Baseball: WVU Set to Open Season
February 16, 2012 11:28 AM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team opens its 2012 season at the fourth annual Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge, hosted by the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Sports Commission, on Friday, Feb. 17, against Northwestern at Al Lang Field, in St. Petersburg, Fla., at 10 a.m.
The Mountaineers will then make the short drive to Clearwater, Fla., and face Penn State on Feb. 18, at Bright House Field for a 4 p.m. first pitch. WVU will close out the weekend back in St. Petersburg with a doubleheader against Iowa at 8:45 a.m., and Michigan at 12:30 p.m. Both games will be played at the Walter Fuller Complex.
This will be the second time the Mountaineers and Wildcats have met as the two teams played each other in the tournament in 2009 when WVU defeated Northwestern 10-5.
Last season, WVU played Penn State in its second game of the season and fell in a ninth inning heartbreaker, 3-2. The two teams have met 104 times since 1904, and PSU owns a 62-42 series advantage.
WVU opened the challenge with Iowa last season and played to a 5-0 win over the Hawkeyes. All-time WVU has a 2-0 record against Iowa.
The Mountaineers and Michigan will meet for the first time since 1985 when the teams faced off in the NCAA tournament, with the Wolverines winning 9-2. Michigan holds a 3-0 series advantage.
WVU, picked 10th in the BIG EAST preseason coaches’ poll, has 13 returning letterwinners and four returning starters. Tops among the returnees is junior center fielder Brady Wilson. A Frederick, Md., native, Wilson finished 2011 with a .330 batting average and made only one error in the field. He also had 45 runs, eight doubles, 27 RBIs and 12 stolen bases.
Also returning is redshirt sophomore left fielder Matt Frazer, junior catcher Matt Malloy and redshirt junior outfielder Chris Rasky.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Corey Walter will get the starting nod against Northwestern. Walter finished 2011 with 12 appearances and four starts for a 2-4 record with a 4.75 ERA.
Redshirt sophomore Marshall Thompson will likely start against Penn State. The left-hander started 11 games in 2011 with a 5-4 record and a 4.88 ERA. Thompson had 48 strikeouts in 66.1 innings pitched.
Also expected to possibly get starts is junior right-hander Dan Dierdorff and redshirt senior lefty Eric Hinkle. Hinkle missed 2011 as he was recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Van Zant boasts a 477-392-1 (.549) record heading into his 17th season with the Mountaineers.
All-time, WVU is 5-5 in the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge.
The Challenge consists of eight teams from each conference. Connecticut, Cincinnati, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pitt, St. John’s, Seton Hall and WVU will represent the BIG EAST, while the Big Ten will be represented by Iowa, PSU, Minnesota, Ohio State, Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue.
BIG EAST baseball returns to Clearwater at the end of the regular season for the 2012 BIG EAST Championship at Bright House Field, May 23-27.
The Mountaineers will then make the short drive to Clearwater, Fla., and face Penn State on Feb. 18, at Bright House Field for a 4 p.m. first pitch. WVU will close out the weekend back in St. Petersburg with a doubleheader against Iowa at 8:45 a.m., and Michigan at 12:30 p.m. Both games will be played at the Walter Fuller Complex.
This will be the second time the Mountaineers and Wildcats have met as the two teams played each other in the tournament in 2009 when WVU defeated Northwestern 10-5.
Last season, WVU played Penn State in its second game of the season and fell in a ninth inning heartbreaker, 3-2. The two teams have met 104 times since 1904, and PSU owns a 62-42 series advantage.
WVU opened the challenge with Iowa last season and played to a 5-0 win over the Hawkeyes. All-time WVU has a 2-0 record against Iowa.
The Mountaineers and Michigan will meet for the first time since 1985 when the teams faced off in the NCAA tournament, with the Wolverines winning 9-2. Michigan holds a 3-0 series advantage.
WVU, picked 10th in the BIG EAST preseason coaches’ poll, has 13 returning letterwinners and four returning starters. Tops among the returnees is junior center fielder Brady Wilson. A Frederick, Md., native, Wilson finished 2011 with a .330 batting average and made only one error in the field. He also had 45 runs, eight doubles, 27 RBIs and 12 stolen bases.
Also returning is redshirt sophomore left fielder Matt Frazer, junior catcher Matt Malloy and redshirt junior outfielder Chris Rasky.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Corey Walter will get the starting nod against Northwestern. Walter finished 2011 with 12 appearances and four starts for a 2-4 record with a 4.75 ERA.
Redshirt sophomore Marshall Thompson will likely start against Penn State. The left-hander started 11 games in 2011 with a 5-4 record and a 4.88 ERA. Thompson had 48 strikeouts in 66.1 innings pitched.
Also expected to possibly get starts is junior right-hander Dan Dierdorff and redshirt senior lefty Eric Hinkle. Hinkle missed 2011 as he was recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Van Zant boasts a 477-392-1 (.549) record heading into his 17th season with the Mountaineers.
All-time, WVU is 5-5 in the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge.
The Challenge consists of eight teams from each conference. Connecticut, Cincinnati, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pitt, St. John’s, Seton Hall and WVU will represent the BIG EAST, while the Big Ten will be represented by Iowa, PSU, Minnesota, Ohio State, Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue.
BIG EAST baseball returns to Clearwater at the end of the regular season for the 2012 BIG EAST Championship at Bright House Field, May 23-27.
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