Bats come alive as West Virginia snags first win of 2019

Decatur, GA – The Mountaineers scored in the first inning for the second consecutive game to open the season as Georgia State pitcher Jake Rogers struggled with control.

Rogers walked four straight batters to begin the game which plated leadoff hitter Tyler Doanes, who was hit by a pitch. Designated hitter Tristen Hudson  knocked in the Mountaineers second run with a sacrifice fly to left center scoring Darius Hill. Rogers was able to work his way out of the early jam only allowing two runs in the first.

West Virginia starting pitcher Jackson Wolf really found his groove in the 2nd inning and pitched three clean innings before a solo home run from Brandon Bell that cut the lead down to 2-1.

Bell’s home run was his first of the season and was an estimated 385 feet.

The Mountaineers offense were quiet for the first 5 innings and even went hitless before catcher Paul McIntosh reached on board with a single to left field.

Rogers had a solid outing, despite giving up four earned runs. He allowed just one hit through five innings and was yanked adfter he allowed two runners on the base paths in the sixth.

Relief pitcher Liam Henry came in with runners on 1st and 2nd and designated hitter Tristen Hudson laid down a beautiful sacrifice bunt moving runners to 2nd and 3rd with only one out.

West Virginia head coach Randy Mazey sent in Kevin Brophy to pinch hit for T.J. Lake and was intentionally walked to load the bases for freshman Tevin Tucker. The move to load the bases backfired as Tucker sent a 2 RBI single to left field, which was then followed up by an RBI double by center fielder Brandon White.

The four run inning gave the Mountaineers a 6-1 leading heading into the bottom of the sixth inning.

Starter Jackson Wolf was relieved after 5 solid innings of work as he struck our four and only surrendered four hits and one earned run.

Two freshman made their presence known today as pitcher Ryan Bergert came in relief and pitched a scoreless three innings allowing no hits and outfielder Austin Davis collected his first career base hit in the 8th inning.

The Mountaineers weren’t done pouring it on as they added a couple more runs were added in the 9th. Tyler Doanes and Darius Hill started off the inning by getting singles and first baseman Marquis Inman walked to load the bases. Catcher Paul McIntosh grounded out to third, allowing Doanes to score and third baseman Ivan Gonzalez hit a sacrifice fly to left field playing another run.

Brock Helverson made his season debut to close things out in the 9th inning. Third baseman Ryan Glass doubled off the center field wall scoring Daino Deas. However, that was all the Panthers could do in their efforts to rally in the ninth as the Mountaineers defeat Georgia State 8-2.

West Virginia will take on Georgia Tech tonight with a scheduled first pitch slated for 6 p.m.