WVU Keeps Postseason Hopes Alive
May 16, 2010 06:44 PM | General
May 16, 2010
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| Chris Enourato |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Timely hitting by junior first baseman Justin McDavid and a solid long relief outing by Chris Enourato led the West Virginia University baseball team to a 6-5 victory over Georgetown on Sunday afternoon at Shirley Povich Field in Bethesda, Md.
The victory by the Mountaineers (24-27, 8-16) puts them in a tie with Villanova for ninth-place in the BIG EAST standings. WVU trails both Notre Dame and Cincinnati by two games for the final spot in the conference tournament with one three-game series remaining in BIG EAST play.
“We got some key performances from some players that stepped up this afternoon,” coach Greg Van Zant said. “Justin McDavid had some big hits and Chris had another gutsy performance to give us something to play for next weekend.”
McDavid finished 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs. He put WVU on the scoreboard in the first inning with an RBI double to right center on a 2-2 pitch from Georgetown starter Charles Steinman. The Queen Creek, Ariz., native then doubled down the right field line in the seventh inning to trim WVU’s deficit to 4-3.
Trailing 4-2 entering the seventh, a four-run inning by WVU damaged Georgetown’s chances of taking the series. Following McDavid’s run-scoring extra base-hit, Jeremy Gum hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score Grant Buckner, tying the game at 4-4. Consecutive RBI doubles by Chris Rasky and Kevin Griffin off reliever Pablo Vinent (1-4) put the Mountaineers back on top at 6-4.
Vinent absorbed the loss after allowing two runs on five hits in two innings pitched.
Enourato (5-2) got the victory in another long relief appearance. The Bridgeport native allowed three runs on six hits with four strikeouts in 5.2 innings pitched, and kept his composure when the Hoyas (23-28, 5-19) nearly tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. After Enourato forced a pop-up by Tommy Lee to start the frame, Rand Ravnaas singled and scored on an ensuing double to centerfield by Erick Fernandez, making it 6-5.
The school’s all-time saves leader showed his experience in tight situations, inducing a flyout to right field by cleanup batter William Cupelo that allowed Fernandez to advance to third base with two outs. Dan Capeless then ended the contest on a groundout to Colin Durborow at second base.
Enourato had just one inning in which he did not allow a base runner, but managed to escape several jams. In the fifth frame, he allowed a leadoff single to Lee and a subsequent steal to second base. After Lee was caught stealing at third base by Griffin, Ravnaas popped up and Cupelo struck out swinging to end the inning.
Enourato escaped another jam in the eighth inning, allowing a leadoff single to Capeless, who advanced to second base on a fielder’s choice two batters later. With two outs, Capeless advanced to third base on an infield single by Chip Malt, but was stranded as Tom Elliot struck out to end the frame.
Buckner finished 2-for-5 with an RBI and one run scored, extending his hitting streak to 18 games with a run-scoring single through the right side in the fifth inning. During his streak, the Elkview native is batting .447 (34-for-76) with six home runs, 25 RBIs, 10 doubles and 20 runs scored. He is also slugging at an .816 clip.
Buckner’s hit streak ties his career-long that he set last season from March 21-April 18, 2009.
Rasky produced two of WVU’s 12 hits overall, recording an RBI and a run scored on the afternoon. Five of WVU’s 12 hits were for extra bases.
Griffin went 1-for-4 with an RBI, but did even better work behind the plate. In the three-game set, the Martinsburg native allowed just four stolen bases in 10 attempts, throwing out three of four runners in today’s contest. For the season, Griffin has thrown out nearly 33 percent of runners attempting to steal.
WVU partially controls its destiny in next weekend’s series against Villanova at Hawley Field. The Mountaineers own a tie-breaker over Notre Dame (10-14) based on head-to-head competition, but do not own one over Cincinnati (10-14). WVU will look to increase its chances with a sweep over the Wildcats, while the Fighting Irish play a three-game home set against nationally-ranked Louisville.
Cincinnati finishes with a home series versus Georgetown.
