Tournament Time
May 20, 2003 12:21 PM | General
May 20, 2003
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. – West Virginia will try to strengthen its case for an NCAA tournament berth when the Big East tournament begins Thursday at Commerce Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, N.J.
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| Sophomore Lee Fritz leads the Big East with a .417 batting average. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
West Virginia boasts the highest RPI in the Big East with a rating of 39 according to Boyd’s World, and the Mountaineers were listed as one of three projected Big East teams to make the NCAA tournament by Baseball America.
“I think we have a shot (of making the tournament),” said West Virginia coach Greg Van Zant. “But I don’t want to leave it in the hands of the selection committee.”
West Virginia (35-17) will get a taste of NCAA tournament-style pitching when the Mountaineers take on Notre Dame (40-15) Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. The Irish are expected to start sophomore Chris Niesel, who was a Lee Fritz bunt single away from no-hitting West Virginia back on May 3.
Niesel ranks fourth in the Big East with a 2.69 earned run average. Neisel owns a 9-1 record and opponents are hitting just .233 against him.
“We’re planning on facing Niesel,” said Van Zant, "and the last time he faced us he almost threw a no-hitter. He will present a great challenge for our hitters."
Van Zant plans to counter with right-hander Shawn Miller, who came out on the short end of a 1-0 decision against Notre Dame back on May 3. Miller ranks ninth in the conference with a 3.60 earned run average to go with a 6-2 record in 65 innings pitched. The Troy, N.Y., native leads the conference with two shutout victories.
Van Zant has decided to slightly juggle his pitching rotation for the second game, using sophomore lefthander Zac Cline instead of senior Jason DiAngelo.
“We want to give Jason’s arm an extra day of rest,” he said.
Cline has one of the most durable arms in the league, pitching a conference-high 116.2 innings heading into the tournament. Cline leads the Big East with an 11-3 record and is tied with BC’s Chris Lambert for the conference lead with 88 strikeouts.
DiAngelo was lifted in the fourth inning of last Saturday’s loss at Boston College, but has managed to produce an 8-4 record in 13 appearances. DiAngelo ranks fourth in the Big East with 82.2 innings pitched.
West Virginia boasts three of the Big East’s top 10 hitters in sophomore Lee Fritz, junior Jarod Rine and sophomore Jake Serfass.
Fritz leads the Big East with a .417 batting average. The Waynesburg, Pa., resident has 85 hits in 204 at-bats with 11 doubles, two triples and a home run.
Rine is hitting .390 with eight home runs and 12 doubles in 172 at-bats. Serfass is hitting .375 with 10 home runs and 37 RBI in 144 at-bats.
Virginia Tech’s Marc Tugwell leads the conference with 90 hits and ranks second to Fritz with a .413 average. Six of the league’s top 10 hitters will play in this year’s Big East tournament.
Notre Dame’s top hitter is Steve Sollman with 80 hits in 53 games.
West Virginia’s game with Notre Dame will follow the first contest pitting No. 1-seeded Rutgers (33-18) against No. 4-seeded Virginia Tech (34-21).
Friday’s schedule will have the two Thursday losers playing at noon followed by the two Thursday winners playing at 3:30 p.m. The winner of game three will face the loser of game 4 in an elimination game Friday night at 7 p.m.
Saturday’s game will start at 3:30 p.m. and a second game will follow if necessary.
College Sports Television, the first 24-hour college sports network, will telecast Friday’s doubleheader. Jack Edwards will provide play-by-play with former Seton Hall star and 18-year major league veteran Rick Cerone doing analysis. CSTV is available on DirecTV on channel 610. For more information on how to receive the network, log on to www.cstv.com.
West Virginia plans on practicing at Drew College in Madison, N.J., today before conducting a light workout at Commerce Bank Ballpark on Wednesday at noon. The four participating teams will take part in the Big East Baseball Awards Banquet at 7 p.m. Wednesday evening.
Players to Watch
Rutgers: 2B Matt Wolski (.395 BA, 1 HR, 30 RBI); 1B Steve Normane (7 HR, .560 Slugging Pct.); RHP Jack Egbert (7-4, 73.1 IP, 59 Ks)
West Virginia: RF Lee Fritz (.417 BA, 1 HR, 23 RBI); CF Jarod Rine (.390 BA, 8 HR, 31 RBI); LF Jake Serfass (.375 BA, 10 HR, 37 RBI); RHP Shawn Miller (6-2, 3.60 ERA); LHP Zac Cline (11-3, 116.2 IP, 88 Ks)
Notre Dame: RHP Chris Niesel (9-1, 2.69 ERA, 90.1 IP, 82 Ks); RHP Ryan Kalita (5-1, 3.67 ERA, 61.1 IP); 2B Steve Sollman (80 H, 5 3B, 60 R); 1B Matt Edwards (8 HR, .582 Slugging Pct.)
Virginia Tech: 2B Marc Tugwell (.413 BA, 8 HR, 59 RBI); 3B Chris Stanton (.402 BA, 3 HR, 36 RBI); LHP Ryan Kennedy (6-2, 2.62 ERA, 37 K);
Tournament Notebook
