MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (March 3, 2020) – The West Virginia University baseball team returns to Monongalia County Ballpark to host Kent State on Wednesday, March 4. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. ET.
Admission to the contest is free for all fans, who will have the opportunity to play Baseball Bingo with prizes available. Additionally, a live stream and live stats of the game are available at WVUsports.com and the WVU Gameday App.
The Mountaineers (7-4) and Golden Flashes (6-4) are set to meet for the 35th time on Wednesday. Last season, WVU earned a three-game sweep over Kent State in Morgantown. The squad earned wins of 6-2, 8-4 and 9-7, from March 9-10, 2019.
In all, Kent leads the all-time series, 20-14. West Virginia enters the game with a 108-78-1 mark against Mid-American Conference (MAC) opponents.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Tyler Strechay is scheduled to get the start on the mound for the Mountaineers. The Collegeville, Pennsylvania, native is 0-1 with an 11.25 ERA in 4.0 innings of work this season. Strechay also started WVU’s home opener on Feb. 18, a 15-8 Mountaineer win over Canisius. Kent State will counter with freshman right-hander Zach Schultz (0-1, 2.57 ERA).
Last week, West Virginia took two of three games at the Central Virginia Challenge, from Feb. 28-March 1, in Richmond/Williamsburg, Virginia. The Mountaineers opened the weekend with a 4-1 loss to VCU on Friday, before grabbing a pair of wins over William & Mary (13-4) and Richmond (13-1) to close out the event. The wins marked the first time WVU scored 13 or more runs in back-to-back games since March 7-8, 2015.
Junior left-handed pitcher Jackson Wolf threw 5.1 innings of no-hit baseball against the Rams in the weekend opener, before a four-run sixth inning sparked the hosts to a victory at The Diamond in Richmond. Freshman outfielder Tyler DeMartino’s RBI single in the ninth inning provided WVU’s lone run in the setback.
On Saturday, a five-run first inning propelled the Mountaineers to a win over William & Mary at Plumeri Park in Williamsburg. West Virginia scored runs in five of the nine innings and were led by redshirt senior outfielder/right-handed pitcher Braden Zarbnisky’s four hits, three runs scored, two stolen bases and two RBIs. Additionally, junior catcher Paul McIntosh registered a season-best five RBIs in the win, while redshirt sophomore catcher Vince Ippoliti recorded three.
In the weekend finale, the Mountaineers pounded out 13 runs on 17 hits in their win over Richmond at the Spiders’ Pitt Field. Five players had multi-hit performances against UR, including sophomore outfielder Austin Davis, who went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBIs. McIntosh (3-for-3) and freshman infielder/catcher Matt McCormick (3-for-5) each blasted home runs in the victory, while freshman left-handed pitcher Jake Carr allowed just one run on three hits in 6.0 innings of work, retiring 16 of his final 18 batters.
The Mountaineers enter the midweek matchup ranked No. 11 in the nation in triples (11), No. 15 in stolen bases (24), No. 24 in WHIP (1.07) and No. 29 in hits allowed per nine innings (6.44). Individually, Zarbnisky is tied for No. 8 nationally with 22 hits and No. 27 in the country with a .468 batting average. He also sits in a tie for No. 38 in the NCAA in stolen bases (6) and saves (2).
Freshman outfielder Victor Scott’s three triples are tied for No. 1 in the nation, while junior infielder Tyler Doanes’ three sacrifice bunts sit No. 12 nationally. On the mound, WVU’s trio of Wolf, sophomore right-handed pitcher Ryan Bergert and Carr all sit in a tie for No. 11 nationally with three starts.
Kent State is led by seventh-year coach Jeff Duncan, who owns a mark of 224-123 with the Golden Flashes. Kent State, which was picked to finish second in the regular-season standings and win the MAC Tournament in the league’s preseason coaches’ poll, opened the season with wins over Indiana State (4-3) and Saint Joseph’s (11-3) in the Snowbird Classic, from Feb. 14-16, before a series win at Florida Gulf Coast, from Feb. 21-23. Kent most recently took two of three games at Winthrop last weekend.
The Flashes finished 30-24 last season, including a 17-9 mark in the MAC. The squad has won 30 or more games in all six of Duncan’s seasons at the helm.
West Virginia has won 12 consecutive midweek, nonconference home games, dating back to a 9-6 win over Niagara on April 3, 2017. For the fourth consecutive week, WVU received votes in the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division I Poll.
