jones is tied for the team lead in home runs with three, while freshman catcher Evan Skoug has 11 doubles, three home runs and 29 RBIs.
TCU leads the all-time series at 6-2, including a 4-0 mark in 2014. The Horned Frogs swept the Mountaineers in Fort Worth, as well as a win in the Big 12 tournament.
