Baseball: WVU Set for Doubleheader
March 15, 2010 02:21 PM | General
By Steve Stone for MSNsportsNET.com
March 15, 2010
NIAGARA GAME NOTES
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team begins the second week of its homestand with a doubleheader against Niagara on Tuesday, March 16, at Hawley Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
The Mountaineers (5-9) face the Purple Eagles (2-11) for the 15th time in a series that dates back to 1996. WVU owns a 12-2 edge over Niagara, sweeping its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opponent in a two-game series by scores of 9-2 (7) and 17-4 in 2006.
“These mid-week games are big for us. Every game is big for us,” coach Greg Van Zant said. “We want to come out tomorrow and play as hard as we can and hopefully come away successful this whole week.”
WVU finished 2-2 last week, its second straight week of going .500. The Mountaineers defeated Bryant, 7-5, and routed Manhattan, 14-4, while falling in a doubleheader to the Jaspers last Friday.
Junior Jedd Gyorko is coming off a 3-for-5 performance on Sunday, hitting two home runs in one game for the first time since tallying two round-trippers against Coppin State on March 24, 2008.
Junior right fielder Dom Hayes has swung a hot bat for WVU, garnering six consecutive multi-hit performances while holding a six-game hitting streak. The Freehold, N.J., native leads the Mountaineers with a .460 batting average (23-for-50).
Filling in nicely as a first baseman has been junior Justin McDavid, a JUCO transfer from Queen Creek, Ariz. He is tied for the team lead with three multiple RBI games, driving in two runs against Michigan State, Bryant and Manhattan. He is also the only Mountaineer to record a triple this season.
WVU lowered its ERA following its three-game series with Manhattan, getting solid performances from sophomore left-hander Chase Pickering and freshman right-hander Jared Hill. Pickering threw six innings and allowed four runs on seven hits, while Hill earned his first career save by shutting out the Jaspers in three innings pitched.
Niagara’s Brian Deering, a junior infielder, leads the team in batting average (.386), hits (17), total bases (22) and slugging percentage (.500). Senior reliever Geoff Strong, a right-hander, has a team-best 5.00 ERA and is 1-0 in eight appearances with one save.
