NEW ORLEANS – Leadoff man Kyle Davis knocked in a career-best five runs as West Virginia avoided a weekend sweep by exploding for 20 hits in an 18-5 victory at Tulane on Sunday.
Davis was 3-for-5 with two doubles and Isaiah Kearns homered as the Mountaineers improved to 7-4 after suffering the season’s shutout on Saturday.
Eight West Virginia starters had at least one hit, and five Mountaineers had multiple hits and multiple RBIs.
“This is our third consecutive win on a Sunday, and that’s usually when championship games are played, so if we can get into anybody’s bullpen, it looks like we have a chance to put up some runs,” WVU coach Randy Mazey said. “It’s the whole way through the lineup. We’re getting production from the top, the middle and the bottom, so that’s encouraging when you can do that.”
Sophomore shortstop Jimmy Galusky was 3-for-3 with a career-best three RBIs, three runs and a pair of walks. Third baseman Cole Austin matched a career-high with three hits and two RBIs, including a third-inning inside-the-park home run. Austin also scored a game-high four runs.
Designated hitter Marques Inman had a career-best four hits with two RBIs and three runs and sophomore catcher Ivan Gonzalez was 2-for-3 with three RBIs.
Additionally, sophomore right fielder Darius Hill went 1-for-5, extending his hitting streak to a team-leading 13 games.
Five of West Virginia’s 18 runs were unearned, thanks to five errors by Tulane errors, which fell to 3-8.
The loud offensive day made a winner of junior right-hander Conner Dotson (3-0), who allowed four runs over five innings with seven strikeouts. Freshman Riley Troutt followed by allowing one unearned run over three innings and freshman Alek Manoah pitched a scoreless ninth.
Tulane’s Ross Massey (0-2) was lifted after 2 1/3 innings, having allowed nine runs, four earned, on seven hits.
“We were chasing four (runs) right out of the gate,” said Tulane coach Travis Jewett. “Every time we scored, they scored. It got to the point where it just eventually got out of control. You have to give West Virginia a lot of credit. They had their backs against the wall, and we had a chance to complete the series, but they were obviously against that.”
WVU’s roadtrip continues with a two-game series at Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday and Wednesday.