Baseball: Canisius Outlasts Mountaineers
March 09, 2009 08:35 PM | General
By Steve Stone for MSNsportsNET.com
March 9, 2009
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia University baseball team fell to Canisius, 14-8, on Monday afternoon at Hawley Field.
The Mountaineers (7-4), who were riding a four-game winning streak heading into today’s game, were done in by four home runs from Brandon Joseph, Steve McQuail, Brian Burton and Ian Choy of Canisius. A nine-run seventh inning blew the game open for the Golden Griffins (3-6) after they held a 5-1 lead against WVU.
WVU ended the contest on a high note, scoring seven runs in the final two innings. Catcher Tobias Streich finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs, including a three-run home run to left field in the eighth inning to give him a team-best three round-trippers this season.
Jedd Gyorko enjoyed another good performance at the plate. The Morgantown native went 3-for-5 with a two-run double in the ninth. Vince Belnome added two hits and two RBIs, including a run-scoring double to left center field in the fourth inning.
The Mountaineers posted 14 hits on the afternoon, giving them double-digit total hits in all 11 games played this season. The Golden Griffins, representing the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, also tallied 14 hits.
WVU starter Billy Gross (0-2) took the loss after going six innings and giving up two earned runs on nine hits with eight strikeouts. Canisius’ Josh Marshall (2-0) got the win in relief, giving up no runs on two hits in 3.1 innings pitched.
Canisius struck first in the top of the third when Choy led off with a solo home run to left center, giving the Griffs a 1-0 advantage. WVU responded with Belnome’s double in the fourth to plate Austin Markel and knot the game at 1-1.
The Mountaineers used six pitchers throughout the game as a relentless Canisius offense continued to wear down WVU’s arms. Joseph’s RBI single up the middle and Kevin Mahoney’s run-scoring double down the left field line helped expand the Griffins’ lead to 5-1 through five innings.
A hard-luck seventh inning ultimately cost WVU the victory. McQuail’s solo home run to center field and Joseph’s three-run shot later in the inning were the highlights of a powerful frame for Canisius.
Providing a spark later in the contest was centerfielder Mark Dvoroznak. The Westlake, Ohio, native went 2-for-2 with two singles and a run scored after he entered the game in the eighth inning.
Belnome added an RBI single to right field in WVU’s four-run eighth inning, and Streich’s run-scoring single through the left side in the ninth cut WVU’s deficit to 14-8.
The Mountaineers resume play with their sixth consecutive home game on Wednesday, March 11, against Duquesne at Hawley Field. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
