GRANVILLE, W.Va. — With Wagener Field at Kendrick Family Ballpark covered in a fresh blanket of snow four hours before first pitch of WVU’s home opener against Ohio, quick snow removal efforts and a 16-hit attack allowed the Mountaineers to roll past the Bobcats, 19-6. West Virginia (6-1) scored in six of their eight innings at the plate while 24 players took the field for the Mountaineers.
The scheduled first pitch of 1 p.m. was delayed by 30 minutes to allow snow removal efforts to continue.
“To be honest, we had an early lift and walking out of the apartment this morning and seeing all the snow, it was questionable,” said WVU senior infielder Matt Ineich. “You look out the window at lift and it is still snowing. You are thinking, are we going to play? It was definitely in the back of my mind. I am glad it cleared up and got sunny. It wasn’t too bad out there.”
“Waking up and there’s snow on the ground, we practice and play in the snow a lot,” said WVU senior outfielder Brock Wills. “So I think just being ready and getting your body warm, you kind of just overcome that mental block of playing when it is freezing out.”
Playing against his former Ohio University teammates, Ineich drove in three runs and he went 4-for-5 with three runs scored.
“It felt good,” Ineich said. “I was just kind of trying to do what I do best, it just happened to be against my former team. It is definitely good to get a win against those guys.”
Armani Guzman also had three hits while Matthew Graveline, Gavin Kelly, Paul Schoenfeld, Brodie Kresser, Brock Wills and Tyrus Hall had multi-hit games. Wills and Graveline hit home runs in the fourth and sixth innings, respectively. 16 Mountaineers had at least one at bat.
“I think we can be one of the best offenses in the country,” Wills said. “When you’ve got guys behind you and you are just trying to pass the sticks, I think good things happen and I think we can play with anybody so when that better competition comes, I think we will be ready.”
Eight pitchers took the mound for the Mountaineers. Starting pitcher David Hagen did not allow a run in two scoreless frames.
“Hagen was good. Hagen is a sophomore that got some starts for us as a true freshman,” said WVU head coach Steve Sabins. “He ended up getting hurt. So he has worked really hard coming back from this injury. We feel like he is kind of right back where he left off freshman year, developmentally.
“We went into today with a plan of trying to get eight arms in the game. There are quite a few pitchers that haven’t pitched for us yet because we hadn’t played a midweek [game]. All that with getting guys in, that’s a luxury. You have to be able to win the game, first and foremost. If you want to be best at the end of the season, you have to get guys experience. There is no way around it.”
Tennessee transfer Bryson Thacker inherited a bases loaded, no out jam in the third inning. He recorded the next three outs in succession without allowing a run.
“We view Bryson as a strike thrower. And now Thacker leads the team in appearances. I believe he has four on the year. Last year at Tennessee, he had four innings total. We just feel like we hit the jackpot with Bryson Thacker because he loves the moment.”
In a different defensive alignment, Guzman started a first base, a position he had almost no experience with. He recorded seven putouts.
“Armani has never taken a ground ball at first before today. That’s pretty unusual. He played second the entire fall. And he started in a Super Regional and a regional at third base. He is a capable infielder, for sure. It has come down to today, we wanted to get nine specific players in the game offensively and we wanted to start Gavin Kelly behind the dish. In order to do that, we had to make a decision to put Guzman at first.”
Playing in his first home game as a Mountaineer, Morgantown High School graduate Weston Mazey reached on a walk in the eighth inning and he later scored on a wild pitch. Former Calhoun County and Gilmer County pitcher Bryant York picked up the final three outs in the ninth inning.
Will Henson went 2-for-3 for the Bobcats (1-7) with three runs batted in.
No. 24 West Virginia heads to Kennesaw State for a three-game series starting Friday at 4 p.m.