Mountaineers swept by Tennessee Tech, early struggles continue

A rough mid-week series leaves West Virginia (7-8) under .500 once again.

The Mountaineers, which took a hot streak of winning five out of six games into the two-game set against Tennessee Tech (11-5), were swept by the Golden Eagles Tuesday and Wednesday.

TTU claimed the series opener 8-0, shutting out WVU for the first time this season, and used a big fifth inning to win Wednesday by a final score of 9-1.

Sophomore Isaiah Kearns lasted just four innings on the mound Tuesday, giving up two runs on four hits before handing it over to the bullpen.

The Golden Eagles got to relievers Nick Snyder and Tristen Hudson in the fifth, loading the bases on two separate occasions before John Ham broke the game open with a bases-clearing double. Snyder was responsible for four of the runs, while Hudson was on the hook for two of them.

Tennessee Tech scored a pair of unearned runs the following inning to take the 8-0 lead it would go on to win by.

Junior transfer Christian Young made his first career start in the gold and blue Wednesday. He pitched very efficiently through the first four innings, pitching to just one batter over the minimum and striking out four.

Tennessee Tech struck in the fifth inning once again.

A two-run double knocked Young out of the game, giving way to Shane Ennis, who inherited a 2-0 deficit with two runners in scoring position and just one out.

Ennis, who’s pitched well this year, allowed four more runs to score.

A two-run single by Alex Junior and another single two batters later gave TTU a 5-0 lead. The inning ended four batters after that on a play at the plate, but another run crossed before the out was recorded.

Jimmy Galusky provided WVU its first run of the series with a home run in the seventh inning. That prevented the Mountaineers from being shut out in back-to-back games for the first time since 2012.

It also knocked TTU starter Nic Dye out of the game. Dye gave up just four hits and the lone run over his 6 1/3 innings pitched.

The Golden Eagles added runs in each of their final two at-bats.

The 17 combined runs given up in two days is the most given up in any two-game stretch this year.

Series notes

Zarbnisky has reached base in every game he has appeared in this year, currently owning an 11-game reached-base streak dating back to last season.

Andrew Zitel lost two streaks Tuesday. His nine-game hitting streak and 11-game reached-base streak were both ended as he went 0-for-2. Brandon White’s 14-game reached-base streak was also snapped.

Riley Troutt made his first appearance of the season Tuesday night, retiring the side in order.

Marques Inman’s five-game hitting streak was snapped in an 0-for-3 effort Wednesday.

Up Next

West Virginia plays in Monongalia County Ballpark for the first time this season. The Mountaineers host Canisius (10-4) for a three-game series starting Friday at 3 p.m.