Baseball team update

[smurph]

By Steve Stone for MSNsportsNET.com
April 28, 2009

BOX SCORE

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Freshman left-hander Jonathan Jones enjoyed one of his best outings of the season to guide the West Virginia University baseball team past Morehead State, 8-1, on Tuesday evening in a game that was called through 5 ½ innings due to rain at Hawley Field.

Jones (5-1) made his first start since facing Duquesne on April 14. The Fredericksburg, Va., native got ahead of his hitters throughout the night with a sharp two-seam fastball, and retired 16 of his 25 batters faced. He pitched a six-inning complete game and gave up one run on four hits with three strikeouts.

The Mountaineers (29-12, 11-7) regained their offensive prowess by tallying 10 hits through five innings at the plate, with seven of them being extra base hits. Austin Markel, Vince Belnome, Grant Buckner and Colin Durborow each finished with two hits apiece.

WVU’s victory over Morehead State is its second against the Eagles (15-25, 8-9) this season, and snaps the Mountaineers’ five-game losing streak.

Eagles starter Trey Smith (1-5) took the loss after giving up six runs on six hits in 3.2 innings pitched. The sophomore right-hander held WVU scoreless through the first two innings, then gave up three runs in both the third and fourth frames.

Reliever Tyler Hieneman also made an appearance for Morehead State, but gave up two earned runs on four hits in 1.1 innings.

After going hitless through the first two frames, WVU tallied two home runs in the third. Durborow led off with a double down the left field line, and was driven home by Markel’s two-run home run to right field, his 11th of the season. Two batters later, Belnome followed with an opposite field solo shot to left, his sixth round-tripper of the year.

WVU came back with three more runs in the fourth. Buckner led off with a bunt single to third base, and Joe Agreste hit a first-pitch RBI double down the right field line to make it 4-0. Durborow proceeded to hit his second double of the game to left field to score Agreste, and Markel hit a slicing RBI triple that ricocheted off the glove of left fielder Daniel Pugh to give the Mountaineers a six-run advantage.

A line drive run-scoring single to right field by Tobias Streich gave WVU a 7-0 lead, and Durborow followed with a sacrifice fly to left field in the fifth inning to make it 8-0.

The Mountaineers play the second game of their nine-game homestand on Wednesday, April 29, against Maryland at Hawley Field. First pitch is set for 5 p.m.

The contest is dubbed as “Gold Rush” night in which all fans are encouraged to pack the park with gold.

[smurph]

Key Victory
By John Antonik for MSNsportsNET.com
May 3, 2009
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – If West Virginia winds up making a run in postseason play later this month the Mountaineers may point back to their 9-3 victory over Rutgers on Sunday as the catalyst.


Senior Billy Gross won his sixth game of the year Sunday against Rutgers to help West Virginia claim the series.
WVU Photographic Services photo


West Virginia (31-14, 13-8) had seen its great start derailed during a two-week stretch when the Mountaineers lost six of seven games, including five of six in conference play to Notre Dame and South Florida.

Not only had West Virginia lost its first-place standing in the conference, but it was also letting other teams beneath it get back into contention for a better seeding in the league tournament. A 13-1 series opening victory over last-place Rutgers on Friday was neutralized Saturday when the Scarlet Knights claimed a 12-7 win.

That put the Mountaineers back on the spot this afternoon with weather conditions that were less than ideal. West Virginia not only needed to play the game against the Scarlet Knights, but it also needed to win it. Games between Pittsburgh-Georgetown and Louisville-Villanova on Sunday were rained out and will not be made up.

That is important because West Virginia is a game behind the Cardinals in the league standings and Pitt is chasing the Mountaineers in sixth place with a three-game series coming up with WVU in Pittsburgh to end the regular season. West Virginia's victory over Rutgers on Sunday could mean the difference between finishing fourth or fifth in the conference standings.

