Morrison (1-0) earned the win after giving up one run on five
hits while striking out 10. The right-hander threw 129 pitches and
retired 16 of his final 17 batters to cap his strong performance. The
sophomore also gave up only one extra base hit throughout the game as he
stifled the Patriot offense. The Mountaineers (5-3) recorded 12 hits and were paced by multiple-hit
games from Gyorko, Parks and shortstop Tyler Kuhn. WVU totaled
double-digit figures in hits for the fourth time this season.
The Patriots (1-5) struck first after scoring the game’s first run
in the second inning. After striking out the first two batters, Morrison
gave up a double down the left field line to Ryan Uphouse. Leadoff man
Spencer Wiggins followed with an RBI single to right center to give
George Mason an early 1-0 lead. WVU responded in the bottom of the inning when right fielder
Parks led off with a single. Parks advanced on Kuhn’s base hit, then
scored on a two-out RBI single by hot-hitting freshman Gyorko to tie the
game.
The Mountaineers took the lead in the third after garnering
three hits in the inning. Austin Markel singled to right field, and
Jordon Yost followed with another single to center to put WVU in scoring
position. Parks took advantage with a run-scoring single to make it
2-1. In the fifth inning WVU built a 4-1 lead after adding three more
hits. A leadoff walk by Yost and another base hit by Parks allowed for a
run-scoring single to left by Dan Dibartolomeo. After Kuhn singled to
load the bases, Gyorko added an RBI sacrifice fly that scored Parks.
Left-hander Mike Modica (0-2) took the loss for the
Patriots after giving up four runs on 11 hits while throwing 84 pitches
in only 4.1 innings of work. WVU finished off the game when pitcher Chris Enourato recorded
his first save of the season after striking out Uphouse to give the
Mountaineers their fifth win. They returns to action for the home opener against Duquesne on
Tuesday, March 4, at Hawley Field. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.