Mountaineer Diamond Classic
March 23, 2009 01:13 PM | General
March 23, 2009
GAME NOTES
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Greg Van Zant is hoping an opening in the schedule can lead to a future opening in the Capital City for West Virginia baseball.
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| Vince Belnome leads the team with 35 RBI while hitting .455.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
The Mountaineers will face Kentucky Tuesday night at Appalachian Power Park in a 6 p.m. non-conference game. It is West Virginia’s first-ever appearance in the four-year-old stadium.
“We’ve always wanted to play in Charleston and for a couple of years it didn’t happen because Watt Powell Park was no longer there,” Van Zant said. “I’ve wanted to play an SEC or an ACC team there for at least five years. We’ve talked to Virginia about playing there because it’s a straight shot across I-64, and we’ve also talked to Kentucky.”
It turned out Kentucky had a midweek opening that fit West Virginia’s schedule.
“We thought it just made sense to meet there halfway,” Van Zant said.
West Virginia (15-5) is coming off a three-game sweep of Connecticut, beating the Huskies by scores of 7-6, 12-2 and 7-4. It is just the second three-game road sweep of a conference foe since West Virginia joined the Big East 13 years ago.
It is also the fourth straight year West Virginia has opened conference play with a 3-0 record.
“We just came up with some really clutch pitches in some big situations and got some double play balls,” Van Zant said. “Our hitters also came through in the clutch.”
The Mountaineers used five pitchers during the weekend and got a complete game performance from Billy Gross on Sunday in a 7-4 win. Van Zant isn’t sure who he will pitch on Tuesday against the Wildcats, owners of a 15-5 record that includes taking two of three from Vanderbilt last weekend. Kentucky currently has an RPI of 14, according to the web site Warren Nolan.com.
“They will be one of the top teams we play this year,” Van Zant said.
The Wildcats have an outstanding 3.47 team earned run average with seven different pitchers recording victories through the first 20 games of the season. Eight different pitchers were used last weekend, including five in Sunday’s 4-2 loss to Vanderbilt.
Catcher Marcus Nidiffer is one of the top hitters in the SEC with a .413 batting average to go with a team-best four home runs and 17 RBI. Second baseman Chris Bisson is hitting .380 with a home run and a team-best 19 RBI, while leftfielder Cha Wright is hitting .351.
All nine regulars in West Virginia’s lineup are batting better than .300 led by sophomore Dan DiBartolomeo’s .479 average. Vince Belnome shows a .455 average including a seventh-inning grand slam on Saturday to power the Mountaineers to a 12-2 win over UConn. Belnome has already knocked in 35 runs in 20 games after driving in 66 as a sophomore in 2008.
Shortstop Jedd Gyorko is also hitting better than .400 at .430.
This is the first time West Virginia has faced Kentucky since 1990. The Wildcats hold an 11-1 advantage in series play.
General admissions tickets are $6 and box seats are $8. Phone orders for tickets are available by calling (304) 344-2287 and advance order may be picked up at the Will Call Window beginning at 10 a.m.
Fans can also purchase tickets online.
“The people in Charleston are really excited," Van Zant said. "The West Virginia Power has done a real good job to this point of making this a first-class event.”
WAJR (Kyle Wiggs) will broadcast the game in Morgantown. MountaineerTV subscribers can also listen to the WAJR broadcast online.
