CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Sophomore left-hander Harrison Musgrave fanned a career-high 13 batters and pitched into the seventh inning as West Virginia blanked Texas Tech 2-0 in Big 12 baseball action Friday.
On a night when temperatures dipped into the 20s, right fielder Brady Wilson ripped a solo homer in the third inning, and Bobby Boyd’s squeeze bunt scored Alan Filauro in the fourth as WVU (9-12, 2-2) won its second straight series opener.
“That’s just a big win for us,” said West Virginia coach Randy Mazey. “I think we’re staking our claim around the league that when you show up on Friday to play the Mountaineers, you better play some good baseball.”
Musgrave (3-1) threw 125 pitches during 6 2/3 innings of two-hit ball to earn his second consecutive victory. In his last two starts he is 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA in 13 innings, allowing four hits with 19 strikeouts.
“Harrison pitched great, and it was a tough night to hit,” Mazey said. “Basically all you had to do was throw strikes and you were going to have success.
“On a night like tonight, when it’s pretty cold out, the (batters’) hands are cold and the arms don’t move as fast, so he was throwing his fastball pretty effectively.”
Right-handed junior Pascal Paul earned his third save of the season, allowing one hit during the final 2 1/3 innings.
Texas Tech (15-9, 2-2) managed only three hits, two by Brett Bell.
Dominic Moreno (2-2) took the loss for the Red Raiders, allowing two runs on seven hits in four innings with four strikeouts. Justin Bethard allowed two hits with five strikeouts in four innings of relief.
The Mountaineers got two hits each from Jacob Rice, Ryan Tuntland and Taylor Munden. But it was the second homer of the year from the 5-foot-10 Wilson that put WVU ahead to stay.
“We’ve been looking for ways to score runs, trying to bunt runs in, and who would’ve thought one of the smallest guys on the team hits one out of the ballpark,” Mazey said. “Little Brady, he’s going to be bragging about being stronger than our big guys because he hit one.”
The teams will complete the three-game series Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. The second game will begin at 4 p.m., or approximately 30 minutes after the first game.
With the change to the weekend schedule, fans who purchased advances tickets have multiple options. Saturday’s ticket is good for admission to both games of the doubleheader. Fans with tickets for the Sunday game may redeem their ticket at the the Appalachian Power Park box office for a ticket to Saturday’s doubleheader or may redeem their ticket at a later date for one of the remaining WVU games at the Charleston park.