CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Ivan Gonzalez homered while driving in three runs, Riley Troutt threw five innings of scoreless relief and No. 21 West Virginia won its first game as a ranked team in 35 years by beating Marshall 8-4 on Tuesday night.
“We know what we have to do, and we aren’t going to get caught up in anything like (the rankings),” West Virginia coach Randy Mazey said. “We knew that if you don’t show up, then anybody on the schedule can beat you any day.”
Befor a crowd of 4,217 at Appalachian Power Park, Kyle Davis also homered for the Mountaineers (22-13), who swept the two-game season series from The Herd (18-18).
Gonzalez had for hits, including his third homer of the season — a two-run shot in the sixth that extended the lead to 7-4 after Marshall tightened the game against WVU starter Kade Strowd.
When Strowd failed to record an out in the fifth, Isaiah Kerns walked the only batter he faced before the freshman Troutt (1-0) came on and stemmed the surge.
In his 69-pitch relief stint, Troutt allowed four hits and struck out four without issuing a walk
:We had opportunities to open the game up,” Marshall coach Jeff Waggoner said. “We left some guys in scoring position with less than two outs and we didn’t do a good enough job to drive them in. And that’s what it came down to.”
West Virginia, out of the polls since 1982, re-emerged this week after taking two of three from TCU, and Tuesday night’s win kept the momentum going.
Darius Hill and Jimmy Galusky ripped first-inning RBI singles off Marshall starter Will Ray (1-2), who lasted 5 1/3 innings and allowed seven runs on 10 hits.
Shane Hanon had three hits and an RBI for Marshall, which has dropped 15 of the last 18 meetings, including a 14-7 loss in Morgantown on April 4.