Baseball: WVU Splits with Toledo
March 19, 2005 07:53 PM | General
March 19, 2005
 |
||
| Fritz |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - West Virginia and Toledo split Saturday’s doubleheader at Hawley Field. West Virginia won the first game 4-2 while Toledo took the nightcap, 5-2.
Troy, N.Y., native, Shawn Miller started game one and pitched a seven-inning complete-game gem for his second win of the season. For the visiting Toledo Rockets, Joe Welsh hurled his first complete game of the season in a losing effort.
The bats of senior Lee Fritz and sophomore Justin Jenkins, as well as a number of Rocket errors helped the Mountaineers to victory in game one.
Toledo struck first with one run in the top of the first inning on two hits up the middle, but West Virginia responded with a run of its own in the bottom half of the first. With one out and the wind blowing out to left, Jenkins deposited the first pitch he saw from Welsh over the left center wall tying the game at one a piece.
Toledo added one more in the second with a single up the middle by designated hitter Pat Rohrbaugh. Toledo continued to play small ball with Rohrbaugh advancing to third on a ground ball followed by another single by Jake Swint. Drew Hoisington singled to shallow center field bringing in Rohrbaugh, but Swint tested the arm of Fritz whose throw to the plate and the perfect plate blocking skills by catcher Travis DAmico cut down Swint.
Bristol, Va., native Doug Nelms started off the bottom of the third inning by doubling down the left field line. Jenkins knocked him in with a sacrifice fly to right field. The Mountaineers struck again on a rare play. With two outs, Fritz bunted to the pitcher, whose errant throw to first caromed around in the Mountaineers bullpen. Coach Greg Van Zant waved Fritz around to third. Toledo’s throw to was off line and bounced past the bag allowing Fritz to circle the bases and give West Virginia a 3-2 lead.
Fritz added to Mountaineers’ one-run lead in the sixth inning, crushing a 1-0 pitch from Welsh over the left field wall for his third long bomb of the season.
Miller (2-2) allowed two runs on seven hits while striking out four. Welsh (0-3) allowed four runs on five Mountaineer hits while fanning just two batters.
In the nightcap, Toledo (4-10) jumped out to an early lead scoring in the first frame and again in the fifth, but the Mountaineers added one of their own in the bottom of the fifth. Sophomore catcher David Carpenter singled up the middle for his first hit of the day. Doug Nelms lined the next pitch off the wall in left center, legging a double and knocking in Carpenter.
Starter Chris Amedro (2-2) was chased from the game in the sixth inning after West Virginia errors allowed Toledo to score three more runs. Amedro allowed four runs on three hits while striking out two hitters. Relievers Kevin Korzun and Kenny Durst finished out the game for West Virginia.
The Mountaineers (8-10) clawed back in the seventh with yet another Jenkins towering shot over the left center fence and got another Fritz RBI in the eighth. However Toledo’s closer Ben Lovell threw a perfect ninth inning to earn his second save of the season.
West Virginia and Toledo will wrap up a four-game series tomorrow afternoon at Hawley Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 pm.
