Sports, WVU Sports

WVU ROUNDUP: Mountaineers upend Kennesaw State 7-1 in first round of Brittain Resorts Invitational

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MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — The West Virginia baseball team kept on the right path Friday against Kennesaw State, upending the Owls 7-1 in the opening round of the Brittain Resorts Invitational.

The Mountaineers (4-1) picked up four quick runs in the first inning off an RBI single by Paul McIntosh, RBI double by Kevin Brophy and a two-run single by Vince Ippoliti — his first as a Mountaineer.

West Virginia added to their lead in the third, picking up two runs off a RBI single by Austin Davis and a hit into fielder’s choice by Tevin Tucker that sent Victor Scott home.

Kennesaw State (3-2) picked up its lone run in the seventh, but WVU added an insurance run in the eighth to seal the game.

Jackson Wolf struck out eight in 7.0 innings to push the Mountaineers to their third straight win. Wolf is now 2-0 on the season.

Davis finished 3-for-4 with an RBI in the win, while McIntosh and senior outfielder/right-handed pitcher Braden Zarbnisky each registered a pair of hits. Ippoliti’s two RBIs were his first as a Mountaineer.

West Virginia returns to action against Saint Joseph’s today at 2 p.m. in the second of its four-game series at Pelicans Ballpark.

Saturday lineup

No. 3 Rifle in NCAA Qualifying Match

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The third-ranked West Virginia rifle team shoots an NCAA Qualifying Match on today at 8 a.m., at the Bill McKenzie Rifle Range inside the WVU Shell Building.

VMI and North Georgia also will shoot its qualifying match on Saturday. Although the three teams will compete simultaneously, the scores will not count as a win or loss for the season. The scores will factor into the teams’ overall standings and qualifying averages for the 2020 NCAA Rifle Championships.

The match is free and open to the public. The counting teams will shoot in the morning, and competition should conclude before 5 p.m.

Following Saturday’s competition, West Virginia will celebrate the careers of its 2020 senior class: Milica Babic, Noah Barker, David Koenders and Morgan Phillips.

The top-eight teams and individual competitors selected to compete at the NCAA Championships will be announced on Tuesday, Feb. 25, at 3 p.m., at NCAA.com.

This year’s NCAA Championships will be held March 13-14 at the University of Kentucky, in Lexington, Ky. The Mountaineers (9-1, 7-1 GARC) look to reclaim the NCAA Championship and earn their sixth title in eight seasons.

WVU continues to rank No. 3 in the College Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) Rankings. The rankings are based on NCAA Team Selection Rankings, which are comprised of­ a squad’s top-three scores earned at three different venues. The Mountaineers claim an average of 4717.67.

Phillips paces the team and ranks No. 3 nationally with a 586.2 smallbore average. Babic ranks No. 4 nationally with a 595.3 air rifle average.

Wrestling to tackle two matches over weekend

The West Virginia wrestling team caps the regular season with a pair of Big 12 matches against Wyoming on today and Utah Valley, on tomorrow in Morgantown.

The match against the Cowboys will be held at University High beginning at 5:30 p.m. All fans that attend the match will receive free admittance.

On Sunday, WVU will host its fourth Beauty and the Beast event against Utah Valley, as the WVU wrestling and gymnastics teams compete at the same time inside the WVU Coliseum.

“Beauty and the Beast is a great event, where people can come out and get exposed to two different sports,” Flynn continued. “Then we have Fan Fest, so I think any fan in the area that is interested in sports should come. You can get an opportunity to watch two different sports and meet student-athletes from all of the sports that aren’t competing, so it’s a really neat day.”

The Cowboys are 8-9 this season with a 4-3 mark in conference play after defeating Northern Colorado, 22-11, on Feb. 16. The stout Wyoming lineup features six grapplers in the starting lineup, led by redshirt junior Montorie Bridges, who ranks No. 9 at 133.

UVU’s lineup features four ranked grapplers, including brothers, redshirt senior No. 19 Tanner Orndorff (197) and redshirt sophomore No. 7 Tate Orndorff (285).

Redshirt sophomore Noah Adams ranks No. 2 at 197 pounds, while junior Nick Kiussis ranks No. 27 at 165 pounds. The final rankings will be used in determining qualifiers for the 2020 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, which will be held at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from March 19-21.

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