PROVO, Utah – The West Virginia University baseball team put up a season-high 20 runs against BYU on Friday, defeating the Cougars, 20-6, at Miller Park. The Mountaineers improve to 21-4 and 3-3 in the Big 12 while BYU falls to 14-10 and 4-4 in conference play.
 
The Mountaineers pounded out 19 hits on the night, led by three each from the eight and nine hitters, sophomores Armani Guzman and Spencer Barnett. Barnett drove in four runs while Guzman and freshman Gavin Kelly each had three RB. Junior Skylar King added a home run, his second of the season.
 
On the mound, junior Gavin Van Kempen threw 4.2 innings and struck out four while allowing two runs. Sophomore Chase Meyer picked up his fifth win of the season with 2.1 perfect innings while striking out four.
 
West Virginia took the lead on a Guzman RBI single in the second. After BYU tied it up in the home half, King put the Mountaineers back on top with a solo home run in the third. Kelly tacked on another run later in the inning with a single.
 
Barnett had a two-run single in the fifth before belting a two-run triple in the seventh. Senior Brodie Kresser, senior Jace Rinehart, and Kelly added RBI singles to round out a seven-run seventh inning.
 
The Mountaineers followed the big seventh with an eight-run eighth inning, getting RBIs from junior Ellis Garcia, senior Kyle West, freshman Jorge Valdes, and senior Grant Hussey, before back-to-back two-run doubles by redshirt freshman Alex Marot and Guzman.
 
West Virginia will look to take the series on Saturday. Because of possible inclement weather, first pitch for game three has been moved up to 2 p.m. ET.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
 

Penny Hardaway had a fantastic career in the NBA as a player, making four All-Star appearances, three All-NBA selections, and winning the 1993-94 Rookie of the Year Award. Now, he’s one of the best head coaches at the mid-major level, leading the Memphis Tigers.

In seven years as Memphis’s head coach, Hardaway has a record of 162-68 and three NCAA Tournament appearances. It’s safe to say the man knows what it takes to win, and knows a winner when he sees one.

On Thursday, Hardaway was asked about West Virginia’s hire of Ross Hodge, who he’s faced twice over the last two years, and gave the new Mountaineer head coach a glowing review.

“Ross is definitely one of my favorite coaches in the country. He is the next big-time coach to take West Virginia back to the glory days of winning and playing in NCAA Tournaments. He is arguably one of the best in the country defensively and his teams will always be a hard out. They are relentless in their efforts for 40 minutes. It’s one of the hardest teams that I have ever had to coach against because they are so tough.”

Hardaway and Hodge split their two meetings against each other with Hodge and the Mean Green taking the first game 76-66 last season and Memphis getting their revenge this season with a narrow 68-64 victory.

Hardaway isn’t the only college head coach who has praised Hodge, either. Michigan’s Dusty May, Baylor’s Scott Drew, and Texas Tech’s Grant McCasland also had great things to say about him, which you can read here.

MORE STORIES FROM WEST VIRGINIA ON SI

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The Mountaineers Clash with the Cougars in a Three-Game Series

Former WVU Star Victor Scott II Named Starting Center Fielder for St. Louis Cardinals

ESPN Analyst Says West Virginia Landed a ‘Program Builder’ in Ross Hodge