MORGANTOWN — Ellis Garcia had himself quite a day Wednesday.
The WVU freshman third baseman went 4 for 5 with a home run and a double and he drove in two runs to lead West Virginia to an 18-5 victory against Appalachian State at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium in Boone, N.C.
Garcia hit a solo home run to left field in the first inning to help give the Mountaineers a 4-0 lead. He doubled home Dayne Leonard in the eighth for his second RBI of the day.
WVU (12-4) has now won six in a row heading into Friday’s game at UNC Greensboro to begin a three-game series.
In the two-game sweep of Appalachian State (8-7), WVU combined for 36 runs and 29 hits. Garcia collected seven hits and six RBIs.
WVU starter Gavin Van Kempen was solid through two innings, but gave up WVU’s lead in the third by allowing four runs.
Jake Carr (1-0) came on in relief and earned his first victory of the season with four innings of work. He allowed no runs and two hits over four innings.
Meanwhile, WVU took control for good in the seventh when Landon Wallace doubled to score Grant Hussey and Tevin Tucker drove in a run with a fielder’s choice RBI to give WVU a 9-5 lead.
WVU added eight more runs in the ninth highlighted by Leonard’s two-run double and Appalachian State also walked two batters with the bases loaded and Kevin Dowdell scored on a wild pitch.
Leonard had two hits for WVU and led the team with four RBIs.
