Sep 2, 2012; Waco, TX, USA; A general view of the Big 12 logo at Floyd Casey Stadium before the game between the Baylor Bears and the Southern Methodist Mustangs. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The West Virginia Mountaineers baseball team is in Oklahoma this week to play in their first ever Big XII Tournament in Oklahoma City. They expected the beginning of this week to be an uneventful, routine preparation for the start of play on Wednesday. What they encountered is far from routine.

Tornados tore through the state of Oklahoma on Monday, killing a reported 91 people in the Moore, OK area, just outside of Oklahoma City where the Mountaineers were preparing for their game with the Kansas Jayhawks.

Seeing the devastation that occurred in the local area, the team felt compelled to help in anyway they could. Coach Mazey and his players decided to pool together and go to the local Walmart to buy clothes and household supplies for the family who were adversely affected by the devastating twisters.

WVU designated hitter Matt Frazier recorded a YouTube video where he shows the team purchasing merchandise for the tornado victims and asking his teammates and coaches thoughts on the matter.

The video is simple, but really conveys the teams sense of duty to a Big XII community in need.

You can view that video here.

Stories like this can never get enough recognition. It is always inspirational to see a team that shows just as much compassion for their fellow man as they do for the game they love. Kudos to coach Mazey and his players for their relief effort.

CREDIT: wvusports.com

The West Virginia Mountaineers Baseball team enter their first Big XII Baseball Tournament as the third ranked team. A terrific finish for a team picked to finish in last place according to a preseason coaches poll.

WVU finished the regular season with a mark of 31-25 overall and 13-11 in Big XII play. The Mountaineers are set to square off with the 6th ranked Kansas Jayhawks this Wednesday at 4 pm (Central Time) in Oklahoma City, OK.

The Big XII Championship is double elimination play by division, with each division consisting of four teams. In the Mountaineers division, WVU will also have to contend with 7th ranked TCU Horned Frogs and the 2nd ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys in divisional play.

Should WVU advance from divisional play, they will face the winner of the other division, consisting of 1st ranked Kansas State Wildcats, 4th ranked Oklahoma Sooners, 5th ranked Baylor Bears, and the 8th ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders.

The Mountaineers expect to have star pitcher Harrison Musgrave start against the Kansas Jayhawks, a team the Mounaineers swept in the regular season. WVU took down Kansas in Beckley in late April 1-0, 4-3, and 3-2 (in 12 innings). Each game was a tight affair and it would stand to reason that the next match-up will also be a close game.

CREDIT: wvusports.com

When people think of West Virginia University athletics, they almost always think of the Mountaineers football program or perhaps our dominant rifle squad. Even more think to the West Virginia men’s basketball program and the great Jerry West. In the not-so-distant future, fans might come to think of West Virginia as a college baseball powerhouse.

New Mountaineers head coach Randy Mazey and WVU athletic director Oliver Luck have made huge commitments to bringing the Mountaineers baseball program to new heights. With West Virginia now a member of the Big XII, a premier college baseball conference, Mazey and Luck have made a huge commitment to rejuvenating the program, starting with a new stadium.

Luck has worked aggressively to secure funding for a brand new baseball stadium along I-79 that will be a major upgrade from the Mountaineers current stadium. The new stadium will bring the Mountaineers facility on par with the best schools in the Big XII Conference.

Coach Mazey has molded the WVU baseball squad into a Big XII competitor and a team deserving of the large investment by WVU and the state of West Virginia. In just his first season on the job, Mazey has managed the Mountaineers to a 29-20 record and a three-way tie for first place in the Big XII.

The rise of the Mountaineers baseball program is creating a huge buzz around a program that few Mountaineers fans ever paid attention to before. With only a couple weeks left in the season, West Virginia will be in the midst of baseball fever.

CREDIT: wvusports.com

When the West Virginia Mountaineers brought head coach Randy Mazey on board from TCU, everyone expected the program to make a turn around and become a competitive factor in the Big XII conference. Not many expected Mazey to make that happen in his first season on campus.

