Post by elp525 on May 19, 2011 5:15:50 GMT -5
05/18/2011
MetroNews Sports
Morgantown
The Mountaineer baseball team needs to win at least one of the three Big East games against Rutgers at home this week to extend the season into the league tournament in Florida next week.
WVU will host the Scarlet Knights Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the final three games of the regular season. The Mountaineers begin the week tied for fourth in the Big East Conference standings. With a sweep of Rutgers and a sweep of Pitt by South Florida in Tampa this week, the Mountaineers could finish as high as third in the Big East. But with a Rutgers sweep, it is also possible for the Mountaineers to fall out of the top eight and miss the conference playoffs altogether. WVU will carry a four game losing streak into the Rutgers series.
The Mountaineers are coming off a conference sweep on the road at the hands of rival Pitt. It was a series where the Mountaineers were outscored 27-9 as their pitchers issued 23 walks. The team hopes for better results this week as junior college transfer Josh McCauley, redshirt freshman Marshall Thompson and senior Andy Berry get the starts for WVU vs. Rutgers.
Berry leads the staff with seven wins but he suffered his first loss since April 3 as he lost the Sunday game at Pitt last weekend.
Senior shortstop Grant Buckner continues to lead all Big East Conference hitters with an average of .438 in 24 league games. Overall, the Elkview, West Virginia native is batting .364 with a team high 45 runs, 68 hits, seven home runs and 41 RBI. Senior designated hitter Jeremy Gum is batting .348 with a team high 14 doubles. Gum, from Bridgeport, has extended his school record as he's been hit by a pitch 21 times this season.
Buckner, Gum and Berry are three of the ten seniors who will be honored prior to the start of Saturday's game. Pitcher Marcus Broadwater from Clarksburg, catcher Kevin Griffin from Martinsburg and pitcher Jonathan Hash from Shenandoah Junction will also close out their Mountaineer careers. As will fellow seniors Colin Durborow, Mark Dvoroznak, Justin McDavid and Matt Marrone.
Rutgers will begin the weekend at 9-15 in the conference. The Scarlet Knights are in 10th place in the league but still not eliminated from playoff consideration. Rutgers is near the bottom of the league with a .247 team batting average.
Game times this week are 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday. All three games can be heard on WAJR-AM 1440 in Morgantown and at wajr.com.
If the Mountaineers qualify for the post season tournament, they will travel to Florida Sunday. Pre-tournament ceremonies are Tuesday and first round games will be played Wednesday, May 25 at the spring training home of the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater, Florida.
MetroNews Sports
Morgantown
The Mountaineer baseball team needs to win at least one of the three Big East games against Rutgers at home this week to extend the season into the league tournament in Florida next week.
WVU will host the Scarlet Knights Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the final three games of the regular season. The Mountaineers begin the week tied for fourth in the Big East Conference standings. With a sweep of Rutgers and a sweep of Pitt by South Florida in Tampa this week, the Mountaineers could finish as high as third in the Big East. But with a Rutgers sweep, it is also possible for the Mountaineers to fall out of the top eight and miss the conference playoffs altogether. WVU will carry a four game losing streak into the Rutgers series.
The Mountaineers are coming off a conference sweep on the road at the hands of rival Pitt. It was a series where the Mountaineers were outscored 27-9 as their pitchers issued 23 walks. The team hopes for better results this week as junior college transfer Josh McCauley, redshirt freshman Marshall Thompson and senior Andy Berry get the starts for WVU vs. Rutgers.
Berry leads the staff with seven wins but he suffered his first loss since April 3 as he lost the Sunday game at Pitt last weekend.
Senior shortstop Grant Buckner continues to lead all Big East Conference hitters with an average of .438 in 24 league games. Overall, the Elkview, West Virginia native is batting .364 with a team high 45 runs, 68 hits, seven home runs and 41 RBI. Senior designated hitter Jeremy Gum is batting .348 with a team high 14 doubles. Gum, from Bridgeport, has extended his school record as he's been hit by a pitch 21 times this season.
Buckner, Gum and Berry are three of the ten seniors who will be honored prior to the start of Saturday's game. Pitcher Marcus Broadwater from Clarksburg, catcher Kevin Griffin from Martinsburg and pitcher Jonathan Hash from Shenandoah Junction will also close out their Mountaineer careers. As will fellow seniors Colin Durborow, Mark Dvoroznak, Justin McDavid and Matt Marrone.
Rutgers will begin the weekend at 9-15 in the conference. The Scarlet Knights are in 10th place in the league but still not eliminated from playoff consideration. Rutgers is near the bottom of the league with a .247 team batting average.
Game times this week are 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday. All three games can be heard on WAJR-AM 1440 in Morgantown and at wajr.com.
If the Mountaineers qualify for the post season tournament, they will travel to Florida Sunday. Pre-tournament ceremonies are Tuesday and first round games will be played Wednesday, May 25 at the spring training home of the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater, Florida.
