MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Corey Walter hurled a complete game in the opener and Ryan McBroom homered twice in the doubleheader as West Virginia beat New Orleans 5-1 and 4-3 to complete a four-game sweep of New Orleans on Saturday at Hawley Field.
The Mountaineers (15-13), winners of five straight overall, gave coach Randy Mazey his 200th career victory in the opener.
Walter (2-2), the junior from Wheeling Park High, tossed the first complete game by a WVU pitcher this season, striking out eight with one walk. He lowered his season ERA to 4.01.
Senior catcher Alan Filauro went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, while junior left fielder Jacob Rice hit two doubles — improving his average to .391 — and drove in one run.
McBroom’s solo shot to left — his fifth home run of the season — gave WVU a 1-0 lead in the second inning. A two-run single by Filauro extended WVU’s lead to 3-0 in the fourth.
Reese Kanter scored New Orleans’ lone run in the sixth inning with a solo homer.
Rice’s second double of the day drove in Bobby Boyd in the seventh inning, while Rice later scored on a wild pitch.
Lefty Stone Speer took the loss for the Privateers, allowing five runs on 11 hits in seven innings.
West Virginia 4, New Orleans 3
McBroom tied the game with a homer in the sixth — his third in two days — and singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth, for his team-leading 24th RBI.
Reliever Ryan Hostrander (2-0) pitching two perfect innings to earn the win, before Pascal Paul earned his fourth save by pitching around a hit in the ninth inning. Sophomore starter John Means took the no-decision, pitching six innings.He allowed two earned runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.
New Orleans starter Blake Prest earned a no-decision for the Privateers (4-26), allowing one earned run on six hits in seven innings. He struck out three and walked one. Garrett Manning (0-2) took the loss in relief.
WVU returns to action at Hawley Field on Tuesday at 6 p.m. against Marshall. The radio broadcast will be on select affiliates of the Mountaineer Sports Network with Morgantown affiliate WAJR 1440 AM serving as the flagship station.