Baseball: Stony Brook Series Moved
March 06, 2003 12:46 PM | General
March 6, 2003
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Those expecting to watch the West Virginia University baseball team open its home campaign Friday night are now going to have to drive three hours to do so.
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| West Virginia junior first baseman Kurtis Clinton lead the team with three home runs and six RBI through seven games. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
Because of poor playing conditions, West Virginia decided to move its four-game series with Stony Brook to Bowen Stadium in Bluefield, W.Va.
The two teams will play doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday and admission for both days is free. Saturday's doubleheader will start at 6 p.m. and Sunday’s twinbill will get underway at noon.
West Virginia (3-4) is coming off a split at No. 24 Tennessee last weekend. Freshman Brandon Halstead shut down the Vols on Saturday, allowing just a single earned run in a 3-1 Mountaineer victory. It was WVU’s first road win against a ranked team under Van Zant.
On Sunday, West Virginia dropped a 13-3 verdict to the Volunteers.
Jarod Rine, Kurtis Clinton and Lee Fritz have been the Mountaineers’ top three hitters in the early going.
“Right now we’ve got three hitters who are in sync and the rest of them are struggling a little bit,” said Van Zant.
Rine, a junior from Moundsville, is batting .385 with a double, a triple, a home run and 6 runs scored.
Clinton leads the team with 3 home runs and 6 RBI, while batting .375. Fritz, a sophomore outfielder from nearby Waynesburg, Pa., is hitting .364 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI.
Tim McCabe, a preseason all-Big East pick, has struggled at the plate going 2 for 26 for an .077 batting average. McCabe came into this season fourth on the WVU all-time home runs list and owned a .327 career batting average. Van Zant says its just a matter of time before McCabe gets things going.
Halstead (2-0, 3.00 ERA) and sophomore Zac Cline (1-1, 2.25 ERA) have been West Virginia’s two most consistent pitchers. Senior Jason DiAngelo and junior Marty Fagler could also get starting assignments this weekend.
The veteran coach admits his team is very fortunate to be 3-4 after seven games.
“Look at our numbers: we’ve been outscored 53-35,”said Van Zant. “In the running game opponents are 22 of 26 in stolen bases and were just 6 of 7. And the ERAs are 6.10 to 2.90. Those numbers are not good.”
Despite that, Van Zant is very pleased that his team has competed well despite not being afforded the opportunity to practice outside before any of the three road trips.
“Without being about to practice on our field, our guys were able to go on the road and beat Tennessee,” said Van Zant. “That says something about the kids we have and their work ethic.”
Stony Brook (0-0) is looking to get its season underway after having a three-game series at Towson canceled due to snow.
Last year, the Seawolves posted a 27-24 record including an 11-11 record in the America East Conference for a third-place finish.
“They had a third-round draft pick a couple of years ago and they play Connecticut, St. John’s and Seton Hall and they’ve been beating them,” said Van Zant. “This will not be an easy series.”
This year Stony Brook was predicted to finish fourth according to a preseason vote by league coaches. In the 2002 America East tournament, Stony Brook defeated eventual champion Maine in the first round before bowing out.
Coach Matt Senk, who owns a 295-159-3 career record in 12 seasons, welcomes back conference rookie of the year in pitcher Jon Lewis. The righthander posted a 9-3 record with a 3.39 ERA and a conference-best 90 strikeouts.
The Seawolves will once again be strong up the middle, returning all-conference second baseman Rich Graham and all-conference shortstop Matt Devins.
