MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia baseball coach Randy Mazey received a two-game suspension for “prolonged arguing” after Sunday afternoon’s ejection in a 5-0 loss to TCU.
Mazey will miss Tuesday’s game at Virginia Tech and the Friday series opener at Oklahoma State. Assistant Derek Matlock will serve as the acting head coach in Mazey’s absence.
“I would like to apologize to our administration, players and fans for my actions on Sunday afternoon in the TCU game,” Mazey said in a university release. “We value good sportsmanship, but my emotions got the best of me when I disagreed with the ruling on the field. I look forward to being back with my team on Saturday and I will work hard to make sure that this is not an issue in the future.”
Mazey was tossed before the top of the fourth inning when when crew chief Josh Schepis charged pitcher Chad Donato with a ball after West Virginia exceeded the 90-second between-innings break. Schepis said after the game he was unaware the delay was partially due to catcher Ray Guerrini receiving treatment for a bloody elbow, and the umpire only imposed the ball when the break reached 2 minutes.
With Schepis stationed behind second base, Mazey walked onto the infield and was promptly ejected by home plate umpire Jim Schaly, who warned Mazey the call was not arguable. (Schepis also was heard from shallow center field warning Mazey, “Don’t come out here. Do not come out here!”)
The Mountaineers’ third-year coach wasn’t particularly demonstrative during the ensuing argument, though he did linger for a while debating the call with Schaly, first-base umpire Marc Lewis and third-base umpire Michael Banks.
Per NCAA Baseball Playing Rule 2-26, A.R. 7, “prolonged arguing or unsportsmanlike conduct following an ejection” was the reason behind the suspension.
West Virginia (24-22, 6-12) was swept by TCU and dipped into last place in the Big 12 standings, meaning the Mountaineers will miss the conference tournament unless they make up ground in the final two weeks.