Advertisement
Published Jun 1, 2019
WVU falls to Duke, 4-0, will face Texas A&M in elimination game
circle avatar
Patrick Kotnik  •  WVSports
Staff Writer
Twitter
@PatrickKotnik

SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest in Mountaineer sports and recruiting.

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. - No. 15-seeded West Virginia (38-21) fell to Duke (33-25) by a score of 4-0 in the Morgantown Regional Saturday night at Monongalia County Ballpark.

The Blue Devils score two runs in the first and third innings on their way to victory as missed opportunities cost the Mountaineers later on. West Virginia left six total runners on base during the loss.

Junior right-hander Alek Manoah got the start for the Mountaineers and went six innings on the mound, allowing four hits, four walks and four earned runs to go along with nine strikeouts.

Duke was led by a dominant pitching performance by sophomore right-hander Bryce Jarvis, who tossed eight scoreless innings, allowing one walk and six hits. He finished the game with 11 strikeouts.

West Virginia got runners at the corners during the top of the first inning with a single and throwing error but Darius Hill and Marques Inman were left stranded after Paul McIntosh flied out to end the inning.

During the bottom half of the inning, Manoah retired the first two batters but allowed a two-out double to Matt Mervis. An RBI triple from Michael Rothenberg followed as Duke took an early 1-0 lead.

A scary scene took place during the triple as center fielder Brandon White crashed into the outfield wall while trying to make the catch. It looked like White was going to be carted off, but he remained in the game.

Manoah then threw a wild pitch later in the inning put the Blue Devils ahead by a score of 2-0 before a strikeout ended the inning. The Mountaineers went down in order to start off the second inning and Duke was also turned away after a double play and pop out.

West Virginia had a chance to lessen its deficit during the third inning with singles from Tyler Doanes and Hill but Doanes got caught in a rundown after Hill’s single which ended the inning.

Three walks and a wild pitch took place during the bottom of the third inning as Duke loaded the bases with one out. Manoah then struck out Kyle Gallagher for the second out of the inning. Erickson Nichols then hit a grounder to Manoah and he threw it to catcher Ivan Gonzalez to get the final out of the inning at home plate.

However, the play was reviewed and then overturned, giving the Blue Devils a 3-0 lead. West Virginia head coach Randy Mazey was then ejected following the overruling and the Blue Devils extended their lead to 4-0 with an RBI single from Chris Crabtree.

During the hit, Rothenberg was thrown out at home plate to end the inning.

West Virginia stranded a runner on first base during the top of the fourth and Manoah would retire Duke in order in the fourth and fifth innings.

The Mountaineers had another opportunity to chip away at their deficit during the top of the sixth as Hill got on base with a double and advanced to third on a passed ball. He was then left stranded after Marques Inman and Paul McIntosh each struck out to end the inning.

Duke then managed to get two runners on base during the bottom of the sixth after a throwing error and hit batter, but Manoah struck out three straight to end the inning.

From there, West Virginia's offense continued to struggle and failed to complete the comeback, putting the Mountaineers in an elimination game.

With the loss, the top-seeded Mountaineers will face No. 2-seeded Texas A&M in an elimination game Sunday at noon ET. The winner will advance to the Sunday’s Regional Final against Duke at 6 p.m. ET.

Advertisement
info icon
Embed content not available

Enter the contest by clicking on the following link and choosing to subscribe to the channel: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=VideoGlide

Advertisement