Baseball: WVU Falls Short to Maryland
April 29, 2009 09:39 PM | General
By Steve Stone for MSNsportsNET.com
April 30, 2009
BOX SCORE
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - A three-run home run by Grant Buckner in the fifth inning and a solo shot by Jedd Gyorko in the sixth were not enough as the West Virginia University baseball team lost to Maryland, 8-7, on Wednesday evening at Hawley Field.
The defeat marks the first time the Mountaineers (29-13, 11-7) have lost when hitting at least two home runs in a contest this season, in which they were 14-0 entering tonight’s game.
Junior right-hander Andy Altemus provided adequate relief for WVU, holding the Terrapins (22-24, 6-18) through six innings of scoreless baseball. The Morgantown native gave up six hits and walked just one batter as he entered the contest with one out in the third inning to relieve starter Steve Morrison (0-1).
Morrison took the loss after giving up seven earned runs in 2.1 innings. Maryland starter Sander Beck (1-0) got the win despite allowing three runs on five hits in three innings, while Dan Gentzler got his fifth save of the season.
WVU produced 14 hits altogether, led by Gyorko’s 3-for-5 performance with two RBIs. Gyorko added an RBI double in the first inning to give him a conference-leading 22 doubles on the season.
Vince Belnome, Dan DiBartolomeo and Joe Agreste each added two hits apiece. Belnome drove in his 62nd run of the season in the first inning and raised his batting average to an impressive .412. Agreste, a Chesapeake, Va., native, is 3-for-7 with two runs scored through the first two games of WVU’s homestand.
Catcher Tobias Streich contributed with a double and a run scored on offense, but did his best work behind the plate. The Johnny Bench Award Watch List honoree threw out three runners who were caught stealing, increasing his to total to 15 runners who he has thrown out this season.
Maryland started the first inning with two runs. Mike Murphy beat out an infield single that brought in the game’s first run, and Will Greenberg hit a bloop RBI single to center field to give the Terrapins an early 2-0 advantage.
WVU responded with two runs in the bottom half. Gyorko laced an RBI double through the right center gap to plate Justin Parks, and Belnome followed with a run-scoring single through the right side to make it 2-2.
After a solo home run by Tyler Bennett gave UM a 3-2 lead in the second inning, Colin Durborow hit a line-drive single to right field that was misplayed by right fielder A.J. Casario, bringing in Joe Agreste from first base to tie the game at 3-3.
UM tacked on five runs on five hits in the third inning. Dan Benick hit a gamebreaking thee-run double down the left field line, and Alfredo Rodriguez hit an RBI single to make it 7-3. A.J. Casario followed with a run-scoring single to right field to create a five-run lead.
Buckner’s fifth home run of the season trimmed WVU’s deficit to 8-6. DiBartolomeo hit an infield single that hit off pitcher Matt Fullerton, and Streich hit a double off the left field wall to put both runners in scoring position. After second reliever Brett Harman entered, Buckner drove the second pitch over the left field wall to put the Mountaineers back in contention.
Gyorko hit his fifth round-tripper of the season off a 1-1 delivery from Ian Schwalenberg to create the game’s final score at 8-7.
WVU left 13 runners on base, including several who were in scoring position. The Mountaineers made a last-gasp effort in the ninth when Agreste led off with a single to center field and then advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Durborow. However, a lineout by Parks and a flyout by Markel to left field ended WVU’s threat.
The Mountaineers return to Hawley Field for a three-game series against Rutgers beginning on Friday, May 1. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.
