STATESBORO, Ga. — Ivan Gonzalez laced a two-run first-inning double and Jackson Wolf made it stand up in West Virginia’s 3-1 win over Georgia Southern that clinched their weekend series Saturday.
The Eagles avoided the sweep with a 1-0 win in the doubleheader nightcap.
Gonzalez had two hits in the opener for the Mountaineers (4-3), who also scored on a ninth-inning wild pitch.
Wolf (2-0) was sharp while throwing 92 pitches in 7 1/3 innings. He allowed one run on three singles and lowered his ERA to 1.48.
Beau Lowery cleaned up from there, striking out three and pitching around two hits for his first save.
Georgia Southern 1, WVU 0
Finishing 0-for-7 with runners on base, West Virginia had them on the corners in the ninth when TJ Lake fouled out to end Game 2.
Kade Strowd (0-1) threw 74 of his 97 pitches for strikes, fanned eight and allowed only two infield singles across 6 2/3 innings.
The right-hander allowed Georgia Southern only an unearned run in the sixth after No. 9 hitter Neal Tressler reached on an error by third baseman Tristen Hudson.
“I thought we pitched really well,” West Virginia coach Randy Mazey said. “That’s seven games for the Mountaineers now and seven quality starts out of the starting pitching, which you didn’t see much out of last year, so I’m super encouraged by the way we’re pitching it.
“The hitting will come around. We have too good of hitters in the lineup for it not to come around.”
Hudson was hit by a pitch to leading off the fifth and took third on a single b Kevin Brophy before being thrown out at home on a sacrifice bunt attempt.
Daniel Collins (1-0) allowed four hits and no walks in six innings for GSU.