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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia concludes its regular season with a three-game, Big 12 series at No. 2 Texas, from May 20-22, in Austin, Texas.
Today’s series opener at UFCU Disch-Falk Field is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m., while Friday’s contest also is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday’s regular-season finale commences at 3:30 p.m.
In a matchup featuring two of the top arms in the conference, senior left-handed pitcher Jackson Wolf (4-5, 3.13 ERA) goes for the Mountaineers on Thursday against Texas redshirt sophomore right-hander Ty Madden (6-2, 2.27 ERA). On Friday, freshman left-hander Ben Hampton (4-2, 4.08 ERA) takes the mound for WVU, while the Longhorns counter with redshirt junior right-hander Tristan Stevens (7-4, 3.11 ERA). In Saturday’s finale, the Mountaineers turn to freshman right-hander Carlson Reed (4-4, 5.64 ERA) against redshirt freshman left-hander Pete Hansen (6-1, 1.83 ERA) of Texas.
West Virginia enters the weekend on a season-long, five-game win streak. Today marks the squad’s first road game since April 25.
Last time out, the Mountaineers swept a doubleheader against Dayton on May 16, at Monongalia County Ballpark in Morgantown. WVU won, 7-6 and 12-6, with both games ending after seven innings.
The doubleheader capped a season-long, 12-game homestand for West Virginia. WVU finished 15-12 in Morgantown this spring.
With eight multi-hit performances in his last 12 games, Davis leads the Mountaineers with a .316 average at the plate this season. In the power department, senior catcher/outfielder Paul McIntosh and McCormick co-lead the club with seven home runs.
Further, McCormick leads the way with a team-best 26 RBI this spring, while sophomore outfielder Victor Scott’s 18 stolen bases rank No. 2 in the Big 12.
Meanwhile, Wolf ranks No. 2 in the Big 12 in strikeouts, with 93, and he has allowed three earned runs or fewer in nine of his 12 starts this season.
Overall, the West Virginia pitching staff enters the weekend ranked No. 10 nationally and No. 2 in the Big 12 in strikeouts per nine innings (11.0).
UT is listed as high as No. 2 in the national polls this week. The squad hasn’t played since May 9, when it closed out a three-game series at then-No. 3 TCU.
Texas, which is 25-4 at home this season, is led offensively by redshirt sophomore infielder Ivan Melendez, who is hitting .361 with 11 doubles, 10 home runs and 42 RBI. Redshirt junior infielder Zach Zubia’s 47 RBI are tops on the team.
On the mound, Texas ranks No. 3 nationally with a 2.92 ERA. Madden is 6-2 with a 2.27 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 75.1 innings of work, while Stevens is 7-3 with a 3.11 ERA in 75.1 frames.
Goetz secures 2nd at NCAA Regionals
West Virginia senior golfer Mark Goetz fell one spot short of winning the NCAA Regional and advancing to the NCAA Golf Championship during today’s final round at The Sagamore Golf Cub in Noblesville, Ind.
Goetz and Cole Bradley of Purdue were tied at 8-under-par entering the 17th hole. Bradley secured a birdie on No. 17 to take a one-shot lead and went on to win the regional by two strokes over Goetz. Bradley finished round three with a tournament-low score of 65, including five birdies on the final seven holes.
“I’m so proud of Mark,” coach Sean Covich said. “He played great this week. He’s always been talented, but he has matured these past two seasons and has developed into one of
the best players in the
country.”
After shooting a 2-over-par 74 and ranking 33rd on day one, Goetz charged on moving day to a tie for fourth place with a 6-under-par 66 on Tuesday. In today’s final round, he shot a 4-under-par 68. Goetz finished second out of 72 golfers in the Noblesville Regional with rounds of 74-66-68=208. For the week, Goetz recorded 14 birdies and two eagles.
“I’m so excited about next year’s team with Mark coming back for a fifth season. I know we didn’t have the team here this week, but Mark felt like he was playing for us all, sending a message of what to expect out of the Mountaineers next season.”
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