Baseball: WVU Travels to Face Pitt
May 12, 2011 04:24 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team travels to Pittsburgh this weekend to face Pitt in a three-game conference series that begins Friday, May 13 at 7 p.m. at Charles L. Cost Field at the Petersen Sports Complex.
Game two starts at 3 p.m. on Saturday, and game three will begin at noon on Sunday.
The games on Friday and Sunday can be heard in Morgantown on WAJR AM-1440 and MSNsportsNET.com, while live stats may be accessed at MSNsportsNET.com.
“Our goal is to go up there and try to find a way to win a game,” coach Greg Van Zant said. “If we can win one game there, just like any other conference road trip, it’s a big success for us. That’s how we approach it mentally, that’s all you can do because you’re playing good teams.”
WVU (27-20, 13-8) enters the series in third place in the BIG EAST Conference behind Connecticut (18-3) and St. John’s (13-7) with six conference games remaining in the regular season.
Junior Josh McCauley will start on the mound Friday for the Mountaineers, followed by redshirt freshman left-hander Marshall Thompson on Saturday and senior right-hander Andy Berry on Sunday.
Pitt coach Joe Jordano will counter with junior left-hander Matt Iannazzo on Friday, freshman right-hander Ethan Mildren on Saturday and senior right-hander Corey Baker on Sunday.
“They have a really good left-hander (Iannazzo), a right-handed freshman (Mildren) who has walked four, which is unbelievable, and they have Corey Baker who is a veteran and really knows how to pitch,” Van Zant said of Pitt’s staff. “They have a couple of pitchers out of the bullpen who have three and four saves and one big right hander who throws well into the mid-90s. It’s going to be a big challenge."
The Mountaineers are batting .303 as a team with 82 doubles, eight triples and 26 homers on the year. The WVU pitching staff has a 4.85 ERA with seven complete games, 263 strikeouts and a .274 opponent batting average.
WVU is ranked No. 4 in the BIG EAST in team batting average, and the Mountaineers are No. 6 in the league in staff ERA.
The Mountaineers are led at the plate by redshirt senior shortstop Grant Buckner, who is hitting .366 with 42 runs, 13 doubles, one triple, seven homers and 41 RBIs. Buckner has reached base in 41 consecutive games and leads the BIG EAST in conference batting average with a .455 mark. Redshirt senior designated hitter Jeremy Gum is batting .347 with 13 doubles, one triple, four homers, 34 RBIs and 19 hit by pitches, while sophomore right fielder Brady Wilson is hitting .341 with 40 runs, eight doubles, one triple, two homers and 27 RBIs in the leadoff spot.
Pitt is batting .312 with 86 doubles, 21 triples and 25 homers. The Panther pitching staff has a 4.08 ERA with 277 strikeouts and a .278 opponent batting average.
“They have eight hitters hitting .300 or higher; they really swing the bat,” Van Zant said. “Not only do they hit for average, but they hit for power and they have three or four hitters that have really gaudy double, triple and home run numbers.”
Pitt is No. 3 in the BIG EAST in team batting average and the Panthers are ninth in the league in team ERA.
Pitt is led at the plate by senior catcher Kevan Smith, who is hitting .397 with 47 runs, 15 doubles, four triples, six homers and 48 RBIs. Freshman right fielder Casey Roche is batting .379 with six doubles, three triples and 17 RBIs, while John Schultz (.358), David Chester (.327), Anthony DeFabio (.326), Travis Whitemore (.326) and Rick Devereaux (.311) are all batting above .300. Chester leads the team with 10 homers and 49 RBIs.
West Virginia leads the overall series with Pitt, 96-81, in a series that began in 1895. The Mountaineers and Panthers hold a 19-19 mark since BIG EAST play began in 1996.
Last season in Morgantown, West Virginia was swept by the Panthers by scores of 13-9, 6-3 and 24-9.
Game two starts at 3 p.m. on Saturday, and game three will begin at noon on Sunday.
The games on Friday and Sunday can be heard in Morgantown on WAJR AM-1440 and MSNsportsNET.com, while live stats may be accessed at MSNsportsNET.com.
“Our goal is to go up there and try to find a way to win a game,” coach Greg Van Zant said. “If we can win one game there, just like any other conference road trip, it’s a big success for us. That’s how we approach it mentally, that’s all you can do because you’re playing good teams.”
WVU (27-20, 13-8) enters the series in third place in the BIG EAST Conference behind Connecticut (18-3) and St. John’s (13-7) with six conference games remaining in the regular season.
Junior Josh McCauley will start on the mound Friday for the Mountaineers, followed by redshirt freshman left-hander Marshall Thompson on Saturday and senior right-hander Andy Berry on Sunday.
Pitt coach Joe Jordano will counter with junior left-hander Matt Iannazzo on Friday, freshman right-hander Ethan Mildren on Saturday and senior right-hander Corey Baker on Sunday.
“They have a really good left-hander (Iannazzo), a right-handed freshman (Mildren) who has walked four, which is unbelievable, and they have Corey Baker who is a veteran and really knows how to pitch,” Van Zant said of Pitt’s staff. “They have a couple of pitchers out of the bullpen who have three and four saves and one big right hander who throws well into the mid-90s. It’s going to be a big challenge."
The Mountaineers are batting .303 as a team with 82 doubles, eight triples and 26 homers on the year. The WVU pitching staff has a 4.85 ERA with seven complete games, 263 strikeouts and a .274 opponent batting average.
WVU is ranked No. 4 in the BIG EAST in team batting average, and the Mountaineers are No. 6 in the league in staff ERA.
The Mountaineers are led at the plate by redshirt senior shortstop Grant Buckner, who is hitting .366 with 42 runs, 13 doubles, one triple, seven homers and 41 RBIs. Buckner has reached base in 41 consecutive games and leads the BIG EAST in conference batting average with a .455 mark. Redshirt senior designated hitter Jeremy Gum is batting .347 with 13 doubles, one triple, four homers, 34 RBIs and 19 hit by pitches, while sophomore right fielder Brady Wilson is hitting .341 with 40 runs, eight doubles, one triple, two homers and 27 RBIs in the leadoff spot.
Pitt is batting .312 with 86 doubles, 21 triples and 25 homers. The Panther pitching staff has a 4.08 ERA with 277 strikeouts and a .278 opponent batting average.
“They have eight hitters hitting .300 or higher; they really swing the bat,” Van Zant said. “Not only do they hit for average, but they hit for power and they have three or four hitters that have really gaudy double, triple and home run numbers.”
Pitt is No. 3 in the BIG EAST in team batting average and the Panthers are ninth in the league in team ERA.
Pitt is led at the plate by senior catcher Kevan Smith, who is hitting .397 with 47 runs, 15 doubles, four triples, six homers and 48 RBIs. Freshman right fielder Casey Roche is batting .379 with six doubles, three triples and 17 RBIs, while John Schultz (.358), David Chester (.327), Anthony DeFabio (.326), Travis Whitemore (.326) and Rick Devereaux (.311) are all batting above .300. Chester leads the team with 10 homers and 49 RBIs.
West Virginia leads the overall series with Pitt, 96-81, in a series that began in 1895. The Mountaineers and Panthers hold a 19-19 mark since BIG EAST play began in 1996.
Last season in Morgantown, West Virginia was swept by the Panthers by scores of 13-9, 6-3 and 24-9.
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