McGrath Tosses a Gem
March 23, 2004 08:28 PM | General
March 23, 2004
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Freshman right-hander Travis McGrath struck out 13 batters and pitched his first career complete game to lead West Virginia past St. Bonaventure, 4-1, Tuesday evening at Hawley Field.
 |
||
| Freshman Travis mcGrath struck out 13 in a 4-1 win over St. Boneventure Tuesday. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
The Hurricane, W.Va., native, making his third start of his career, was virtually flawless for most of the contest, retiring 11 straight hitters at one point while walking just two batters for the game. His 13 strikeouts were the most by a Mountaineer pitcher since Zac Cline had the same amount against Virginia Tech in the BIG EAST tournament last May.
"I thought I had 10 or so but 13 is a good number," said McGrath, who improved to 1-1 on the season. "I just felt real good tonight and (catcher) Travis D'Amico called a great game."
McGrath received immediate run support in the first inning as Jake Serfass led off the game with a single and Grant Psomas walked. Junior Lee Fritz followed with his first home run of the season and just the second of his career: a three-run shot over the left field wall to give the Mountaineers an early 3-0 lead.
It would prove to be all McGrath needed, as he overpowered Bonnies hitters with a hard fastball and kept them off balance with an adequate mix of off-speed pitches.
"Travis has been getting better and better with each appearance he's had," said Coach Greg Van Zant. "He throws hard and as long as he keeps the ball in the strike zone, he's real tough to hit. Today he slowed his mechanics down and just battled hard for us."
The freshman hurler blanked St. Bonaventure through eight before a two-out double on a 1-2 count by St. Bonaventure's Eric Wilson plated Matt Marduesz, who walked to lead off the inning, to spoil McGrath's shutout bid in the ninth.
"A shutout would have been nice but the most important thing is that we got the win because that's all that matters," said McGrath. "It was a great way to start off the week for us."
The Mountaineers scored their fourth run in the eighth inning after Stan Posluszny doubled and scored on a single by Tim Edmeads, who had two hits on the day. Senior Kurtis Clinton added two hits for West Virginia.
Bonnies starter Mike McCormack (0-2) took the loss as he allowed three runs on four hits through two innings pitched.
The Mountaineers have won six of their last nine games and improved to 7-10 on the season, while St. Bonaventure dropped to 3-6.
The two teams meet again on Wednesday, March 24, for a single game at 3 p.m., at Hawley Field.