“This is huge because the first four seeds are going to be the home team in that first game,” said Sunday’s winning pitcher Billy Gross. “You ask anybody and the majority of them would want to be the home team.”

Gross has been the guy West Virginia has been leaning on of late. The pattern this year in conference games has been for the Mountaineers to win game one with Jarryd Summers on the hill and then to lose game two on Saturday. That happened again this weekend, placing even more pressure on Gross to come through in the rubber game of the series.

Gross understood what was at stake when he took the mound on Sunday.

“It’s always in the back of your head, ‘All right, I’ve got to show up today for us to take this series.’ I just go out there and try and give us a chance to win,” he explained. “I said before the season that if all of our starters can get to at least the sixth inning with three runs or less, I feel like we can win a lot of ballgames that way and that was basically my mindset going out there.”

Gross held true to his word against Rutgers, taking advantage of a nine-run, 14-hit offensive performance by the Mountaineers. He gave up eight hits – all singles – and walked just two batters in his complete-game performance. Considering what was riding on today’s game, it may have been the most important pitching performance of his career.

“Without a doubt this was probably our biggest game of the year just because if we take this series we get back on track,” Gross said. “Rutgers is a good team and they took it to us yesterday. We had to come out here today, be the aggressor, and take it to them. We did a really good job of coming out and just playing our game. Sometimes we can kind of get away from that.”

West Virginia needed a senior on the mound Sunday to be able to cope with the unsettling circumstances that included a three-hour rain delay and a light rain that lasted most of the game.

“Yesterday they said the game was going to start at 12 o’clock and the next thing you know it’s pushed back three hours,” said Gross. “I was at least fortunate that we really didn’t have to get to the field until noon because we knew it was going to be pushed back.

“I woke up at 8 o’clock and ate breakfast and everything and I’m already getting into my routine to pitch and then you hear it’s backed up to 2 o’clock and then 3 o’clock. It didn’t even start until 3:30, but that’s just part of the game and you have to deal with it.”

Gross ran into trouble in the second, third and fourth innings, but he was able to steer clear of big innings giving up just one run in each frame.

“We were just trying to establish the fastball and the changeup and that was starting to get hit around,” Gross said. “I only gave up eight singles and that was big because Coach (Greg Van Zant) always stresses it takes three singles to score a run if you don’t walk anybody. It was hard for me to get into a groove and toward the end we started to get them off-balance more and getting a lot more ground balls.”

Gross said he was simply happy to put another W up for the Mountaineers with the regular season coming down to the final two weeks.

“As long as we have a lead when I’m coming out on the mound I am happy,” he said. “I don’t care if it’s 15-13 as long as we’re winning the ballgame - I’m fine with that whether I’m throwing a shutout or getting creamed.”

West Virginia is idle this week with final examinations before taking on fifth-place Cincinnati in Morgantown this weekend.

“This series coming up this weekend against Cincinnati is huge just because they dominated us last year all four games we played them – the three that we played at their place and the game in the Big East Tournament,” Gross said.

“We are just trying to finish as high as we can. Who knows, maybe (first place) South Florida loses every game, so we’re just trying to get to the highest seed possible right now.”

[smurph]

Baseball Notebook
By John Antonik for MSNsportsNET.com
May 11, 2009

Jon Jones

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – In a weekend when West Virginia produced 48 hits, 42 runs, 20 extra base hits and Vince Belnome gave his best Ted Williams impersonation, the key to the Mountaineers’ three-game sweep was the pitching performance put forth by freshman Jon Jones on Saturday.

Jones sat in the dugout on Saturday and watched game one starter Jarryd Summers give up five home runs to a Cincinnati lineup that included two of the best hitters in college baseball in Mike Spina and Lance Durham.

Estimated wind gusts at Hawley Field approached 40 mph, making the long walk out to the pitchers mound seem like a walk to the electric chair. That is what confronted the freshman when he took to the hill for game two.

