Baseball: WVU Set to Battle UConn
May 18, 2009 05:07 PM | General
By Steve Stone for MSNsportsNET.com
May 18, 2009
BIG EAST TOURNAMENT GUIDE
CLEARWATER, FLA. – The West Virginia University baseball team begins its quest for a postseason BIG EAST championship when it battles Connecticut on Tuesday, May 19, at 5 p.m. at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla.
WVU faces UConn for the first time in postseason play. The two schools met earlier this season in the opening weekend of BIG EAST play, with the Mountaineers (36-16, 17-10) sweeping the Huskies (33-23, 14-13) by scores of 7-6, 12-2 and 7-4.
“UConn is a really good team that is playing well down the stretch,” Coach Greg Van Zant said. “They will be a tough team to beat.”
WVU enjoyed a historic regular season, tying the school record for most wins prior to the postseason with 36, joining the 1998 squad. The Mountaineers are also on pace to eclipse the 1998 squad’s .358 team batting average after boasting a .362 clip overall.
In the Mountaineers’ 12-2 victory over UConn on March 21, slugger Vince Belnome recorded five RBIs and an opposite-field grand slam in one of his standout performances of the season. The Coatesville, Pa., native is WVU’s single-season leader with 82 RBIs heading into Tuesday’s contest with UConn.
Dan DiBartolomeo continues to be one of the top performers in the BIG EAST, hitting .425 with seven home runs and 53 RBIs in the No. 5 spot. Jedd Gyorko gives WVU its third .400-plus batter, carrying a .410 mark with eight home runs, 53 RBIs and a conference-leading 27 doubles.
Starter Jarryd Summers took a no decision against the Huskies on March 20, throwing 6.2 innings and allowing three runs on seven hits with six strikeouts. The Sharpsville, Pa., native has emerged as one of the conference’s top pitchers, striking out 92 batters in 87.1 innings while holding opponents to a .243 average.
Connecticut is led by freshman George Springer, who is hitting .360 with 16 home runs and 56 RBIs. UConn has won its last three conference series over Notre Dame, Pitt and Villanova.
WVU leads the all-time series, 23-18.
The winner of tomorrow's game plays the winner of No. 2 USF and No. 7 Pitt on Wednesday evening at 8 p.m., while the two teams that lost play beforehand at 5 p.m.
Fans can follow every BIG EAST Championship game leading up to the final contest through live streaming video on www.BIGEAST.org. SIRIUS XM Radio will broadcast every game from the 2009 Big East Conference Baseball Tournament live nationwide on XM channel 203 and on SIRIUS channel 217 with the “Best of XM” programming package.
