MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — KC Huth went 3-for-3, highlighted by a three-run homer off his former junior college teammate, and West Virginia capped a weekend sweep by crushing Butler 12-4 on Sunday.
Chad Donato struck out a career-high 10 over six innings and Justin Fox homered onto the roof of the ticket booth in left-center as the Mountaineers remained perfect through 72 hours at their new Monongalia County Ballpark. With another 1,647 on hand to see it, the three-game total of 6,968 represented the largest weekend attendance in program history.
“Our kids are really, really appreciative of the fans coming out,” said West Virginia coach Randy Mazey, whose team improved to 21-12 and will host Penn State on Tuesday before Oklahoma arrives for a critical Big 12 series next Friday.
Butler (13-21), which entered with an RPI of 239, pushed Friday’s park opener to 13 innings but went quietly the final two days. Two errors led to four unearned runs Sunday.
One of those errors allowed Huth to bat with two outs and two on in the third, with the Mountaineers leading 3-0. The junior busted the game open by belting a curveball from Nick Morton (2-4) over the double wall in left. It was a familiar pitch considering Huth and Morton were teammates last season at Fullerton (Calif.) College.
“He was a buddy of mine so I knew we had a little action coming into it,” said Huth. “I hit him pretty good in junior college in our intersquad (games).”
A scar on Huth’s left hand represents a not-so-distant reminder of the broken bone that sidelined him during fall ball and most of preseason practice. Now he appears to be regaining his stroke: Thanks to a 9-for-13 series, Huth raised his batting average from .203 to .275.
“Now he’s just catching fire,” said Mazey. “It’s one thing to be back playing, but it’s another thing to be back playing well.”
Ray Guerrini’s RBI single made it 7-0 in the fourth before Garrett Hope’s run-scoring hit chased Morton at the start of a four-run fifth. Butler relieverJosh Goldberg issued a bases-loaded walk to No. 9 hitter Tucker Cascadden before Fox’s ground-out and a single by Kyle Davis stretch the cushion to 11-0.
The freshman Cascadden, subbing at shortstop for Big 12 home-run leader Taylor Munden, also had a single and collected the first two RBIs of his career. Jackson Cramer was 2-for-3 with an run-scoring double, while Fox and Kyle Davis each added two hits at the top of the order.
Donato (5-3) threw 98 pitches over six innings, allowing one run and four hits, though he didn’t have his typical command. His four walks in the first three innings matched his total fro the season’s previous 55 1/3 innings.
“I struggled in the first couple innings,” said the sophomore right-hander. “I had trouble locating my fastball, so I leaned on my off-speed and secondary pitches. If you ain’t got one thing working for you, put it in your pocket and go with the other.”
Though Donato lowered his ERA to 1.60, Mazey knows next weekend will bring a stiffer test. “His next time out is going to be against the Sooners, so he’s going to have to be a lot sharper.”
Adam Keller allowed an unearned run in the seventh before Butler scored one each off Jackson Sigman and Brandon Boone in the final two innings.
West Virginia freshman Kyle Casserly, who pinch-ran for Huth, added an eighth-inning double for his first RBI.
“We had great crowds this weekend,” Mazey said after Mountaineers players joined arms along the first-base line for the “Country Roads” sing-along. “The atmosphere was unbelievable.”