“We didn’t even tell him he was pitching until 40-50 minutes before the game,” said West Virginia coach Greg Van Zant. “The day before during practice (Billy) Gross asked me if was pitching on Saturday and I told him yes. Jones asked me if he was pitching on Saturday and I told him yes. They both looked at each other.”

After working out of a bases loaded jam in the first, Jones settled down to pitch 7 1/3 strong innings, giving up just one earned run on seven hits. More importantly, he was able to keep his pitches down and keep the ball in the ballpark.

“That’s the way he pitched when the season started,” Van Zant explained. “He’s a really good pitcher and for a freshman he’s done an unbelievable job.”

After a great start that included victories over Connecticut and Georgetown, Jones was removed from the weekend rotation after a tough outing against St. John’s. Van Zant believes the time off allowed Jones to get refocused.

“We gave him a rest and sometimes you gain a different perspective when those innings are taken away from you,” he explained.

The three-game sweep of Cincinnati clinched at least a fifth-place finish for West Virginia with a three-game series remaining at Pitt. The Mountaineers could finish as high as second with a strong performance against the Panthers.

West Virginia has hit consistently all year. The Mountaineers lead the Big East with a .360 team batting average, but Van Zant has been searching for another starting pitcher to go with veterans Summers and Gross. Jon Jones looks like he’s ready to take on that responsibility heading into postseason play.

Notes:


Not only was Van Zant impressed with the way Jones worked around Cincinnati’s dangerous hitters, he was also pleased with the way he fielded his position on Saturday.
“He caught a pop up in foul territory that neither the catcher nor the first baseman could get to and a lot of pitchers would just stand there and look for someone else to make the play,” Van Zant said.

“There was a push bunt toward the second baseman and (Jones) kind of dove from his knees and gets the out. Then there was a slow chopper and he gets off the mound, fields it, and throws it to Tobias (Streich) and he tags the runner out at the plate. Those were three excellent plays.”


Jarryd Summers


The baseball staff has an interesting dilemma concerning this weekend’s series with Pitt: How to utilize their starting pitching.
Because the Big East Tournament begins a day earlier on Tuesday, that means game-one starter Jarryd Summers will be working on just four days rest.

“He has worked on four days rest once before this year but doing it two times in a row is the problem,” said Van Zant. “We’ll have to watch his pitch count up at Pitt.”

Van Zant is familiar with what happened to regular-season champion St. John’s last year. The Red Storm’s Thursday game with Villanova was postponed due to rain, which forced a Friday doubleheader. Coach Ed Blankmeyer opted to use his No. 1 and No. 2 starters on Friday to win the regular season title, but it wound up backfiring when St. John’s got to the conference tournament.

St. John’s wound up losing both games to become the first team to get eliminated.

“They go to the conference tournament and they don’t even throw their No. 1 guy,” Van Zant said.

Fortunately this year, all eight teams are in the same boat. South Florida travels to Louisville to play for the league title; Notre Dame is at St. John’s battling for tournament positioning, while Connecticut, Seton Hall, Cincinnati and Pitt are fighting to get into the tournament.

“The only thing that will screw things up is certain sites get rained out and others play,” Van Zant said. “Then you’ve got the doubleheader Friday deal where you’ve only got three days rest for the tournament opener.”

As for West Virginia, Van Zant must weigh how important finishing third is as opposed to a fourth-place finish if it’s going to blow up the pitching rotation for the conference tournament. The Big East Tournament appears to be the Mountaineers’ only path to the NCAA Tournament with their RPI hovering right around 100 right now.


West Virginia has a shot at the school record of 36 regular season victories achieved in 2003. The Mountaineers (34-14) have four regular season games left against Youngstown State tonight, and at Pitt this weekend.
“Hopefully we can play well (tonight) and get 35,” Van Zant said, adding that last year Youngstown State defeated the Mountaineers after West Virginia was coming off a series win against Louisville.

Van Zant also expects a dogfight this weekend in Pittsburgh.

