Baseball: WVU Hosts Eastern Michigan
March 18, 2010 11:35 AM | General
By Steve Stone for MSNsportsNET.com
March 18, 2010
EASTERN MICHIGAN GAME NOTES
 |
||
| Jarryd Summers |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team wraps up its 10-game homestand with a four-game series against Eastern Michigan this weekend at Hawley Field. First pitch is set for Friday, March 19, at 3 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. and a noon matchup on Sunday.
“Eastern Michigan as well as all of the clubs out of the Mid-American Conference are very good,” coach Greg Van Zant said. “Eastern Michigan is very well-coached and we have a lot of respect for its program. We always like to schedule teams like them right before the start of BIG EAST play because they provide great competition for us.”
The Mountaineers (7-9) carry a season-best three-game win streak into Friday’s game. WVU swept Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opponent Niagara in a doubleheader last Tuesday by scores of 6-0 and 8-2, and defeated Manhattan, 14-4, last Sunday.
Shortstop Jedd Gyorko continues to be a power source for WVU at the top of the lineup. The Morgantown native has two leadoff home runs this season, and has produced 12 of the team’s 35 extra base hits. Gyorko is batting .375 with a team-high five home runs and 14 RBIs, and is slugging at a .719 clip through 16 games played.
WVU has raised its team batting average to .291 as it continues to find its groove at the plate during the homestand. Junior Dom Hayes leads the Mountaineers with a .439 average, and Grant Buckner shows a .333 average with one home run and 12 RBIs.
WVU’s pitching staff lowered its ERA and recorded its first shutout of the season in game one against Niagara on Tuesday. In that contest, Eric Hinkle earned his first career win by throwing 5.1 shutout innings, while Andy Altemus finished the seven-inning affair by not allowing a run or hit in the final 1.2 frames.
Adding some offensive production has been junior first baseman Justin McDavid, who was the only Mountaineer to record multiple RBIs in both games of Tuesday’s doubleheader. He leads WVU with five multiple RBI games, and is 8-for-20 so far in WVU’s current homestand.
Expected to start on Friday afternoon is junior right-hander Jarryd Summers. The Sharpsville, Pa., native is 0-2 with a 4.18 ERA, and is one start removed from his 11-strikeout, one-hit performance in eight innings of work against Western Carolina on March 5.
The Eagles (5-10) are coming off a 9-6 loss to Michigan State on Wednesday, and are on a three-game skid. They earned a quality 3-1 win over then-No. 25 Kansas at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, splitting a doubleheader with the Jayhawks.
Eastern Michigan has a .304 team batting average, scores seven runs per game and has a team ERA of 7.53. Seven starters are batting over .300 on the young season, with senior infielder Todd Graves owning the top mark at .358. Junior infielder Zack Leonard is the team’s top run-producer, boasting a .339 average with two home runs and a team-best 22 RBIs. Junior outfielder Ken Battiston leads the Eagles with 35 total bases.
Freshman right-hander Joe Battistelli owns a team-best 4.26 ERA in five relief appearances, while junior righty Corey Chaffins leads all starters with a 2-0 record. Chaffins has struck out 24 batters compared to 10 walks.
Following Sunday’s 1 p.m. contest, the WVU baseball team and coaching staff will conduct its youth baseball camp. Brochures and other information regarding the event can be found on MSNsportsNET.com.
