Baseball: WVU Sweeps Quinnipiac
March 11, 2004 09:09 PM | General
March 11, 2004
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| Christoforo |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Freshman southpaw Wes Osbourn tossed seven solid innings and got plenty of run support as the WVU baseball team dropped Quinnipiac, 10-6, to complete a two-game sweep on Thursday afternoon at Hawley Field.
Leadoff hitter Jake Serfass set the pace for the Mountaineers (3-7) with his first home run of the season off Bobcat starter Mike Spahr. It was the first leadoff home run since Jarod Rine's round tripper in the first inning of a 4-0 win over Villanova on May 11 of last season.
"I was just trying to hit the ball hard and make something happen at the start of the game," said Serfass. "It was a fastball and I got on top of it and hit it out."
WVU plated two more runs in the third inning off a two-run single by Kyle Matuszek that scored David Carpenter, who singled, and Mike Christoforo, who doubled.
Osbourn, making his first start of the season after two previous relief appearances, allowed a run in the third inning but got Kevin MacIlvane to ground into a double play with the bases loaded to end the threat.
The Shinnston, W.Va., native worked his way out of another jam in the fourth inning after allowing another run, as he struck out Albert Marano with the bases loaded.
With the Mountaineers leading 3-2 in the fifth inning, WVU tagged on three runs when Matuszek scored on a wild pitch, Stan Posluszny roped an RBI single and Kurtis Clinton drove in a run on a sacrifice fly.
Carpenter, a native of Fairmont, W.Va., led off the sixth inning with a solo home run to left field, the first of his collegiate career. An RBI double by Grant Psomas and another one-run base-hit by Posluszny gave WVU and Osbourn a 9-2 lead.
Quinnipiac (1-5) tallied four runs in the eighth inning, but the Mountaineers added a run in the bottom half after Serfass doubled and was driven in on a Psomas single. Senior relief hurler Justin Asbury pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to seal the victory for West Virginia.
Osbourn (1-0) allowed three runs on 10 hits through seven innings pitched while striking out three and walking four. Spahr was tagged with the loss as he allowed five runs on four hits through 4.1 innings pitched.
Christoforo went 3 for 4 with two runs for the Mountaineers while Serafss, Psomas, Posluszny and Carpenter added two hits each. Bryan Sabatella paced the Bobcats offense with a 4-for-5 effort.
The Mountaineers return to action on Saturday, March 13, for a doubleheader against non-conference foe Stony Brook, starting at 1 p.m., at Hawley Field.
