WKU Game Notes (PDF)
Game 10 Info: Tickets | Video | Audio | Stats
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — For the first time in program history, WKU Baseball will play a three-game series against a Big 12 opponent when West Virginia visits Nick Denes Field from March 2-4. The Friday-to-Sunday set between the Hilltoppers and Mountaineers has first pitches scheduled for 3 p.m., 1 p.m. and 12 p.m, with all three games scheduled to be broadcasted on CUSA.tv.
The first 100 fans in attendance for Saturday's contest will receive a USA flag red towel t-shirt.
Series Preview
WKU and West Virginia will meet for the first time on the diamond.
The Hilltoppers will pitch lefty Ryan Thurston on Friday and righty Colby Taylor on Saturday, with Sunday's starter TBA at this time. Thurston and Taylor combined for 12.2 innings in a doubleheader sweep of Northern Illinois on Friday, Feb. 23. They allowed only seven hits and two runs, to go along with 12 strikeouts.
Through two scoreless starts, Taylor is 1-of-15 pitchers in the country to pitch at least 11.2 innings and allow zero runs. Despite walking 10, the transfer from Georgia Highlands College has allowed only six hits - none for extra bases - holding opponents to a .171 batting average. Meanwhile, Thurston has allowed only seven hits and is holding opponents to a .179 batting average, to go along with a team-high 16 strikeouts in 11.1 frames.
An NCAA Regional team in 2017, the Mountaineers were ranked preseason No. 22 by D1Baseball, but have gotten off to a 2-5 start. WVU lost 2-of-3 in an opening series at Jacksonville, then went 1-3 in the Brittain Resorts Invitational hosted by 2016 National Champion Coastal Carolina. The Mountaineers defeated Illinois by a score of 10-8, but lost twice to VCU and once to the Chanticleers in Conway, S.C.
WVU is led in the lineup by first baseman Kevin Brophy and shortstop Jimmy Galusky, who are hitting .348 and .333, respectively. The infielders have combined for eight homeruns and 16 RBI, with 42 total bases. On the mound, the Mountaineers are scheduled to throw a trio of righty starters: B.J. Myers, Alek Manoah and Kade Strowd.
An interesting wrinkle of the matchup is the familiarity between head coaches John Pawlowski and Randy Mazey, who both played baseball at Clemson, their paths crossing in the 1985 season when they were roommates on the team.
That year, the Tigers went 36-30-1. Pawlowski went 9-3 in 17 starts with five complete games - two shutouts - and a 4.26 ERA as a junior. Following the season, he was selected in the sixth round (137th overall) of the 1985 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox.
Mazey, meanwhile, went 4-0 in 13 appearances - including seven starts - with a 4.09 ERA in 55 innings as a freshman. A two-way player, he would eventually see more time as an outfielder in his Clemson career and was picked in the 28th round (709th overall) by the Cleveland Indians in the 1988 MLB Draft.
