Baseball: Mountaineers Win Opener
February 12, 2005 06:53 PM | General
February 12, 2005
NORFOLK, Va. - NORFOLK, Va. - The West Virginia University baseball (1-0) team won its 2005 season opener on Saturday, Feb. 12, as the Mountaineers defeated Norfolk State (0-5) 5-1 in Norfolk, Va.
“It was a good win and our guys played hard,” said head coach Greg Van Zant. “Overall we weren’t real sharp but we’re a better team than if we stayed home and just practiced indoors.”
The Mountaineers got off to a slow start in the first inning as only senior Lee Fritz could reach base on a walk.
Senior pitcher Shawn Miller took a little while to shake off the rust from the long offseason as he walked the first two Spartan batters he faced. The Troy, N.Y., quickly heated up though by striking out the next hitter Juan Serrano. Miller then forced Chris Dorney to fly out to second baseman Tyler Kuhn and ended the inning by fanning Rocco Savage.
A pair of WVU newcomers were able to combine in the bottom of the second to get the Mountaineers on the board. Potomac State transfer Chad McKown tattooed a ball over centerfielder Ryan Reddick’s head to record his first hit, and double, for WVU. Freshman Michael Burger was then able to single to shallow left-center field and bring home McKown to put the Mountaineers up 1-0.
WVU was padded its lead in the top of the third. Catcher Travis D’Amico singled to right and then Kyle Matuszek was able to single to left to put to put two runners on for Kuhn. Kuhn laid down a bunt, but pitcher De’Mece Williams was able to run to the ball in time. However, Williams throw to third was off the mark and allowed D’Amico to score on the error.
Later on in the inning Fritz was able to send a fly ball deep enough to center field to score Matuszek and increase the lead to three.
In the top of the fifth inning Fritz got the Mountaineer offense rolling again with a shot to right field that allowed him to triple. Power hitter Stan Posluszny followed with a hit up the middle of the infield that scored Fritz. McKown continued his stellar afternoon for WVU by hitting his second double of the day allowing Posluszny to score.
Miller allowed no hits through four innings of work, but Norfolk State was able to put together a small rally in the bottom of the fifth. Miller allowed a hit and walked a batter and then George Moriba was able to sacrifice bunt the base runners over to second and third.
With runners on second and third Miller hit Ryan Reddick to load the bases. Van Zant and his staff had seen enough of Miller and put in lefty Wes Osbourne to try to get the Mountaineers out of the jam. Osbourne forced a fly ball by catcher T.J. Starkey that was shallow enough to give left fielder Matuszek a chance for a play at the plate. The throw was on line and in time, however, D’Amico was not able to hold onto the ball and the Spartans got on the board.
The score remained 5-1 for the rest of the game as WVU was able to come away with the convincing victory. The Mountaineers allowed only three hits in the game, while they were able to get eight.
Leading the way for WVU offensively was McKown who finished up 3-4 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored.
“He had a terrific day,” said Van Zant.
The Mountaineers return to action on Sunday, Feb. 13, when they finish their two-game series with Norfolk State at 1 p.m. at Marty L. Miller Field in Norfolk, Va.