Wednesday’s game marks the second of 25 home games for the Mountaineers at Monongalia County Ballpark this season.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Admission to the contest is free for all fans, who will have the opportunity to play Baseball Bingo with prizes available. Additionally, a live stream and live stats of the game are available at WVUsports.com and the WVU Gameday App.
The Mountaineers (7-4) and Golden Flashes (6-4) are set to meet for the 35th time on Wednesday. Last season, WVU earned a three-game sweep over Kent State in Morgantown. The squad earned wins of 6-2, 8-4 and 9-7, from March 9-10, 2019.
In all, Kent leads the all-time series, 20-14. West Virginia enters the game with a 108-78-1 mark against Mid-American Conference (MAC) opponents.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Tyler Strechay is scheduled to get the start on the mound for the Mountaineers. The Collegeville, Pennsylvania, native is 0-1 with an 11.25 ERA in 4.0 innings of work this season. Strechay also started WVU’s home opener on Feb. 18, a 15-8 Mountaineer win over Canisius. Kent State will counter with freshman right-hander Zach Schultz (0-1, 2.57 ERA).
Last week, West Virginia took two of three games at the Central Virginia Challenge, from Feb. 28-March 1, in Richmond/Williamsburg, Virginia. The Mountaineers opened the weekend with a 4-1 loss to VCU on Friday, before grabbing a pair of wins over William & Mary (13-4) and Richmond (13-1) to close out the event. The wins marked the first time WVU scored 13 or more runs in back-to-back games since March 7-8, 2015.
Junior left-handed pitcher Jackson Wolf threw 5.1 innings of no-hit baseball against the Rams in the weekend opener, before a four-run sixth inning sparked the hosts to a victory at The Diamond in Richmond. Freshman outfielder Tyler DeMartino’s RBI single in the ninth inning provided WVU’s lone run in the setback.
On Saturday, a five-run first inning propelled the Mountaineers to a win over William & Mary at Plumeri Park in Williamsburg. West Virginia scored runs in five of the nine innings and were led by redshirt senior outfielder/right-handed pitcher Braden Zarbnisky’s four hits, three runs scored, two stolen bases and two RBIs. Additionally, junior catcher Paul McIntosh registered a season-best five RBIs in the win, while redshirt sophomore catcher Vince Ippoliti recorded three.
In the weekend finale, the Mountaineers pounded out 13 runs on 17 hits in their win over Richmond at the Spiders’ Pitt Field. Five players had multi-hit performances against UR, including sophomore outfielder Austin Davis, who went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBIs. McIntosh (3-for-3) and freshman infielder/catcher Matt McCormick (3-for-5) each blasted home runs in the victory, while freshman left-handed pitcher Jake Carr allowed just one run on three hits in 6.0 innings of work, retiring 16 of his final 18 batters.
The Mountaineers enter the midweek matchup ranked No. 11 in the nation in triples (11), No. 15 in stolen bases (24), No. 24 in WHIP (1.07) and No. 29 in hits allowed per nine innings (6.44). Individually, Zarbnisky is tied for No. 8 nationally with 22 hits and No. 27 in the country with a .468 batting average. He also sits in a tie for No. 38 in the NCAA in stolen bases (6) and saves (2).
Freshman outfielder Victor Scott’s three triples are tied for No. 1 in the nation, while junior infielder Tyler Doanes’ three sacrifice bunts sit No. 12 nationally. On the mound, WVU’s trio of Wolf, sophomore right-handed pitcher Ryan Bergert and Carr all sit in a tie for No. 11 nationally with three starts.
Kent State is led by seventh-year coach Jeff Duncan, who owns a mark of 224-123 with the Golden Flashes. Kent State, which was picked to finish second in the regular-season standings and win the MAC Tournament in the league’s preseason coaches’ poll, opened the season with wins over Indiana State (4-3) and Saint Joseph’s (11-3) in the Snowbird Classic, from Feb. 14-16, before a series win at Florida Gulf Coast, from Feb. 21-23. Kent most recently took two of three games at Winthrop last weekend.
The Flashes finished 30-24 last season, including a 17-9 mark in the MAC. The squad has won 30 or more games in all six of Duncan’s seasons at the helm.
West Virginia has won 12 consecutive midweek, nonconference home games, dating back to a 9-6 win over Niagara on April 3, 2017. For the fourth consecutive week, WVU received votes in the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division I Poll.
Wednesday’s game marks the second of 25 home games for the Mountaineers at Monongalia County Ballpark this season.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
