MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (March 5, 2020) – The West Virginia University baseball team returns to the road for a weekend series at Mercer, from March 6-8, at OrthoGeorgia Park in Macon, Georgia.
Friday’s series opener is set to begin at 6 p.m. ET, with Saturday and Sunday’s contests scheduled to start at 2 p.m., and 1 p.m., respectively. Fans can follow along with the Mountaineers all weekend long with help from live stats for all three games, courtesy of MercerBears.com.
West Virginia and Mercer, who both received votes in this week’s National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division I Poll, meet for the first time since 1992 on Friday. In all, the Bears lead the all-time series, 5-3, with all eight previous meetings also occurring in Macon. The two schools have met just twice since 1985, prior to this weekend.
The Mountaineers are 65-33 all-time against Southern Conference foes.
Junior left-handed pitcher Jackson Wolf (2-1, 1.40 ERA) takes the mound for WVU in the series opener, while Mercer counters with senior left-hander Tanner Hall (3-0, 2.29 ERA). On Saturday, sophomore right-handed pitcher Ryan Bergert (2-0, 2.75 ERA) goes against Mercer sophomore righty Jackson Kelley (2-0, 1.06 ERA). The series concludes on Sunday with WVU freshman left-hander Jake Carr (2-1, 1.89 ERA) battling redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Taylor Lobus (1-0, 4.80 ERA) from Mercer.
The Mountaineer trio has combined to allow just 13 earned runs in 58.0 innings pitched to begin the year.
WVU (8-4) is coming off an 8-0 win over Kent State on March 4, at Monongalia County Ballpark, as four Mountaineer pitchers combined to no-hit the Golden Flashes. Freshman right-handed pitcher Tyler Strechay started the contest and earned his first career win, tossing five perfect frames for the Mountaineers.
From there, redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Dillon Meadows and freshmen righties Skylar Gonzalez and Jacob Watters capped the historic night with four innings of no-hit ball out of the bullpen. It marked WVU’s first nine-inning no-hitter since Billy Biggs on March 8, 2002, against Buffalo.
The Mountaineers also hit three homers against the Flashes, as freshman catcher/infielder Matt McCormick, senior infielder Kevin Brophy and freshman outfielder Victor Scott all left the yard in the victory. The squad finished with eight runs on 10 hits.
Redshirt senior outfielder/right-handed pitcher Braden Zarbnisky enters the weekend ranked in the top 20 nationally in five categories. The Marietta, Georgia, native’s 24 hits are tied for No. 2 in the nation, while his 2.0 hits per game rank No. 7 nationally. Zarbnisky also sits No. 12 in the country in stolen bases (8), No. 18 in triples (2) and No. 20 in batting average (.471).
Additionally, Scott’s team-high three triples are tied for No. 2 in the nation, while junior infielder Tyler Doanes’ three sacrifice bunts are tied for No. 20 in the country. On the mound, WVU’s four starters – Bergert, Carr, Strechay and Wolf – all sit in a tie for No. 18 nationally with three starts apiece.
As a team, West Virginia enters the weekend ranked No. 6 in the nation in triples (7), No. 8 in stolen bases (28), No. 11 in hits allowed per nine innings (5.88), No. 15 in WHIP (1.01) and No. 19 in shutouts (2).
Mercer (11-1) is led by 17th-year coach Craig Gibson, who holds a mark of 554-383 with the Bears. Mercer opened the 2020 season with 11 consecutive victories, featuring a four-game sweep over Maryland-Eastern Shore, two wins over Florida A&M and three-game sweeps over Radford and UT-Martin. Most recently, the Bears fell at No. 11 Florida State, 9-8, on March 3.
Mercer, which finished 35-29 in 2019, is one of just four NCAA Division I programs to win at least 35 games in each of the past nine seasons. The Bears have hit 28 doubles, good for No. 18 nationally. The squad’s 14 home runs sit No. 22 in the country.
On the mound, Mercer is No. 6 in the nation in strikeout-to-walk-ratio (4.56) and No. 7 in walks per nine innings (2.22).
