Baseball: Late-Inning Blast Beats WVU
May 01, 2010 06:39 PM | General
By Steve Stone for MSNsportsNET.com
May 1, 2010
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| Chris Enourato |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Cincinnati’s Jimmy Jacquot hit a tie-breaking solo home run in the eighth inning as the West Virginia University baseball team was defeated by the Bearcats, 5-4, on Saturday afternoon at Marge Schott Stadium.
Jacquot’s game-winning blast completed a series sweep over the Mountaineers (18-26, 3-15), who received quality relief from Chris Enourato (4-1) despite the senior leader taking the loss. Enourato, a Bridgeport native, allowed just one run on four hits in the final five innings with four strikeouts.
Enourato entered the game with no outs and two runners in scoring position in the fourth inning. After allowing an RBI single by Braden Kline that was credited to starter Andy Berry, Enourato fought back and induced a fielder’s choice and inning-ending double play to keep the game tied at 4-4.
In his second at-bat, junior Justin McDavid singled up the middle on a 1-2 offering from Bearcat starter Brian Sand to reach a 20-game hitting streak. McDavid finished 1-for-4 on the afternoon.
For the third consecutive game, WVU tallied seven base hits against a deep Cincinnati rotation. Left fielder Chris Rasky finished with a game-high three base hits, while designated hitter Jeremy Gum went 2-for-3 with his third home run of the season and a double.
Redshirt junior Grant Buckner continued to swing a hot bat for the Mountaineers, finishing with three RBIs. The Elkview, W.Va., native smacked a three-run home run to left field to give WVU a 4-2 lead in the third inning.
In four games this week, Buckner batted .533 (8-for-15) with one home run, four RBIs, three doubles and four runs scored.
Cincinnati reliever Andrew Strenge (4-1) delivered the victory, tossing 5.2 shutout innings while allowing two hits with six strikeouts. Andrew Burkett entered the ninth inning and recorded three straight outs to earn the save.
The Bearcats (23-20, 8-10) got off to another strong start in the first inning when Jacquot hit his first home run of the day, a two-run shot to right field with two outs as Cincinnati took an early 2-0 lead. The Mountaineers responded immediately with Gum’s leadoff round-tripper in the second inning on a 2-2 pitch to cut the deficit to 2-1.
After Buckner’s fourth home run of the season put WVU ahead by two runs in the third frame, Cincinnati came back with two of its own to tie the game in the fourth. Both teams went scoreless between the fifth and seventh innings, as Enourato struck out the side in the sixth and retired seven of his nine batters during that span.
WVU is now 7-2 this season when it hits two or more home runs in a game. Jacquot’s two home runs mark just the second time this season an opposing player has hit multiple home runs against WVU.
The Mountaineers do not play any mid-week games next week due to final exams. They will face BIG EAST foe Notre Dame in a doubleheader on Saturday, May 8, at Hawley Field. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m., and includes the “retired faculty day” promotion.
