Baseball: WVU Falls to Cincinnati
April 14, 2007 07:48 PM | General
April 14, 2007
BOX SCORE
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The Cincinnati Bearcats pounded out 11 runs on 14 hits to defeat West Virginia 11-8 in game two of a three-game series Saturday afternoon at a cold and rain-soaked Hawley Field.
“We just didn’t get the job done on the mound today. Neither of our pitchers could stop them from scoring,” West Virginia coach Greg Van Zant said.
With the game tied at 1-1 in the top of the third inning, the Bearcats took control when first baseman Neall French blasted a two-run home run off Mountaineer starter Kenny Durst. Left fielder Brian Szarmach then hit the first of his two home runs on the day to give Cincinnati a 4-1 lead.
Durst ran into more trouble in the fourth inning when Bearcat third baseman Josh Harrison ripped a two-run double down the left field line, scoring Tony Campana from second and Michael Obyc from first, giving Cincinnati a 6-1 advantage.
Trailing 7-1 in the bottom of the sixth, the Mountaineer bats came alive. Designated hitter Mike Schmidt led off with a solo home run to right to make it 7-2; Vince Belnome then reached on an error by Harrison at third and Jason Pape promptly doubled to right center. From there Adam White and Tyler Kuhn hit consecutive sacrifice flies to cut the deficit to 7-4.
The Bearcats touched up Mountaineer reliever Billy Gross for three insurance runs in the top half of the eighth inning before West Virginia rallied in its half of the eighth, scoring three runs on four hits against Cincinnati closer Billy Welsh.
Trailing 11-7 going into the bottom of the ninth, West Virginia attempted one final rally. With one out, Belnome blasted a 400-foot bomb to straight away center to pull the Mountaineers within three. After Pape walked and White was hit by a pitch, cleanup hitter Justin Jenkins came to the plate as the tying run, but a routine pop out ended the threat.
Cincinnati (19-15, 5-6) starter Dan Osterbrock (6-1) gets credit for the win. Osterbrock pitched seven innings allowing four runs, only one of which was earned, while striking out eight.
Durst (4-2) takes the loss. The Point Pleasant, W.Va., native pitched five innings and gave up six earned runs while striking a career-high 10 Bearcat batters.
White, Markel and Belnome each had two RBI on the day.
With his single in the first inning, Jenkins extended his hit streak to 31 games, breaking a school record previously held by Josh Williamson.
“He’s been consistent. It is a great sign of consistency when you have a hitting streak like that. He just goes up there and competes and tries to hit the ball hard,” Van Zant said.
West Virginia (21-11, 5-6) and Cincinnati will complete this three-game series Sunday, April 15 at 1 p.m. at Hawley Field.
