Baseball: Van Zant Gets 300th Win
April 06, 2005 08:01 PM | General
April 6, 2005
 |
||
| Ridgley |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - West Virginia University baseball coach Greg Van Zant collected his 300th career win on Wednesday, April 6, as the Mountaineers downed Savannah State 15-1 at Hawley Field in Morgantown, W.Va.
The 11-year head coach for WVU improves his career record to 300-267-1 with the win. Van Zant becomes only the third coach in the program's 111 year history to win 300 games with the Mountaineers.
West Virginia (12-18) ended its three-game skid by overwhelming the Tigers (14-9) with a lights-out performance by starting pitcher Marty Fagler. The left handed senior improved his record to 3-0 after going eight innings with six strikeouts and allowing only one run on three hits.
Fagler's eight innings pitched sets a career high and his six strikeouts ties his previous career high.
At the plate the Mountaineers tore up the Savannah State pitching staff, as five WVU batters recorded multi-hit games including Trent Ridgley who went 2-4 with a homerun and five RBIs.
"Marty pitched a great game when we really needed it and Ridgley came up big in the field and at the plate as well," said Van Zant.
Savannah State struck its only blow in the top of the first inning when William Johnson doubled down the leftfield line to score Antonio Richmond, who was on first base after being struck by a pitch.
WVU scored all that it would need to in the bottom of the second with a five-run rally. After a Kyle Matuszek strikeout to start the inning, junior Stan Posluszny recorded his first of three doubles on the day. Fritz would advance Posluszny to third on a bunt down the third base line for a single.
With runners on the corners Ridgley stepped to the plate and belted his first home run of his collegiate career over the right field fence to make the score 3-1. After the homerun SSU pitcher Josh Wagner (0-2) got himself in trouble as he hit David Carpenter with a pitch and then allow him to advance to third after a failed pickoff attempt rolled into right field foul territory.
Doug Nelms drew a walk freshman next, and Tyler Kuhn knocked a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Carpenter. Jenkins followed up Kuhn with a double to straightaway centerfield that scored Nelms.
The Mountaineers padded their lead in the bottom of the fourth inning as Jenkins snuck his sixth homer of the season just inside the left field foul pole.
Ridgley came calling again in the bottom of the fifth inning when he slapped a double into left center that scored Fritz from first. Nelms would send Ridgley on his way home later in the inning as he singled to leftfield to make the score 10-1.
The deficit for the Tigers became 10 just an inning later in the sixth as Posluszny cracked double number two, scoring Chad McKown from second.
As all hopes of a Savannah State comeback nearly wiped out, the WVU offense put up a quartet of runs in the seventh to totally shut the door. With runners on first and second Kuhn jumped on a pitch from Arnez Clark, sending it to centerfield for a single and scoring Carpenter.
Nelms would score soon after a pitch got away from catcher Fabian Small and allowed Nelms to cross the plate. Sophomore Justin Richards stepped in as a pinch hitter later in the inning and was able to hit a sacrifice fly to left that would score Kuhn.
The last run of the game came with the bases loaded and Ridgley at the plate. While the Massillon, Ohio, native got the job done at the plate with his bat all day, he was able to produce a run this time as relief pitcher George Pope plunked Ridgley on the shoulder and force a run home.
The 15 runs scored marks the most that the Mountaineers have put on the scoreboard all season.
WVU returns to action on Saturday, April 9, when they host BIG EAST foe Rutgers at Hawley Field in a doubleheader. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
