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#20 West Virginia Mountaineers: 1
Kansas Jayhawks: 0
It took 8 1⁄2 innings, but WVU got their first run in the best way possible. Marques Inman, the slugging first baseman, delivered a walk-off solo home run to finish the complete game shutout by Alek Manoah.
Alek Manoah is special.
WVU’s junior right-hander is putting together one of the most dominant seasons by any athlete in recent memory. Check out these tweets by a few Twitter commentators:
Alek Manoah finished his second straight shutout for @WVUBaseball in a 1-0 win against Kansas. Now has a 31 scoreless innings streak and 41 strikeouts over his last three starts. Dominant. pic.twitter.com/Vxry036wDm
— Teddy Cahill (@tedcahill) April 20, 2019
As @tedcahill mentioned, Manoah has now put forth 31 straight scoreless innings on the mound, all while racking up 41 strikeouts over the span. DOMINANT.
How about that for an Easter weekend! Thank you so much Father!
— MANOAH (@Alek_Manoah47) April 20, 2019
alek manoah is out here making a case for best single season for any athlete we've ever had
— Baseball (!) School! (@smokingmusket) April 20, 2019
He was on cruise control all day through 8, allowing just 1 hit, however, in the 9th inning he ran into some trouble.
After a leadoff single by 1B Dylan Ditzenberger and double by C Jaxx Groshans, he had runners on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out. Then he did something that not many pitchers can do, let along guys who have already thrown 100+ pitches - he got out of it.
He struck out pinch-hitter Tom Lichty, got Groshans in a pickle between 2nd and 3rd and then induced a ground ball to first baseman Marques Inman to end the inning and give the Mountaineers a huge surge of momentum going into the bottom of the 9th.
Manoah finished with his 2nd straight complete game shutout, racking up 15 K’s and allowing just 3 hits.
Inman must’ve been hungry, because he didn’t waste any time. Leading off the bottom of the 9th, he turned on a 1-2 fastball and obliterated it to center field for a walk-off solo home run to give Manoah and the Mountaineers the 1-0 win.
If I had to guess, Manoah will be headed to another slew of awards this week, and is seriously playing himself into consideration for the Golden Spikes Award, as well as National Pitcher of the Year, not to mention his potential of being a Top-10 draft pick in the MLB Draft in June.
One thing is for sure, though: he will be a rich man in a few short months.
After a lunch break, the Mountaineers and Jayhawks will retake the field at Monongalia County Ballpark for the 2nd game of the doubleheader. Can the Mountaineers win the series today? Let’s go!