WVU Shuts Out Marshall
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (October 16, 2015) – The West Virginia University baseball team shut out in-state foe Marshall, 1-0, on Friday night at Monongalia County Ballpark.
West Virginia finished with one run on eight hits with no errors. Marshall scored no runs on six hits with two errors.
“It’s unusual for the first batter of the game to score the only run of the game, but I was pleased by the way we pitched and played defense,” said WVU coach Randy Mazey. “The top of our batting lineup had most of our hits, so overall, I’m very pleased with how we played tonight.”
Freshman Cole Austin led the way with three hits. Sophomore Kyle Davis went two-for-four, with one RBI on the night to score the lone run of the game.
On the mound, junior Chad Donato pitched the first two innings and allowed no hits with three strikeouts and one walk. Sophomore Conner Dotson and sophomore Nicholas Wernke each threw two frames apiece, allowing four hits with six strikeouts and two walks in the four innings of work.Juniors Brandon Boone and Jackson Sigman and senior Jeff Hardy closed out the game, pitching one inning apiece, and allowed no runs on two hit with six strikeouts.
Cramer put WVU on the board early, with an RBI single in the bottom of the first to score Davis to give the Mountaineers their only run of the game.
“They threatened a couple of times to tie the game up, but that’s when our pitchers performed really well,” Mazey stated. “I just told the guys that we are going to play a lot of games just like this because we can pitch and play defense pretty well. One swing of the bat can change the game.”
In the bottom of the third, freshman Cole Austin and Davis sparked the inning with back-to-back singles up the middle, but they were left stranded on base, as Marshall’s left-hander Sam Hunter struck out sophomore Caleb Potter to end the frame.
After three scoreless innings, Marshall posed a threat to West Virginia’s defense with runners on the corner in the top of the sixth. Marshall’s Aaron Bossi doubled down the left field line, and Cory Garrastazu hit an infield single with one out to put Bossi on third. The Thundering Herd’s Tyler Ratliff grounded into a double play to end the inning for the Mountaineers.
In the top of the eighth, Marshall was in scoring position to tie the game at one-all, as Bossi walked and Garrastazu hit a single to center to put the tying run in scoring position with one out. However, the Mountaineers pitching and defense prevailed as Sigman threw another strikeout and Garrastazu was picked off first to end the inning.
“We will continue to get better,” Mazey noted. “The purpose of these games is to do that, so I am really happy with what we did tonight.”
The Mountaineers close out their fall season tomorrow as they take on the Thundering Herd in the final game of the two game series. First pitch is set for noon at Monongalia County Ballpark, and admission is free for all fans.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow WVU Baseball on Twitter and Facebook.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (October 16, 2015) – The West Virginia University baseball team shut out in-state foe Marshall, 1-0, on Friday night at Monongalia County Ballpark.
West Virginia finished with one run on eight hits with no errors. Marshall scored no runs on six hits with two errors.
“It’s unusual for the first batter of the game to score the only run of the game, but I was pleased by the way we pitched and played defense,” said WVU coach Randy Mazey. “The top of our batting lineup had most of our hits, so overall, I’m very pleased with how we played tonight.”
Freshman Cole Austin led the way with three hits. Sophomore Kyle Davis went two-for-four, with one RBI on the night to score the lone run of the game.
On the mound, junior Chad Donato pitched the first two innings and allowed no hits with three strikeouts and one walk. Sophomore Conner Dotson and sophomore Nicholas Wernke each threw two frames apiece, allowing four hits with six strikeouts and two walks in the four innings of work.Juniors Brandon Boone and Jackson Sigman and senior Jeff Hardy closed out the game, pitching one inning apiece, and allowed no runs on two hit with six strikeouts.
Cramer put WVU on the board early, with an RBI single in the bottom of the first to score Davis to give the Mountaineers their only run of the game.
“They threatened a couple of times to tie the game up, but that’s when our pitchers performed really well,” Mazey stated. “I just told the guys that we are going to play a lot of games just like this because we can pitch and play defense pretty well. One swing of the bat can change the game.”
In the bottom of the third, freshman Cole Austin and Davis sparked the inning with back-to-back singles up the middle, but they were left stranded on base, as Marshall’s left-hander Sam Hunter struck out sophomore Caleb Potter to end the frame.
After three scoreless innings, Marshall posed a threat to West Virginia’s defense with runners on the corner in the top of the sixth. Marshall’s Aaron Bossi doubled down the left field line, and Cory Garrastazu hit an infield single with one out to put Bossi on third. The Thundering Herd’s Tyler Ratliff grounded into a double play to end the inning for the Mountaineers.
In the top of the eighth, Marshall was in scoring position to tie the game at one-all, as Bossi walked and Garrastazu hit a single to center to put the tying run in scoring position with one out. However, the Mountaineers pitching and defense prevailed as Sigman threw another strikeout and Garrastazu was picked off first to end the inning.
“We will continue to get better,” Mazey noted. “The purpose of these games is to do that, so I am really happy with what we did tonight.”
The Mountaineers close out their fall season tomorrow as they take on the Thundering Herd in the final game of the two game series. First pitch is set for noon at Monongalia County Ballpark, and admission is free for all fans.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow WVU Baseball on Twitter and Facebook.
