Mountaineer bats catch fire before hosting No. 10 Texas – The Gold and Blue Nation Podcast

West Virginia’s bats were on fire in Kansas this weekend, smashing 10 homers as the Mountaineers won its third Big 12 series of the season over the Jayhawks. Next week, though, they have a big test when they welcome the biggest bats in the league to the Mon’ in the struggling — but still formidable — Texas Longhorns. Will West Virginia take the ‘Horns down, just like they’ve done throughout their time in the Big 12? Ryan Decker and Sam Coniglio take you through WVU’s exciting three-game series against KU, then look ahead to what is sure to be a fireworks display at a packed house in Morgantown to start May.  Subscribe on your preferred podcast platform to have future episodes delivered to you. Gold and Blue Nation is the local leader for Mountaineer sports news, producing comprehensive coverage on TV and online. Download the free Gold and Blue Nation app via your preferred app store so you’re never more than a touch away from our WVU sports reporting, highlights and archived shows.

Alek Manoah continues to roll.

The former WVU ace had another successful day on the mound against one of his Toronto Blue Jays’ AL East foes.

It was an opponent – the New York Yankees – that Manoah has had success against in the past, and he did once again on Tuesday.

The big right-hander struggled with command in the first inning, but settled down and was dominant after that.

Despite battling some early command issues, Manoah racked up four strikeouts through two innings, and sat down seven Yankee hitters on strikes through five innings.

He also retired 15 hitters in a row between a pair of hard-hit singles.

Manoah was pulled after six strong innings of work. He finished with seven strikeouts, three hits allowed and surrendered just one run.

That run came on a solo blast by Aaron Judge, who was 0-for-10 against Manoah entering that at-bat. In fact, the 6-foot-6-inch Manoah had struck out the 6-foot-7-inch Judge in the slugger’s previous two at-bats.

While the run saddled Manoah with a no-decision, it did produce a special moment in the stands at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Manoah entered Tuesday’s contest with a 4-0 record, and a 1.44 ERA, which was the sixth-best mark in the American League.

He now has 32 strikeouts through his first five starts of the season.

The former Mountaineer All-American did not earn a decision on the mound for the first time this year. However, a bad performance by the Blue Jays bullpen did end an impressive streak.

We provided some historical context to the start of Manoah’s career on the latest episode of the Gold and Blue Nation podcast, which is linked to the top of this story.