Twigg Tames Tigers
May 18, 2010 08:30 PM | General
May 18, 2010
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Getting plenty of support from his offense, freshman left-hander Michael Twigg had another strong outing to lead the West Virginia University baseball team to an 8-4 victory over Towson on Tuesday afternoon at John B. Schuerholz Park.
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| Freshman Michael Twigg has made some big mid-week starts in his first season at West Virginia.
Allison Toffle photo |
Twigg (3-0), who made his sixth consecutive mid-week start, allowed three runs on nine hits with five strikeouts in six innings pitched. The young lefty pitched at least six innings for the third time this season, putting less pressure on the WVU bullpen.
“Michael had another strong start. He’s really been a spark for us on the mound during these mid-week games,” coach Greg Van Zant said. “It was a total team effort once again. Jedd and Justin McDavid each had big home runs for us, and we gave our starter the run support he needed to pitch with enough confidence.”
The Berkeley Springs, W.Va., native stranded nine runners this afternoon. In the second frame, he allowed consecutive two-out walks and a subsequent single by Sean Adkins to load the bases. Twigg then forced one of Towson’s top hitters in Ben Winter to pop up to Jedd Gyorko at shortstop, ending the inning unscathed.
The freshman dodged another opportunity for disaster in the sixth inning when Winter led off with a triple to right field. Pinch hitter Mike Schmidt then stepped to the plate and grounded out to Twigg, and Kevin Collins followed with an infield pop-up to Brady Wilson at second base. The frame ended when cleanup batter Chris Wychock flew out to right fielder Dom Hayes in foul territory.
Twigg has made a strong presence for WVU as a mid-week starter, surrendering three or less earned runs in his last three starts. He has been particularly effective with two strikes, holding the opposition to a .095 batting average on two-strike counts.
Gyorko finished 2-for-5 with an RBI, being responsible for the initial go-ahead run in the fourth inning when he hammered an 0-1 offering over the centerfield wall for his 17th home run this season. His season-long home run total is the most since former Mountaineer Mark Landers hit 19 round-trippers in 1994, and is the second-highest in one season by a Mountaineer.
The Morgantown native achieved several other milestones tonight – his lone RBI puts him a tie for second-place with 174 career runs driven in. He is also tied for second in career home runs with 33, and his 42 extra-base hits tie Joe McNamee for the most in a single season at WVU.
The Mountaineers (25-27), who have won seven of their past eight games, were sparked by a key three-run sixth inning. Tied at 3-3, Grant Buckner gave WVU its second lead of the day with an RBI groundout to the shortstop. The big blast was then provided by McDavid, who expanded the lead with a two-run home run to left center, his fourth of the season.
McDavid finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. He raised his batting average to .291 and now has 50 RBIs in 46 games played. Buckner finished 0-for-3 with two walks to end his hitting streak at 18 games.
Brady Wilson also had a multiple-hit performance, going 2-for-5 with one run scored. WVU finished with 10 hits but allowed 12 hits to the Tigers (17-35).
WVU, which fell to Towson by a 10-4 margin on April 6 in Morgantown, notched two runs in the ninth inning to virtually seal the game. After Chris Rasky doubled to right center to put two runners in scoring position, catcher Kevin Griffin hit a sacrifice fly to right field. Dvoroznak then singled on a 3-1 pitch from reliever Drew Permison to create the final score at 8-4.
Mountaineer reliever Jonathan Hash recorded his second save this season, tossing the final three innings and allowing one run on three hits with one strikeout. He induced two double plays in the seventh and ninth innings to prevent a comeback by the Tigers.
Towson reliever Tyler Austin (2-5) took the loss after allowing four runs on three hits in four innings pitched. Towson used five pitchers in today’s game.
WVU finishes the regular season with a 17-11 mark in non-conference action. The Mountaineers are also 11-2 when they hit two or more home runs in a game this season.
WVU prepares for a critical three-game set against conference opponent Villanova beginning Thursday, May 20, at 7:05 p.m. at Hawley Field. The Mountaineers (8-16) and Wildcats (8-16) are both two games behind Notre Dame (10-14) and Cincinnati (10-14), which are tied for the seventh-place spot in the BIG EAST standings.
The Mountaineers will look for a sweep and keep a close eye on Notre Dame’s home series against 11th-ranked Louisville. Two scenarios for WVU to grab the final eighth spot is if it sweeps the Wildcats and Notre Dame falls in two of three to the Cardinals, or WVU can take two of three and the Irish get swept.
Cincinnati finishes with a home series against Georgetown, and its performance can also affect WVU’s position in the standings. WVU owns the tiebreaker over Notre Dame, but the Bearcats hold the edge over the Mountaineers.
