Ippoliti homer in tenth inning lifts West Virginia over Georgia State, 5-3

The 14th ranked Mountaineers took on Georgia State this afternoon in Atlanta as they started the season looking to make a NCAA regional for the third time under head coach Randy Mazey. Designated hitter and reserve catcher Vincent Ippoliti made sure the Mountaineers would start the season with a win when he lifted a 10th-inning, two-strike pitch over the left-field wall to give the Mountaineers a 5-3 lead. Reliever Madison Jeffrey, who entered the game in the 9th inning and the winning run in scoring position would strike out back to back Panthers in the ninth before getting three outs in the 10th for his first win of the season.

Starter Jackson Wolf pitched 5 excellent frames, striking out 7 and allowing two runs (1 earned) in his first start. Wolf was wild early, walking in the first run of the game with the bases loaded. Wolf would then settle down and begin to work.

First basemen Matt McCormick, who had a stellar day defensively, tied the game 1-1 with his first homerun of the season. Georgia State would retake the lead following a throwing error and a single. Catcher Paul McIntosh would tie the game again when he roped a two-out double to left-center.

The Mountaineers were sloppy in the field, as the Georgia wind played havoc with fly balls. The Mountaineers committed three errors on the day, though only one led to a run. With the game tied 3-3 in the late innings, the defense began to tighten up as McCormick made stellar plays on hot shots down the line to rob the Panthers of multiple hits.

Overall, West Virginia scrapped together 9 hits on the day, lead by shortstop Tyler Doanes who went 3-4 with a run scored and a walk and McCormick who went 2-5 with a double, homerun, 2 runs scored and a RBI.

The Mountaineers will play a doubleheader on Saturday, starting at 1 PM before finishing the four-game set on Sunday.