Baseball: WVU Welcomes Notre Dame This Weekend
April 17, 2008 02:23 PM | General
April 17, 2008
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia University baseball team will play host to BIG EAST foe, Notre Dame, in a three-game series set to begin on Friday, April 18, at 7:05 p.m., at Hawley Field. Game two of the series will be held on Saturday, April 19, at 3 p.m., followed by the final game of the series on Sunday, April 20, at 1 p.m.
Friday’s game will mark the 47th meeting in program history between Notre Dame (23-9-1, 10-2 BIG EAST) and WVU (27-9, 7-5 BIG EAST), a series which began in 1902. The Fighting Irish lead the series 14-32. Last season, ND won the three-game series 2-1 on its home field.
Notre Dame is currently on a 10-game win streak and sits in first place atop the BIG EAST standings. Sophomore third baseman A.J. Pollock earned his second consecutive BIG EAST Player of the Week honor after going 11-19 with eight runs scored, and five RBIs on a 5-0 week. He leads the Irish with a .400 batting average, registering 52 hits, 34 runs and 28 RBIs on the season.
Teammate David Phelps was named Pitcher of the Week by the league on Monday, after allowing just five hits and one unearned run in 8.2 innings of work. He leads the Irish with a 4-3 record and an ERA of 3.31. The junior is slated to start on the mound for the Irish on Friday.
The Mountaineers currently have six sluggers hitting .400 or above. Senior Tyler Kuhn leads the team with 27 extra base hits, including seven home runs, while sophomore Vince Belnome leads the squad with 53 RBIs.
On the mound, the Mountaineers will likely look to junior Josh Whitlock (6-2) who has recorded an ERA of 4.80, striking out 43, walking 29 and allowing 44 hits in 54.1 total innings of work. Sophomore Chris Enourato, who leads the team with six saves, will be counted on as WVU’s closer.
WVU blanked Duquesne this past Tuesday, 14-0, in Morgantown. Kuhn led West Virginia with four hits, including two doubles, one home run, three RBIs and three runs scored.
Junior Justin Parks aided the Mountaineer offense with three hits and three runs, while Vince Belnome and Austin Markel added two hits each for the second shutout of the season. Kuhn was one triple short of the cycle and extended his hit streak to 22.
