Battling the 'Cats
May 09, 2003 11:41 AM | General
May 9, 2003
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia coach Greg Van Zant knows all too well what can happen to a baseball team when the cards are stacked against it.
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| Sophomore Shawn Miller has now pitched 18 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
Last year, West Virginia lost two difficult 10-inning games at Boston College two days before playing a well-rested Villanova team that only played one game against Connecticut. Consequently, pitching match ups favored Villanova and the Wildcats cast a dagger in the heart of West Virginia’s post-season chances by sweeping a doubleheader from the Mountaineers by scores of 10-5 and 6-1.
“They played well last year,” admitted West Virginia coach Greg Van Zant. “They may have gotten a break on the weather but they also played much better than us.”
This Sunday in Morgantown, both teams will be competing on a more level playing field. Villanova (13-26) last played on Thursday, May 1, against Temple. Villanova defeated the Owls, 8-6 and have won six of its last nine games.
West Virginia, meanwhile, took two of three at Notre Dame last weekend before taking this week off for final examinations.
Villanova hasn’t been able to capitalize on the success of last year’s 30-win season, but the Wildcats have played much better as of late. After splitting with Temple and St. Joseph’s, the Wildcats took two of three from Georgetown and claimed a pair from Drexel and Temple.
“Villanova is playing a lot better and I know we’ll have our hands full this weekend,” said Van Zant.
If West Virginia has any hopes of capturing a Big East regular season title, it must probably sweep this weekend’s three-game series with the Wildcats.
Van Zant says that’s easier said than done. Only Pitt has been able to sweep a three-game conference series against the Wildcats this year; nationally ranked Notre Dame lost the first of three to the Wildcats back on March 23.
Senior centerfielder Chris Graziano is Villanova’s offensive catalyst, batting .305 with a team-best 22 stolen bases. The Hamilton, N.J., resident has only been caught four times this season.
“Graziano is a threat to steal bases and he’s one of the best in our conference,” said Van Zant.
Brian Newbold is Villanova’s top hitter with a .326 average, 3 home runs and 27 RBI. Mitch Mitchell is hitting .311 with 2 home runs and 29 RBI.
Overall, Villanova is batting just .261 as a team with only 14 home runs. The Wildcats have a team slugging percentage of .359 compared to West Virginia’s .529 percentage.
Villanova’s starting pitchers in its last three-game conference series against Georgetown were righthander Tom Kandybowicz (1-3, 6.02 ERA), lefthander James Baxter (2-2, 3.51 ERA) and righthander John Yeager (2-6, 4.98 ERA).
Like Villanova, West Virginia will have a well-rested pitching staff ready to go this weekend.
Sophomore Shawn Miller (5-1) has now pitched 18 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run in outings against Virginia Tech. St. John’s and Notre Dame and has lowered his earned run average to 3.63.
Jason DiAngelo boosted his record to 7-3 with a 7-5 win at Notre Dame last weekend and has 65 strikeouts to go with a 4.73 earned run average.
Sophomore lefthander Zac Cline leads the staff with a 9-3 record to go along with a 3.38 earned run average in 13 appearances. Cline has pitched a staff-best 98.2 innings so far this year.
“Those three guys have been outstanding this year,” said Van Zant.
West Virginia was able to take two out of three against Notre Dame last weekend despite batting just .215 for the series. Still, West Virginia leads the Big East with a .333 batting mark.
The Mountaineers (31-14) have pounded out a conference-best 63 home runs and are outscoring their opponents by two runs per game. Sophomore Lee Fritz continues to lead the Mountaineers with a .408 batting average. Junior Jarod Rine is hitting .399 with 6 home runs and a team-best 12 stolen bases.
Jake Serfass is batting .385 with 8 home runs and 30 RBI, while designated hitter Stan Posluszny is batting .343 with 5 home runs and 21 RBI in just 70 at-bats.
Kurtis Clinton is hitting .337 with a team-best 11 home runs to go with 42 RBI, while senior Eric Grimm continues to lead the Mountaineers with 51 RBI. The Parkersburg native has 9 home runs and a .321 batting average.
Senior Tim McCabe has been stuck on 9 home runs since the first game of the Pitt series – a span of 18 games – but is still hitting .321 with 33 RBI. Catcher Travis D’Amico is also batting better than .300 with a .309 mark.
The two teams will play two games on Sunday beginning at 1 p.m. followed by a single contest Monday afternoon. That game is also scheduled to get underway at 1 p.m.
WAJR and U-92 will carry Sunday’s doubleheader. U-92 will also broadcast Monday’s single game; all three games will be carried live on the Internet at MSNsportsNET.com.
Diamond Notes
