Baseball: WVU Blanks Iowa
February 18, 2011 03:12 PM | General
LARGO, Fla. – Senior shortstop Grant Buckner homered in his first two at bats, and junior left-hander Jonathan Jones held Iowa to two hits through the first 6.1 innings to lead West Virginia to a 5-0 shutout over the Hawkeyes in the first day of the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge at Jack Russell Stadium, here, today, in front of 253 in attendance.
“I’m really proud of the guys; they played well today,” WVU head coach Greg Van Zant says. “It starts on the hill, and Jonathan Jones pitched a tremendous game. Kevin Griffin was outstanding behind the plate, and Marcus Broadwater came in and did a great job in relief. I can’t remember a season opener when we only gave up only four hits, no walks and struck out seven batters.
“Grant Buckner really stepped up and hit the ball hard, especially with everyone wondering about using the new bats this year. (Matt) Malloy also hit another ball off the wall and several more guys hit doubles. We are more advanced at this stage than we were last year at this time. However, we still have a lot of work to do. Today was a good start to the year. It’s always important to start the season off with a win.”
Jones (1-0) pitched 6.1 innings, giving up two hits, no walks and striking out five batters. Broadwater came on in relief in the seventh inning and finished the game. He pitched 2.2 innings, giving up two hits and striking out two batters.
Jones didn’t surrender his first hit until two outs in the sixth inning. He then hit Trevor Willis, before sitting down the next batter to get out of the inning. He started the seventh inning, forcing Mike McQuillan to ground out before giving up a double down the right field line to Dan Sheppard.
“The defense allowed me to be very effective today,” Jones said. “I felt like I was in a good rhythm, filling the zone with strikes. My fastball and changeup were good at first and then I was able to get my curve over for strikes in the later innings. It’s nice to get a win in the first game.”
Buckner finished with two hits in four at bats to lead the Mountaineers, including two home runs and three RBIs. Brady Wilson, Matt Frazer and Mark Dvoroznak each finished with two hits, and Griffin and Dvoroznak each drove in a run for WVU.
“Anytime you start off the year with two home runs is a good thing, especially for my confidence,” Buckner said. “The first homer I was patient and drove a fastball; the second one was a changeup. Jonathan Jones set the tone for the game, pitching five perfect innings. That allowed the offense to relax and find good pitches to hit. It’s a great feeling to start off the year with a win.”
West Virginia (1-0) finished with five runs on 12 hits, while Iowa (0-1) had four hits. Neither team committed an error.
The Mountaineers scored all five runs and finished with 11 hits off of Big Ten Preseason Pitcher of the Year Jarred Hippen (0-1). He worked six innings, also giving up one walk and striking out four batters. Zach Kenyon pitched the final two innings of relief for Iowa, giving up one hit, two walks and striking out three.
West Virginia opened the first inning with a 1-0 lead on Buckner’s first homer of the game over the left field wall.
Malloy led off the bottom of the second inning with a double down the left field line, advanced to third on a Justin McDavid sacrifice grounder to third base and scored on Griffin’s double down the left field line. Griffin scored two batters later on Dvoroznak’s double to right field, giving WVU a 3-0 lead.
Buckner’s second homer in the third inning gave West Virginia a 5-0 lead, the final outcome. Dan DiBartolomeo led off the inning with a double down the left field line.
Kurt Lee had two of the Hawkeyes’ four hits, both doubles.
West Virginia faces Penn State in day two of the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge at 1 p.m., tomorrow at Jack Russell Stadium.
“I’m really proud of the guys; they played well today,” WVU head coach Greg Van Zant says. “It starts on the hill, and Jonathan Jones pitched a tremendous game. Kevin Griffin was outstanding behind the plate, and Marcus Broadwater came in and did a great job in relief. I can’t remember a season opener when we only gave up only four hits, no walks and struck out seven batters.
“Grant Buckner really stepped up and hit the ball hard, especially with everyone wondering about using the new bats this year. (Matt) Malloy also hit another ball off the wall and several more guys hit doubles. We are more advanced at this stage than we were last year at this time. However, we still have a lot of work to do. Today was a good start to the year. It’s always important to start the season off with a win.”
Jones (1-0) pitched 6.1 innings, giving up two hits, no walks and striking out five batters. Broadwater came on in relief in the seventh inning and finished the game. He pitched 2.2 innings, giving up two hits and striking out two batters.
Jones didn’t surrender his first hit until two outs in the sixth inning. He then hit Trevor Willis, before sitting down the next batter to get out of the inning. He started the seventh inning, forcing Mike McQuillan to ground out before giving up a double down the right field line to Dan Sheppard.
“The defense allowed me to be very effective today,” Jones said. “I felt like I was in a good rhythm, filling the zone with strikes. My fastball and changeup were good at first and then I was able to get my curve over for strikes in the later innings. It’s nice to get a win in the first game.”
Buckner finished with two hits in four at bats to lead the Mountaineers, including two home runs and three RBIs. Brady Wilson, Matt Frazer and Mark Dvoroznak each finished with two hits, and Griffin and Dvoroznak each drove in a run for WVU.
“Anytime you start off the year with two home runs is a good thing, especially for my confidence,” Buckner said. “The first homer I was patient and drove a fastball; the second one was a changeup. Jonathan Jones set the tone for the game, pitching five perfect innings. That allowed the offense to relax and find good pitches to hit. It’s a great feeling to start off the year with a win.”
West Virginia (1-0) finished with five runs on 12 hits, while Iowa (0-1) had four hits. Neither team committed an error.
The Mountaineers scored all five runs and finished with 11 hits off of Big Ten Preseason Pitcher of the Year Jarred Hippen (0-1). He worked six innings, also giving up one walk and striking out four batters. Zach Kenyon pitched the final two innings of relief for Iowa, giving up one hit, two walks and striking out three.
West Virginia opened the first inning with a 1-0 lead on Buckner’s first homer of the game over the left field wall.
Malloy led off the bottom of the second inning with a double down the left field line, advanced to third on a Justin McDavid sacrifice grounder to third base and scored on Griffin’s double down the left field line. Griffin scored two batters later on Dvoroznak’s double to right field, giving WVU a 3-0 lead.
Buckner’s second homer in the third inning gave West Virginia a 5-0 lead, the final outcome. Dan DiBartolomeo led off the inning with a double down the left field line.
Kurt Lee had two of the Hawkeyes’ four hits, both doubles.
West Virginia faces Penn State in day two of the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge at 1 p.m., tomorrow at Jack Russell Stadium.
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