Baseball: WVU Wins BIG EAST Series At Villanova
May 15, 2005 04:49 PM | General
By Tim Goodenow for MSNsportsNET.com
May 15, 2005
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia rode a strong outing from sophomore left hander Wes Osbourn to pick up a 7-3 victory and series win over Villanova on Sunday afternoon at Villanova in Plymouth Meeting, Pa.
Osbourn allowed three runs in seven innings of work and struck out three Wildcat batters on the day. The Shinnston, W.Va., native improved to 7-3 on the season and has won his last two BIG EAST starts.
West Virginia (25-27, 10-12) scored at least one run in innings five through eight to take control of the final game of the series. The Mountaineers broke open a scoreless game in the fifth inning behind a two-out RBI single by Brandon Drespling for the game's first run.
With two outs in the top of the sixth inning, WVU plated three runs to build a 4-0 lead. Second baseman Tyler Kuhn opened the inning with a single up the middle before advancing to second on a Justin Jenkins sacrifice bunt. After a Lee Fritz pop up, right fielder Stan Posluszny lined a ball down the right field line to score Kuhn. First baseman Kyle Matuszek followed with his eighth home run of the season, a two-run shot over the left field wall.
The Mountaineers tagged on two runs in the seventh inning behind a pair of triples to make it 6-0. Drespling tripled to left center field bringing catcher David Carpenter to the plate. Carpenter followed with a triple of his own in nearly the same spot to score Drespling. Kuhn then hit a deep ball to left field for a sacrifice fly that scored Carpenter.
Villanova (27-18-2, 8-13-1) scored all of its runs in a three-run eighth inning effort. Right fielder James Dolbier singled to right center scoring two runs and second baseman Mark Cardillo collected an RBI single.
Wildcat starter Mike Loree took the loss going 7.1 innings allowing seven runs on 11 hits.
WVU’s final run of the game came in the eighth inning on a solo home run from Posluszny to left center field.
Left-handed pitcher Kenny Durst worked the final two innings to close the door on the Wildcats. The Mountaineer freshman struck out two of the seven batters he faced.
The Mountaineers tallied six extra base hits and improved their national ranking in home runs per game and sacrifice hits per game. WVU posted three sacrifice hits on Sunday and have hit 23 home runs in their last 12 contests.
Matuszek finished 3-for-4 while two-time all-BIG EAST selection Fritz extended his hitting streak to nine games.
West Virginia, winners of six of their last seven games, travels to Notre Dame to close out the regular season on May 20-21.
