West Virginia Erupts for 19 Runs in Home-Opening Rout of Ohio

West Virginia hammered the Ohio Bobcats (1-8) Tuesday afternoon 19-6 in the Mountaineers (6-1) home opener at Kendrick Family Ballpark.

West Virginia grabbed the lead in the bottom of the first inning after sophomore Matt Ineich delivered a leadoff doubled down the third base line. Then, with one out and the bases loaded, senior Paul Schoenfeld hit a low chopper to first to put the first run on board.

The Mountaineers broke the game open in the second inning. With one out and the bases loaded, sophomore Armani Guzman hit a one-hopper to second and beat the throw on an attempted double play to keep the inning alive and add another run. Smith lined an RBI single to left centerfield and took second on the throw to third, then Schoenfeld drove a two-RBI triple to the heart of right centerfield for a 4-0 WVU lead.

Ineich recorded his first RBI of the afternoon, plating Brodie Kresser on a ground ball to second after the senior doubled down the right field line and moved to third on a ground ball from junior Tyson Hall.

Senior Brock Wills hit a three-run 353-foot home run in the fourth to build a 9-0 lead.

Ohio pulled within three after a four-run fifth inning and two more runs in the sixth with Will Henson providing three-RBIs off a single and a double.

In the bottom of the sixth, senior Matthrew Graveline hit his third home run of the season with a two-run blast over the visitor’s bullpen. Then, Ineich doubled to left center for a pair of RBI and Guzman hit a sacrifice fly to right field for a 14-9 Mountaineer advantage.

West Virginia added five runs in the eighth. With the bases loaded, freshman Weston Mazey took home on a ball thrown in the dirt and passed junior catcher Tyler Stack. Freshman registered his first hit and RBIs as a Mountaineer with a two-RBI double to right field and redshirt freshman Ryan Maggy captured his first career RBI with an RBI single to right field to cap the Mountaineers’ second five-run fifth inning of the day as the Mountaineers rolled to a 19-6 win.

West Virginia is back in action on Friday for the first game a three-game series at Kennesaw State. Game one is set for 4:00 p.m. EST, game two is on Saturday with the first pitch scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and the series finale is on Sunday at 12:00 p.m.