MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Junior right-hander BJ Myers pitched seven innings of one-run ball and hung around long enough to see West Virginia’s offense erupt for a five-run seventh in a 5-3 victory over George Mason at the Caravelle Resort Tournament on Friday.
Second baseman Cole Austin’s bases-loaded triple was the big blow as the Mountaineers evened their record at 2-2.
Myers (1-1) allowed four hits and one walk while striking out seven. After allowing a first-inning homer to Michael Smith, he retired 10 in a row.
“BJ’s going to give us a chance to win every game,” West Virginia coach Randy Mazey said. “He goes out there and throws strikes, keeps the ball down and always limits the damage. He gave up a solo homer in the first inning, and those rarely beat you, especially early in the game. That’s as good as I’ve seen BJ, which was super encouraging.”
After stranding seven baserunners in the first six innings against Patriots starter Tyler Zombro, the Mountaineers’ bats broke through against Bryce Nightengale (0-1) with two outs in the seventh. Jackson Cramer drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game at 1-1, which brought up Austin, whose second-inning smash to deep right led to a diving catch by Tyler Nelin that saved two runs.
This time Austin tripled to the wall over Nelin’s head to bring home three runs. Designated hitter Marques Inman then doubled to the wall in center to extend the WVU advantage to 5-1.
“We were getting hits early in the game. If you stay calm and stay patient, it’s just a matter of time until you get the big one,” Mazey said. “I thought our at-bats were good, it was the third game of our first four where we had double-digit hits, so we’re swinging the bats well. Once these guys get into the flow of things and start seeing a lot of pitches, I think this offense is going to take off. We just showed patience early in the game when we weren’t getting a big hit, and eventually we did.”
Sophomore Braden Zarbnisky pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning. In the ninth, sophomore Jacob Potock gave up a two-out, two-run home run to Nelin before sealing the win.
The Patriots (2-2) stranded four.
The Caravelle Resort Tournament resumes Saturday with WVU facing No. 19 Coastal Carolina at 2 p.m. in Conway, S.C. The Mountaineers meet Ball State on Sunday in Myrtle Beach, before the road trip concludes at Coastal Carolina on Monday.