WVU is in the midst of its fourth of six consecutive weekend series on the road to begin the 2020 campaign. The Mountaineers have played 10 of their first 12 games away from home so far this season.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Friday’s series opener is set to begin at 6 p.m. ET, with Saturday and Sunday’s contests scheduled to start at 2 p.m., and 1 p.m., respectively. Fans can follow along with the Mountaineers all weekend long with help from live stats for all three games, courtesy of MercerBears.com.
West Virginia and Mercer, who both received votes in this week’s National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division I Poll, meet for the first time since 1992 on Friday. In all, the Bears lead the all-time series, 5-3, with all eight previous meetings also occurring in Macon. The two schools have met just twice since 1985, prior to this weekend.
The Mountaineers are 65-33 all-time against Southern Conference foes.
Junior left-handed pitcher Jackson Wolf (2-1, 1.40 ERA) takes the mound for WVU in the series opener, while Mercer counters with senior left-hander Tanner Hall (3-0, 2.29 ERA). On Saturday, sophomore right-handed pitcher Ryan Bergert (2-0, 2.75 ERA) goes against Mercer sophomore righty Jackson Kelley (2-0, 1.06 ERA). The series concludes on Sunday with WVU freshman left-hander Jake Carr (2-1, 1.89 ERA) battling redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Taylor Lobus (1-0, 4.80 ERA) from Mercer.
The Mountaineer trio has combined to allow just 13 earned runs in 58.0 innings pitched to begin the year.
WVU (8-4) is coming off an 8-0 win over Kent State on March 4, at Monongalia County Ballpark, as four Mountaineer pitchers combined to no-hit the Golden Flashes. Freshman right-handed pitcher Tyler Strechay started the contest and earned his first career win, tossing five perfect frames for the Mountaineers.
From there, redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Dillon Meadows and freshmen righties Skylar Gonzalez and Jacob Watters capped the historic night with four innings of no-hit ball out of the bullpen. It marked WVU’s first nine-inning no-hitter since Billy Biggs on March 8, 2002, against Buffalo.
The Mountaineers also hit three homers against the Flashes, as freshman catcher/infielder Matt McCormick, senior infielder Kevin Brophy and freshman outfielder Victor Scott all left the yard in the victory. The squad finished with eight runs on 10 hits.
Redshirt senior outfielder/right-handed pitcher Braden Zarbnisky enters the weekend ranked in the top 20 nationally in five categories. The Marietta, Georgia, native’s 24 hits are tied for No. 2 in the nation, while his 2.0 hits per game rank No. 7 nationally. Zarbnisky also sits No. 12 in the country in stolen bases (8), No. 18 in triples (2) and No. 20 in batting average (.471).
Additionally, Scott’s team-high three triples are tied for No. 2 in the nation, while junior infielder Tyler Doanes’ three sacrifice bunts are tied for No. 20 in the country. On the mound, WVU’s four starters – Bergert, Carr, Strechay and Wolf – all sit in a tie for No. 18 nationally with three starts apiece.
As a team, West Virginia enters the weekend ranked No. 6 in the nation in triples (7), No. 8 in stolen bases (28), No. 11 in hits allowed per nine innings (5.88), No. 15 in WHIP (1.01) and No. 19 in shutouts (2).
Mercer (11-1) is led by 17th-year coach Craig Gibson, who holds a mark of 554-383 with the Bears. Mercer opened the 2020 season with 11 consecutive victories, featuring a four-game sweep over Maryland-Eastern Shore, two wins over Florida A&M and three-game sweeps over Radford and UT-Martin. Most recently, the Bears fell at No. 11 Florida State, 9-8, on March 3.
Mercer, which finished 35-29 in 2019, is one of just four NCAA Division I programs to win at least 35 games in each of the past nine seasons. The Bears have hit 28 doubles, good for No. 18 nationally. The squad’s 14 home runs sit No. 22 in the country.
On the mound, Mercer is No. 6 in the nation in strikeout-to-walk-ratio (4.56) and No. 7 in walks per nine innings (2.22).
WVU is in the midst of its fourth of six consecutive weekend series on the road to begin the 2020 campaign. The Mountaineers have played 10 of their first 12 games away from home so far this season.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.