It's Tourney Time
May 23, 2006 09:55 AM | General
May 23, 2006
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Two teams that have become familiar with each other in postseason play will hook up once again this evening when No. 5-seeded West Virginia battles No. 4 seed St. John’s in a Big East tournament first-round baseball game at Bright House Networks Field in Clearwater, Fla.
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| Senior Stan Posluszny leads West Virginia with 58 runs batted in. The Mountaineers take on St. John's today in a Big East first-round game in Clearwater, Fla.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
The two teams have met three previous times in Big East tournament play, the Red Storm taking games in 1999 and 1997 and West Virginia winning in 1996. West Virginia did not face St. John’s during the regular season this year.
“We’ve played St. John’s so many times since we’ve joined the league that we have a decent idea of what they do,” said West Virginia coach Greg Van Zant. “They always have good starting pitching and they always execute the small game. All their guys can bunt and they’re always a threat to steal bases.”
Today’s game pits the top two hitting teams in the conference with West Virginia batting .341 and St. John’s hitting .325.
Junior first baseman Chris Joachim is tied with West Virginia’s Casey Bowling for second in the conference with a .400 batting average. Joachim has a home run and 25 RBI in 53 games.
Senior center fielder Will Vogl provides the power for St. John’s, slugging 11 home runs and driving in 57 runs while batting .380. Vogl has 34 extra base hits including six triples.
Sam DeLuca, a junior second baseman, is batting .355 with seven home runs and 41 RBI, while sophomore left fielder Bryan Dirr is hitting .342 with 19 RBI.
Sophomore shortstop Jeff Grantham (.336) and sophomore right fielder (.303) are also hitting better than .300.
“They play the game very well,” said Van Zant. “You can beat St. John’s but they very rarely beat themselves.”
St. John’s (37-17) is expected to start freshman left hander Scott Barnes against the Mountaineers. Barnes, a 6-foot-3-inch, 180-pound Chicopee, Mass., resident, shows a 3-2 record with a 3.65 earned run average in 56 2/3 innings of work. Barnes has struck out 63 and walked 35 while permitting opponents to hit just .203.
Barnes pitched two scoreless innings in his last outing against Cincinnati on Saturday.
“They obviously have got a good team or they wouldn’t have finished fourth in the league,” Van Zant said. “You look at who they’ve played and they’ve won some big non-conference games. I know we’re going to see an excellent team on Tuesday.”
Van Zant announced Sunday that sophomore left hander Kenny Durst will start for the Mountaineers. Durst last pitched at Cincinnati on May 14, striking out five in 7 2/3 innings to even his record to 4-4. The Point Pleasant, W.Va., native has a 4.53 earned run average and has fanned 42 batters in 59 2/3 innings. Opponents are hitting .273 against him.
“We didn’t pitch Kenny last weekend against South Florida so he should be well rested for the tournament opener,” Van Zant said. “We have 11 pitchers on our 25-man roster and all of them have either won or saved a game this year.”
In addition to solid pitching depth, West Virginia (35-22) has the most potent lineup in the tournament with all nine starters hitting better than .300. After Bowling’s .400 average, freshman center fielder Adam White is batting .381 with a team-leading 19 stolen bases.
Junior third baseman Justin Jenkins is hitting .372 with a team best 10 home runs, while senior right fielder Stan Posluszny has 58 RBI and 31 extra base hits to go with his .335 batting average.
Posluszny is the only regular in West Virginia’s lineup to see previous Big East tournament action as a freshman in 2003.
St. John’s holds a 19-15 all-time lead in the series play.
“In our situation we’re not going to be an (NCAA tournament) at-large team so if we lose two games then we’re done,” said Van Zant. “We’re going to do everything we can to win.”
First pitch is scheduled for 5 pm following a pair of earlier games. No. 3-seeded Louisville will battle No. 6 seed Rutgers at 10 am and No. 2 Connecticut will take on No. 7 Cincinnati at 1 pm.
Following the West Virginia-St. John’s game, No. 1 Notre Dame will play No. 8 South Florida at 8 pm.
The tournament is double elimination.
A live Internet stream of all four games is available through CSTV All Access at www.bigeast.org. MSN’s radio coverage is also available through CSTV All Access.
