Baseball: Nippert, Rangers Fight for ALCS Berth
October 12, 2010 04:48 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Former West Virginia University pitcher Dustin Nippert will take the field this evening in St. Petersburg, Fla., with the Texas Rangers, in hopes of defeating the host Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 of Major League Baseball’s (MLB) American League Division Series (ALDS). First pitch is slated for 8:07 p.m., and fans can watch Nippert and the Rangers in action on TBS.
The Rangers and Rays are knotted up at 2-2 heading into tonight’s game. Texas jumped out to a quick 2-0 series lead after defeating Tampa, 5-1 and 6-0, in Games 1 and 2, in St. Petersburg, before the Rays tied the series with 6-3 and 5-2 victories over the Rangers in Games 3 and 4, in Arlington.
The winner of tonight’s contest will advance to face the defending World Series champions New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series (ALCS).
Nippert pitched one inning in Game 3 on Oct. 9, allowing two hits, including a homerun, and two runs.
Prior to the ALDS, Nippert had compiled a 4-5 record in 2010 with a 4.29 ERA. In 56.2 innings of work, he tallied 47 strikeouts and allowed 61 hits.
Nippert competes with the Rangers this evening after surviving one of the league’s scarier moments this season, as he was hit in the side of the head by a line drive from Austin Jackson of the Detroit Tigers on July 19. Though Nippert was able to walk off the field after the hit, he was put on the disabled list for 15 days.
“We are extremely proud of Dustin and very happy that he’s recovered from his head injury and can partake in the MLB playoffs,” says 17-year Mountaineer coach Greg Van Zant. “The whole WVU baseball family wishes Nippert and the Rangers luck tonight in their quest for an ALCS berth.”
Nippert pitched at WVU in 2002 before he was drafted that same year by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 15th round.
The Rangers and Rays are knotted up at 2-2 heading into tonight’s game. Texas jumped out to a quick 2-0 series lead after defeating Tampa, 5-1 and 6-0, in Games 1 and 2, in St. Petersburg, before the Rays tied the series with 6-3 and 5-2 victories over the Rangers in Games 3 and 4, in Arlington.
The winner of tonight’s contest will advance to face the defending World Series champions New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series (ALCS).
Nippert pitched one inning in Game 3 on Oct. 9, allowing two hits, including a homerun, and two runs.
Prior to the ALDS, Nippert had compiled a 4-5 record in 2010 with a 4.29 ERA. In 56.2 innings of work, he tallied 47 strikeouts and allowed 61 hits.
Nippert competes with the Rangers this evening after surviving one of the league’s scarier moments this season, as he was hit in the side of the head by a line drive from Austin Jackson of the Detroit Tigers on July 19. Though Nippert was able to walk off the field after the hit, he was put on the disabled list for 15 days.
“We are extremely proud of Dustin and very happy that he’s recovered from his head injury and can partake in the MLB playoffs,” says 17-year Mountaineer coach Greg Van Zant. “The whole WVU baseball family wishes Nippert and the Rangers luck tonight in their quest for an ALCS berth.”
Nippert pitched at WVU in 2002 before he was drafted that same year by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 15th round.
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