MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — No-hit into the seventh inning, West Virginia generated enough late offense to win its fourth consecutive game, 4-1 over Ball State on Sunday afternoon.
Darius Hill’s two-run homer in the eighth put the Mountaineers ahead before two insurance runs scored on ninth-inning wild pitches.
Ball State starter Colin Brockhouse (1-1), untouchable until Marques Inman’s one-out single in the seventh, still had a 1-0 lead in the eighth. Then a two-out single by Kyle Davis and Hill’s homer — which glanced off right-fielder Jeff Riedel’s glove atop the wall — swung the momentum.
It was Hill’s second homer in two days after hitting three last season.
“We were patient, we took our time and got (Brockhouse’s) pitch count up,” West Virginia coach Randy Mazey said. “In the seventh inning, his off-speed pitches started floating up in the zone a little bit and we made three really hard outs, so we knew our time was coming.
“It’s nice to know we have a team that can win different ways. To get 29 hits and win yesterday and get four hits and win today, that’s a sign of a good team.”
The Mountaineers improved to 4-2 overall and 3-0 at the Caravelle Resort Tournament, while the Cardinals slipped to 4-3.
West Virginia freshman right-hander Carter Camp pitched five innings and allowed one run on two hits with seven strikeouts and no walks.
Middle reliever Braden Zarbnisky (1-0) tossed three no-hit innings with five strikeouts before freshman Alek Manoah pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his first save.
Brockhouse allowed two runs on three hits over eight innings while striking out nine on 103 pitches. Ball State’s T.J. Baker had an adventurous ninth, allowing a single to Cole Austin, an intentional walk and three wild pitches.
The Cardinals lone run came in the first as Seth Freed hit a one-out triple down the right-field line and scored on a groundout.
The Caravelle Resort Tournament concludes at No. 18 Coastal Carolina on Monday, where WVU won 22-9 in Saturday’s slugfest.