Baseball: Mountaineers Lose Slugfest
February 22, 2009 07:50 PM | General
By Steve Stone for MSNsportsNET.com
February 22, 2009
BOX SCORE
CLEARWATER, FLA. - Plagued by a rough afternoon on the mound, the West Virginia University baseball team was outslugged by Illinois, 17-10, in its final game of the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge at Naimoli Complex in Clearwater, Fla.
The Mountaineers (1-2) were forced to use six pitchers en route to giving up 18 hits against the Fighting Illini (2-1). A pair of six-run and eight-run innings doomed WVU after it jumped out to a 6-2 lead through three innings.
WVU pounded out 15 hits, led by Joe Agreste’s 3-for-5 performance with an RBI. Leadoff man Justin Parks also added three hits and two walks, while Tobias Streich, Austin Markel and Jedd Gyorko each recorded two RBIs apiece.
Sophomore pitcher Marcus Broadwater (0-1) took the loss after coming out of the bullpen for freshman starter Chase Pickering. Illinois’s Will Strack (1-0) took the win after replacing starter Ben Reeser, who gave up six runs on six hits in three innings pitched.
The WVU pitching staff was plagued by its inconsistency in finding the strike zone. The Mountaineers gave up 16 walks, including three with the bases loaded in the first, fourth and sixth innings.
WVU did plenty of damage offensively with two outs in the first inning. With runners on first and second base, Agreste lined a run-scoring double into right center for the game’s first run. Streich followed with a two-run double to right center to give the Mountaineers an early 3-0 advantage.
Two more runs were tacked on in the second inning for the Mountaineers. Justin Ellis started the inning with an infield single, and Parks followed with a bunt single down the third base line. With two outs, Gyorko laced a line drive double to the right center gap to plate both runners.
Down 5-1 in the bottom half, Illinois added a run of its own when Brandon Wilkoff hit an RBI single into right field to cut the deficit to 5-2. With the bases loaded, Broadwater came in with two outs and forced a pop-up from catcher Aaron Johnson to end the damage.
After WVU added another run when Agreste scored on a wild pitch in the third, the Illini scored seven unanswered runs, including six in the fourth frame. Six straight Illinois batters reached base in the inning, highlighted by centerfielder Joe Bonadonna’s two-run single that gave the Illini its first lead at 8-6.
The Mountaineers continued to chip away, using an RBI single up the middle by Vince Belnome to cut their deficit to 9-7. But Illinois responded with eight runs in the bottom half, racking up seven hits in the inning to extend its lead to 17-7.
Markel added a two-run single to right field in the seventh, and right fielder Grant Buckner doubled to left center to plate Agreste for WVU’s final run.
WVU finished the inaugural interconference event with a 1-2 mark. It will end its stay in the Tampa region with another nonconference game against Northwestern on Monday, Feb. 23, at Naimoli Complex. First pitch is scheduled for noon.
