The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

College Sports

March 22, 2013

Mountaineer football team takes spring break

By Cam Huffman Register-Herald Sports Writer

Break time!

West Virginia University’s spring practice session scheduled for Thursday was postponed due to inclement weather and an unavailable indoor practice facility. The practice will be made up after the team returns for spring break.

That brought to a conclusion the first two weeks of the spring. The team will now take a week off before returning to the practice fields to finish off the five weeks of preparation before the April 20 Gold-Blue Spring Game.

Early returns, at least according to the players, have been positive.

“It is going well so far,” said Paul Millard, who is competing with Ford Childress for the starting quarterback position. “We have a lot of new guys out there, a lot of new bodies and a lot of new faces, and it has been a lot of fun just getting out there and practicing with the guys and getting better every day.”

Millard and Childress will draw most of the attention from fans, although head coach Dana Holgorsen said a decision isn’t likely to be made by the end of spring.

So far, Millard said it’s been a fun battle.

“They are letting Ford and I go at it right now,” said the junior from Flower Mound, Texas. “We are taking half and half with the reps, so it is all 50-50 right now. We are just going out and trying to get better each and every day.”

Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson, who is now also in charge of the quarterbacks, thinks dragging out the battle as long as possible could be a positive.

“There’s no clear cut quarterback,” he said. “That’s also true with a lot of positions. We have a lot of competition, which is a good thing.”

n n n

After an embarrassing performance Tuesday against Marshall, the WVU baseball team will be back at Appalachian Power Park today trying to prove themselves to the Mountaineer faithful in Charleston.

The Mountaineers (8-12, 1-2 Big 12) begin the home portion of their Big 12 schedule with the first game of a three-game series with Texas Tech. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. today. The series will continue with a 4 p.m. game on Saturday and a 1 p.m. game Sunday.

WVU was shut out in an in-state clash with Marshall Tuesday, picking up just two hits and striking out 17 times. First-year head coach Randy Mazey is hopeful he’ll see a different team this weekend.

“For people who haven’t seen us play much, when we show up and play defense and pitch and hit all at the same time, we’re a pretty good team,” said the Mountaineer skipper. “I know we didn’t show it (against Marshall), but we’ll try to come out and show these people of Charleston the real Mountaineers this weekend.”

Sophomore lefty Harrison Musgrave (2-1, 5.16 ERA) will start tonight, with junior Corey Walter (1-2, 5.60 ERA) taking the hill Saturday and John Means (2-1, 1.85 ERA) Sunday.

Sophomore center fielder Bobby Boyd is the team’s top hitter, hitting .407 with four doubles, six RBIs and 10 stolen bases.

Texas Tech (15-8, 2-1 Big 12) is led at the plate by freshman catcher Jarrard Poteete, who is hitting .300 with six doubles, one homer and 11 RBIs. The Red Raiders will send sophomore Dominic Moreno (2-1 3.58 ERA), Trey Masek (3-0, 0.22 ERA) and Matt Withrow (2-1, 5.73 ERA) to the mound for the three games.

— E-mail: chuffman@register-herald.com and follow on Twitter @CamHuffmanRH.

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