Mazey’s squad struggled out of the gate this season, limping out to a 1-3 start against lesser competition. Since that point, the Mountaineers have clawed their way up the standings, fighting to become a winning squad with each game.

This weekend, in a series with the #10 Oklahoma Sooners in Charleston, the Mountaineers showed their supporters that they have arrived. In three spectacular games, West Virginia claimed two victories to pull into a three-way tie for first place in the Big XII.

After West Virginia dropped the first game of the series in a heart-breaking 4-3 decision in 10 innings, the Mountaineers lit up the Sooners pitching staff in consecutive 9-3 and 9-6 victories.

Coach Mazey has been impressed with the Mountaineers focus and determination as of late:

“We told the guys before the game that they put themselves in a position to win this thing (series),” coach Randy Mazey says. “Mediocre teams take days off, take at bats off and take pitches off. Now that you’ve proven yourself to be capable of winning this thing, you can’t take a day off and we didn’t today.”

With the victories this weekend, West Virginia, with a Big XII record of 11-7, is in a three-way tie for first place with Oklahoma and the Kansas State Wildcats.

The Mountaineers will look to take over sole possession of first place in the conference this coming weekend as they head back to Charleston to square off with coach Mazey’s former club, the TCU Horned Frogs for three games. WVU will face TCU starting Friday at 6:30 pm at Appalachian Power Park.

For more quotes and box scores from the Mountaineers series against Oklahoma, visit wvusports.com.

May 1, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; San Diego Padres second baseman Jedd Gyorko (9) is congratulated by left fielder Jesus Guzman (15) after hitting a home run against the Chicago Cubs during the eighth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

Former West Virginia Mountaineers baseball star Jedd Gyorko finally launched his first long ball of the season in one of the most venerable stadiums in all of Major League Baseball.

Gyorko stepped up to the plate in the top of the eighth inning for the San Diego Padres, trailing 6-0 to the hometown Chicago Cubs. Even with the game out of reach, Gyorko was determined to bust up the shutout bid of Cubs pitcher Scott Feldman.

Facing the 1-1 pitch, Gyorko leaned into a beautiful fastball and took it over the ivy-crusted left field wall for his first career home run. There is no more picturesque and historically significant park in the National League for Gyorko to have hit his first MLB long ball.

You can view the homer video here.

Traditionally, Cubs fans throw back the opposing team’s home runs and the enthusiastic Cubs fan delivers the ball back to the field, staying true to tradition. He actually has a decent arm, but pales in comparison to the greatest Cubs fan of all. No, not Steve Bartman, but Henry Rowengartner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Heoa-AI42bA

Now that’s a kid that knows how to bring the hot, stinky cheddar. But I digress…

Congratulations to Jedd Gyorko on what promises to be the first of many home runs in his MLB career.

Stadium Conceptual Design. CREDIT: wvusports.com

After more than a year of work towards obtaining state funding for a new baseball stadium for West Virginia University, the dream of the new WVU baseball stadium became a reality tonight at the WVU baseball game versus Pitt.

The Governor of the State of West Virginia, Earl Ray Tomblin, signed the TIF into law providing for the state’s financial commitment to the Mountaineers new stadium.

Governor Earl Ray Tomblin signs the TIF that includes the #WVU baseball stadium into law. twitter.com/GFCoyle/status…

— Geoff Coyle (@GFCoyle) April 30, 2013

The move to sign the TIF into law came a week after the bill failed to pass through West Virginia’s House of Representatives. The bill was brought back up for vote this week as part of a special vote.

The passage of the bill was good news to head coach Randy Mazey:

“When it didn’t get approved last Saturday, a lot of people could have just given up on it and got down,” Mazey said. “Instead, they just kept going, and that’s kind of the story of our program, we just keep grinding. That’s what a lot of people did, starting with Oliver Luck on down. A lot of thanks to everybody out there who had a hand in it.”

