Baseball: WVU Ready for Conference Showdown
April 08, 2009 12:18 PM | General
By Steve Stone for MSNsportsNET.com
April 8, 2009
GAME NOTES
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Carrying a season-high seven-game winning streak, the West Virginia University baseball team is set for a No. 1 vs. No. 2 BIG EAST matchup against St. John’s from April 9-11 at Hawley Field.
“St. John’s is a good ballcub,” Coach Greg Van Zant said. “They’ve been in the NCAA Tournament a number of years and have swept the last two series against us. It will be a challenge for us this weekend but we are looking forward to it.”
Thursday’s contest is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., and is deemed as “Dollar Night,” with all tickets, hot dogs, popcorn and Coca-Colas available for $1 each. Friday’s game is set to begin at 5 p.m., and Saturday contest starts at 1 p.m.
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| Senior Joe Agreste looks to carry over his impressive four home runs from last week.
Dale Sparks photo |
The Mountaineers (23-6, 8-1) are off to their best start in conference play since beginning with an identical 8-1 record in 1997. WVU took all three games from Georgetown in its most recent BIG EAST series, outscoring the Hoyas, 28-14, through all three games.
WVU remains in first place following its three-game sweep over GU. The Red Storm (18-10, 7-2), who has made the NCAA Tournament in four of the past five seasons, is tied with USF for second place, trailing by one game behind the Mountaineers.
WVU's seven-game winning streak is tied for the nation’s third longest, behind only Eastern Illinois (11) and Dartmouth (9). The Mountaineers are eighth in the country with 9.8 runs per game, and are tied for 12th with a four-run scoring margin.
Weekend probables Jarryd Summers, Jonathan Jones and Billy Gross all earned victories last weekend. Summers continued his superb year by recording a season-high 12 strikeouts in eight innings pitched against GU, improving to 4-1. The Sharpsville, Pa., native trails only Louisville’s Justin Marks with 53 strikeouts, and is also second in the BIG EAST with a .223 opposing batting average.
Jones, a left-hander from Fredericksburg, Va., remains undefeated with a 4-0 mark. He has tallied 28 strikeouts in 33 innings pitched, and struck out a career-high eight batters against the Hoyas in his last start.
Gross enters the series with four consecutive wins, averaging nearly eight innings per outing since he began his streak against Siena on March 15. The Frederick, Md., resident fanned a season-high 12 batters in his last start against GU, and scattered just three hits in 7.2 innings pitched. Gross is fourth in the conference with 42 strikeouts.
WVU has enjoyed a recent power surge, hitting nine home runs last week en route to a 5-0 mark. Senior Joe Agreste led the team with four home runs, and went 7-for-16 (.438) with six RBIs, seven runs scored and six walks to raise his batting average by 25 points.
Justin Parks, who leads the Mountaineers with six round-trippers, tallied two in one game on Saturday, April 4. Grant Buckner hit his first two collegiate home runs against GU on Sunday, and finished with five RBIs. The Elview, W.Va., native has hit safely in his last 11 games.
Vince Belnome and Tobias Streich continue to bring in runs at the No. 4 and No. 5 spot, respectively. Belnome is averaging 1.55 RBIs per game, and leads the conference with 45 overall. Streich is second in the BIG EAST with 42, and is averaging 1.50 RBIs per contest.
St. John’s has won its last four games, recently defeating nonconference opponent Wagner, 18-9, on Tuesday evening. The Red Storm swept Rutgers in its last BIG EAST series, and has two of the conference’s top hitters in junior Tim Morris (.470) and reigning conference player of the week Brian Kemp (.439).
