Baseball: Berry Sparks WVU to Win
May 15, 2010 10:34 PM | General
By Steve Stone for MSNsportsNET.com
May 15, 2010
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A quality start by right-hander Andy Berry propelled the West Virginia University baseball team to a 4-3 victory over Georgetown on Saturday evening at Shirley Povich Field in Bethesda, Md.
Berry (4-3), a Virginia Beach native, won his second consecutive start after tossing six innings and giving up two runs on five hits with three strikeouts. He did not allow a runner to reach base in three of his six innings pitched, with two solo home runs being his only blemish on the night.
“Andy Berry was extremely effective for us, and Andy Altemus came in and pitched well in a pressure situation,” coach Greg Van Zant said. “Tomorrow’s game is huge and hopefully we can come away with an improved spot in the conference standings.”
Junior Jedd Gyorko’s two-run home run in the third inning highlighted WVU’s three-run frame. Mark Dvoroznak led off with a single up the middle on a full-count pitch, and Gyorko continued to perform well with two strikes by blasting a 1-2 offering from Tommy Isaacs (1-6) over the left field wall for his 16th round-tripper of the season.
After consecutive singles by Dom Hayes and Grant Buckner, Justin McDavid grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to plate Hayes, making it 3-1. Buckner’s base hit extended his hitting streak to 17 games, the second-longest by a Mountaineer this season.
The game-winning run turned out to be WVU’s final score in the ninth inning, when Jeremy Gum reached on a fielding error to plate Gyorko, making it 4-2.
After Dan Capeless led off the seventh with a solo home run to centerfield, Altemus entered the game and picked up his third save of the season. The Morgantown native pitched the final three innings and allowed one run on four hits with one strikeout. He allowed an RBI single by Tom Elliot with one out in the ninth inning, but induced a fielder’s choice by Tommy Lee and ended the game by getting Rand Ravnaas to line out to Grant Buckner at third base.
Gyorko and Hayes each finished with two hits apiece, as WVU produced nine hits overall.
WVU remains two games behind the eighth-place spot in the conference standings that is currently held by Cincinnati. The Mountaineers (23-27, 7-16) return on Sunday in a rubber-game contest against the Hoyas. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
