Twinbill Split
April 09, 2005 09:24 PM | General
April 9, 2005
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - A season-high crowd of 515 saw the West Virginia University baseball team split its doubleheader with Rutgers Saturday, losing 11-3 in the first game but rebounding in the nightcap with a 12-3 win.
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| West Virginia's Tyler Kuhn tracks down a ball in the outfield during Saturday's doubleheader against Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights took game one and West Virginia captured the nightcap.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
Rutgers (17-10, 6-2) was able to score 11 runs in its final three at-bats to overpower the Mountaineers (13-19, 3-6) in the first game, a seven-inning affair.
The Scarlet Knights began their offensive barrage with a three-run fifth. Senior shortstop Jason Grover’s ground out to first baseman Trent Ridgley scored Ryan Hill and moved Steve Hook to third. Hook then scored on a double to right field by freshman Todd Frazier. Jeff Grose capped off the scoring in the inning when he laced a single to center, scoring Frazier from second.
WVU made the game interesting in the bottom of the inning when Trent Ridgley hit his second home run of the season over the centerfield wall that also plated Tyler Kuhn, who doubled to lead off the inning.
Rutgers pulled away in the top of the sixth. The Scarlet Knights scored seven runs on five hits in the inning. After WVU starting pitcher Chris Amedro was pulled from the game after allowing four runs in the inning, freshman hurler Mark Wyner entered and walked the first three batters he faced to give Rutgers three more runs.
Rutgers then added another run in the top of the seventh before WVU’s Justin Jenkins belted his seventh home run of the season.
Amedro (3-3) took the loss after pitching 5.2 innings and allowing 10 runs on 11 hits and striking out three. Wyner gave up one run for the Mountaineers in 1.1 innings of work on one hit.
Scarlet Knight pitcher Arron Kalb (4-1) picked up the win in the first game. Kalb went five innings and allowed two earned runs on six hits while striking out three batters.
In the second game, WVU got a solid outing from right-hander Wes Osbourne (4-2) to earn the split. Osbourne threw 5.1 innings and allowed only three runs on seven hits. The Shinnston, W.Va., native fanned one.
Junior Kevin Korzun also threw 3.2 innings of masterful relief, giving up no runs on four hits with two strike outs.
Korzun came into the game at a critical juncture in the game as the Mountaineers found themselves trying to hold onto a 7-3 lead with the bases loaded and only one out.
Korzun’s first pitch forced Frazier to pop up to Jenkins at third base and then he made Grose hit a slow roller back to him for an easy put out at first base to end Rutgers’ threat.
At the plate, WVU had seven batters record RBIs in the game including Kuhn, Lee Fritz and Kyle Matuszek who each tallied a pair. Jenkins, McKown, Ridgley and Nelms chipped in a one each.
The loss went to Rutgers’ O.J. Dechristofano, who pitched only 2.1 innings and gave up four runs, three earned, on five hits.
Nelms had a fantastic day at the plate recording four hits for the doubleheader with a RBI and two runs scored. Junior Stan Posluszny was a quiet contributor throughout the day as he went two for three at the plate and earned a total of five walks.
The win against Rutgers in the second game snapped a five-game skid to the Scarlet Knights that dated back to 2003.
The Mountaineers and Rutgers will finish the three-game Big East series tomorrow at Hawley Field beginning at noon.
