Baseball: WVU Begins BIG EAST Play
March 25, 2010 03:12 PM | General
By Steve Stone for MSNsportsNET.com
March 25, 2010
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| Greg Van Zant |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team begins the BIG EAST season with a matchup against Seton Hall this weekend in South Orange, N.J., at Owen T. Carroll Field. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on Friday, followed by 1 p.m. and noon game times on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
The Mountaineers (11-10) will face the Pirates (8-9) for the first time since the 2008 season, when Seton Hall took two of three at home. WVU is 22-12 all-time against the Pirates in a series that began in 1976.
“Seton Hall always has outstanding pitching,” coach Greg Van Zant said. “They’re a well-coached team that will provide a big challenge for us. Our team is definitely excited to get conference play going.”
WVU has won six of its last seven games, most recently defeating Bowling Green, 10-7, in comeback fashion. The victory put the Mountaineers over the .500 mark for the first time this season.
Junior Dom Hayes, who is third in the conference with a .468 batting average, had one of his best performances of the season in WVU’s last game. Hayes went 3-for-5 with a career-high four RBIs. He leads WVU with 14 multiple-hit games this season and carries a six-game hitting streak.
Second baseman Colin Durborow has given the Mountaineers plenty of production from the bottom of the order over the last seven games. During that span, the Gibsonia, Pa., resident is 10-for-20 with three home runs, seven RBIs, two walks and one double.
WVU is batting .298 as a team, raising its average by 33 points since the beginning of its homestand, where it finished 7-3. In six of those games, WVU recorded double-digit base hits, including 18 in a 13-6 victory over Eastern Michigan on March 21.
WVU also reduced its ERA by over a run during that time. Leading the Mountaineers on the mound are returning all-BIG EAST performers Jarryd Summers and Chris Enourato. Summers is 1-2 with a team-best 3.23 ERA, and is second in the conference with a .189 opposing batting average.
Enourato, a Bridgeport, W.Va., native, is 3-0 with a 3.51 ERA and three saves. Enourato is showing an impressive 34/3 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His 34 strikeouts are tied for third in the BIG EAST.
Junior Jedd Gyorko is batting .361 with a team-leading six home runs and 20 RBIs. The Morgantown native has eight doubles and is first on the team with a .675 slugging percentage.
Senior infielder Michael Rogers leads Seton Hall with a .354 batting average, 23 hits and 14 runs scored. He has a 15-game hitting streak since the Pirates’ second game of the season at Texas A&M.
Seton Hall is expected to start right-hander Joe DiRocco on Friday. DiRocco is 3-1 with a 2.76 ERA this season, while Saturday starter Benny Mejia is 2-0 with a 2.56 ERA. Right-hander Joe Prosinski is projected to start Sunday, showing a 1-1 record with a 3.80 ERA.