With funding secure, it is only a matter of time before the Mountaineers new ballpark is built in Grafton.

For reference, here is what the proposed new stadium will look like:

Here’s the planned design for new #WVU and #NYPL ballpark in Morgantown twitter.com/GFCoyle/status…

— Geoff Coyle (@GFCoyle) March 26, 2013

The affiliation with the New York-Penn League would be a major benefit to West Virginia University. The minor league baseball team would assist with the operating costs and maintenance of the proposed new stadium, relieving the Mountaineers athletic department of some of the financial burden.

The partnership also brings significant tax breaks from Monongalia County for the construction of the ballpark as well as the road infrastructure work needed to support the additional traffic the stadium would bring in.

Construction of the new stadium is set to take place over the next two years and should be ready in time for the 2015 season.

You have to hand it to AD Oliver Luck for finding a finance partner for the new stadium project. This way, the baseball team can play in a Big XII-caliber stadium without having to fork over all the costs associated with one.

CREDIT: wvusports.com

West Virginia University Athletic Director Oliver Luck announced the release of the 2013 baseball schedule today.

The Mountaineers are slated to play 56 games this season, with 23 games played in West Virginia. WVU’s “home” schedule features games in Charleston and Beckley this season.

The Mountaineers will play 11 games in Charleston against Marshall, Texas Tech, Morehead State, Oklahoma, and TCU. WVU will play 6 straight games in Charleston against Oklahoma and TCU May 3-12 as part of the Mountaineers long Big XII home stand.

As far as Beckley is concerned, the Mountaineer will play there 4 times this season; a 3 game series against Kansas April 26-28 and a May 14 regular season finale against Marshall.

The Mountaineers and the Thundering Herd of Marshall will play a total of three times this season; once each  in Morgantown (April 2), Charleston (March 19), and Beckley (May 14).

While the Mountaineers will have an excellent opportunity to build their brand across the state with the Charleston and Beckley series, it is a shame that the Mountaineers will not be playing but a handful of games in Morgantown. WVU will only play 8 games at home this season, none of which are Big XII conference games.

West Virginia will host New Orleans for a 4 game series in addition to single games against Marshall, Eastern Kentucky, Youngstown State, and Pittsburgh.

With the Mountaineers joining a more competitive baseball league, talk of a new baseball stadium in the works, and a new baseball coach, there is a lot of buzz built up around this program. It would only make sense that the Mountaineers would have scheduled at least one Big XII home series to capitalize on the added attention their program is receiving.

Outside of the major over sight in home (Morgantown) scheduling, the slate of games for the 2013 Mountaineers baseball looks to be a tough, yet exciting schedule that fans should really appreciate.

For a complete list of Mountaineers games, you can see the entire schedule here.

Stadium Conceptual Design. CREDIT: wvusports.com

With the TIF now approved at the county level, the matter of the stadium funding will have to pass the final hurdle in the state legislature in February.

The stadium itself is proposed to be completed by February 2014 at a cost of $16.2 million and will be coupled with a new interstate exit. That work would cost an additional $24 million and could be completed as soon as August 2015. The proposed exit would be placed along Interstate 79 between the Westover (exit 152) and Star City (exit 155) exits to better streamline access to the stadium.

West Virginia’s move to build a new baseball stadium shows that the Mountaineers are firmly committed to fielding a quality program. The Big XII has a great tradition of fielding teams that compete annually for the college world series, a tradition that the Mountaineers are looking eagerly to become a part of.

Wow… this seems to be the lowest of lows for Greg Van Zant and the WVU Baseball team.

An article was brought to my attention very recently regarding GVZ and the team’s trip out to Corvallis, OR for their matchup against the Oregon State Beavers.

This article came from the Gazette-Times in Corvallis… when I read this, I instantly went through the roof. Such a sad state of affairs our baseball team has to go through.

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