Baseball: WVU Splits Key Twinbill with Irish
May 03, 2003 10:06 PM | General
May 3, 2003
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NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The explosive Mountaineer offense was silenced by one Irish pitcher in the first game but rebounded in usual fasion in the second as WVU split a key BIG EAST doubleheader with No. 13 Notre Dame on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Eck Stadium.
Notre Dame right-hander Chris Neisel held a normally potent offense to just one hit and outdeuled WVU starter Shawn Miller in a 1-0 shutout victory in game one.
The Irish scored the lone run of the game off a Mountaineer mishap in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Matt Macri led off the inning with a double to left field and was advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Brennan Grogan. After hitting Matt Edwards with a pitch, Miller got Notre Dame's Cody Rizzo to foul out to the first baseman for the second out of the inning.
With runners on first and third, Kris Billmaier lined a grounder to shortstop that was bobbled by Grant Psomas, allowing Macri to cross the plate. Miller got the next batter, Javi Sanchez to pop out to end the inning.
Neisel (7-1) tossed a brilliant game as he took a no-hitter into the top of the seventh inning before Lee Fritz reached base on a bunt single with one out. He then got Tim McCabe to fly out and struck out Jake Serfass to end the contest.
Neisel struck out nine WVU batters and walked just one in throwing his third complete game of the season.
Miller (5-1) had to work out of jams early, getting Matt Edwards to ground into a double play with a runner on to end the first inning, then pitching out of a one-out bases loaded jam in the second.
The junior retired 11 straight Notre Dame batters before Macri's double in the sixth.
"Shawn Miller just came out and pitched a great game and Notre Dame's guy just threw a one-hitter," said coach Greg Van Zant. "There's really nothing more he could have done. We just couldn't score."
Miller has not allowed an earned run in his last 18 and two-third innings pitched.
In the nightcap, a strong outing by Jason DiAngelo and a two-run homer by Stan Posluszny proved to be the difference as West Virginia defeated the Irish, 7-5, for the squad's 30th victory of the season.
DiAngelo threw 150 pitches in a gritty complete game effort in which he scattered five runs, four earned, on seven hits while striking out seven and walking four.
With the Mountaineers clinging to a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth inning, Posluszny laced a two-run blast over the right field wall to put WVU ahead by three runs.
After Notre Dame tallied another run in the bottom half of the sixth, WVU responded two innings later with two one-run singles by Psomas and Jarod Rine to give the Mountaineers a 7-4 cushion.
The Irish would rally with two outs in the ninth inning after Matt Bransfield reached on an error by McCabe and was driven in on a pinch-hit single by Joe Thaman.
With runners on first and second base, DiAngelo struck out Macri looking for the final out of the game.
"The story of the day was Jason DiAngelo," said Van Zant. "He really was awesome on the mound and gave a really tough effort for us."
McCabe went 3-5 with an RBI and two runs scored for WVU while Rine, Fritz and Psomas added two hits apiece.
The win marked just the ninth time in school history that a team has reached 30 victories in a season and the fourth time in the Van Zant era.
It also marks the second time this season that West Virginia has defeated a ranked opponent on the road, something WVU had previously not accomplished in the last eight seasons.
West Virginia moves to 30-14 overall and 13-4 in the BIG EAST, while the first-place Irish show a 36-11 overall record and a 14-3 conference mark.
The Mountaineers and the Irish will conclude their series with the rubber match on Sunday, May 4, at noon, at Eck Stadium.
