Baseball: Mountaineers Sweep Villanova
April 17, 2004 06:27 PM | General
April 17, 2004
GAME 1 BOX | GAME 2 BOX
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| Cline |
PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – The WVU baseball team got back on the winning track with a doubleheader sweep of BIG EAST foe Villanova on Saturday afternoon at the Villanova Park at Plymouth.
Southpaw junior Zac Cline outdueled Wildcats hurler Nick Allen and Kurtis Clinton knocked in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning to lead WVU past Villanova, 2-1, in game one.
The Mountaineers took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on an RBI single by Justin Richards that scored Kyle Matuszek, who had singled and advanced to second base on a David Carpenter sacrifice bunt.
The Wildcats tied the ballgame up in similar fashion in the fourth inning, as Angelo Petracca led off with a walk, advanced on a sac bunt by Alan Day, then scored on a base-hit off the bat of Adrian Schau.
WVU’s Lee Fritz was hit by an Allen pitch to start of the sixth inning and advanced on a sac bunt by Stan Posluszny. After Fritz moved to third on a wild pitch, Clinton sent a fly ball to right field just long enough to score Fritz and give West Virginia a 2-1 advantage.
Villanova threatened in the seventh and final inning of the contest after Danny Poydenis led off with a double. Brian Trotta attempted to bunt Poydenis over to third base but Cline quickly fielded the ball, looked the runner back and threw to first base to record the first out. After Craig Mirsky grounded out to the shortstop, pinch-hitter Frank Cirone laced a two-out single to shallow left field that moved Poydenis to third. Cline got Kris Molloy to pop-up to first base to end the game and snap a three-game skid for WVU.
Cline (4-2) allowed one run on just five hits through seven innings pitched, while striking out four and walking two for his third straight complete game.
“Zac just came out and pitched a great game like he usually does,” said coach Greg Van Zant. “We didn’t score many runs but fortunately, he stepped up and won the game for us.”
Allen (2-3) took the tough loss for the Wildcats, as he allowed two runs on five hits with two walks through six solid innings pitched.
In the nightcap, a nine-hit, eight-run first inning keyed the Mountaineers’ 14-4 drubbing of the Wildcats, WVU’s biggest offensive output in a game this season.
Jake Serfass got things started immediately for WVU with a base-hit to lead off the game that was followed by a two-run homer by Grant Psomas, his team-leading fifth of the season. After a pair of singles by Fritz and Posluszny, Casey Bowling roped a double to score both. West Virginia would keep pounding Villanova starter Mike Loree and batted around in the order for the first time this season, as Serfass ripped an RBI double and Psomas a one-run single to complete a two-hit inning for each.
It was the highest scoring inning of the season for the Mountaineers, who have been in need of an offensive spark after averaging just three runs per game in their last 11 contests entering Saturday.
“The first inning is the most important inning in baseball and we just got out to a good start,” said Van Zant. “More importantly is that we kept going after that inning and we didn’t stop hitting the entire game. I’m real proud of our guys for keeping the intensity high.”
WVU tagged on three more runs in the second inning on a Posluszny solo home run, his fourth of the year, an RBI groundout by Travis D’Amico, and a one-run single by Richards.
The run-support was more than enough for Mountaineer starter Shawn Miller, who improved to 4-4 on the year after allowing four runs through 7.1 innings pitched with three walks and four strikeouts.
Seven Mountaineers finished with multiple hits and five had at least two runs batted in for the game. Richards and Psomas led their team with three RBI apiece while Posluszny went 2-for-4 with three runs scored, an RBI, two walks and two stolen bases.
A scary moment for West Virginia occurred in the second inning when a Joe McCoy pitch strayed high and inside and hit Casey Bowling in the mouth area. Despite getting right back up and wanting to take his base, Bowling was taken out of the game with a laceration in his lip and was rushed to a local hospital for surgery.
“Casey is just a very tough kid and had a big day for us before he was unfortunately hit,” said Van Zant. “All of us on the team are pulling for him and we know he’s a fighter and will be alright.”
Danny Poydenis had a two-run homer for Villanova and Adrian Schau added three hits.
The Mountaineers improved to 11-20 overall and 3-9 in the conference on the season, while the Wildcats dropped to 19-14-1 on the season and 3-9 in the BIG EAST.
The two teams wrap up the series on Sunday, April 18, with a single game at noon, at Villanova Park.