“Pitt is going to have an advantage because they have to win to get into the tournament,” he said.


Only once before (2003) has West Virginia clinched a Big East Tournament spot before the last weekend of the regular season. “Getting to clinch the weekend before is huge because we can make travel plans and set up our pitching rotation,” Van Zant said.
The key to winning the Big East Tournament is to win the first two games, Van Zant said. “If you win on Tuesday and you win on Wednesday, you don’t even play on Thursday,” he explained. “Then on Friday somebody has to beat you twice, which is hard to do. If you win your bracket on Friday, you play the winner of the other bracket on Saturday.

“Plus, the deeper the tournament goes it favors the teams that have offense.”


This year the Big East has opted to discontinue the team banquet and will instead have an opening ceremony at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla., that includes a home run derby similar to what the major league does with its all-star game. A strong candidate to represent West Virginia in the home run derby is senior Austin Markel, who leads the team with 13 home runs.

Pat Sherald

Van Zant said he is certain about one thing: hitting coach Pat Sherald will be the one grooving them in there for whoever represents the Mountaineers in the home run contest.

“He’s like a pitching machine,” Van Zant laughed.

Van Zant said Sherald is by far the most reliable batting practice pitcher he’s ever had.

“He may be the first coach in Division I history to throw every pitch of pregame batting practice this year,” Van Zant said. “At most places it takes a couple of coaches to go through BP. He’s not working on a complete game – he’s working on a complete season.”

Among the assistants who used to throw BP Jon Szynal was the most difficult to hit, Van Zant said. The Mountaineer players constantly complained because Szynal didn’t throw over the top and his ball always had natural movement.

“Szynal would run ‘em in and out, up and down,” Van Zant joked. “He had a tight slider, the good changeup and the fastball that rode in on their hands.”

[smurph]

By Steve Stone for MSNsportsNET.com
May 11, 2009

BOX SCORE

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Justin Parks collected his 200th hit as the West Virginia University baseball team defeated Youngstown State, 6-2, in a game that was called after five innings due to inclement weather.


Justin Parks has had a stellar five-year career at WVU.
WVU Photographic Services photo


Parks singled to left center to jumpstart WVU’s three runs in the third, becoming just the 14th Mountaineer to reach the 200-hit milestone. Vince Belnome earned his 200th hit in game two of Saturday’s doubleheader against Cincinnati, and Austin Markel reached the benchmark in Sunday’s game to mark the first time that three WVU players have eclipsed 200 hits in the same season.

The Mountaineers (35-14, 16-8) are now one victory away from tying the school record for most regular season wins, which is 36 held by the 1998 team. WVU also finished the season 23-5 at Hawley Field, its best record at home since going 23-4 in 2003.

Sophomore Jedd Gyorko slammed his eighth home run of the season, including his fourth in the last eight games. The Morgantown native went 2 for 3 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Belnome contributed with two hits and two RBIs.

Belnome is now three RBIs shy of breaking the school’s single-season RBI record held by Mark Landers, who drove in 81 runs in 1994.

Left-hander Chase Pickering (3-2) took the win for WVU after throwing 4.1 innings and striking out four while allowing two runs on seven hits. The Cross Lanes, W.Va., native made a habit of letting runners get on early, but managed to escape any potential jams by utilizing both his fastball and sharp curveball.

Junior Andy Altemus earned his third save in the shortened win. Altemus entered the game in the fifth inning with one out and runners on first and third, but managed to strike out C.J. Jones and force a lineout by Eric Hymel to end the threat.

Youngstown State threatened early and often, finally getting on the board in the third inning. Joe Iacobucci hit a two-out double to left center to score Jeremy Banks, but Markel made an accurate relay throw from center field to Gyorko, who gunned down Anthony Porter at the plate to end the inning.

WVU responded with three runs in the bottom half. With two outs, Parks hit a single to center field. Markel then reached first on catcher’s inference, and Gyorko followed with an RBI single to right center to tie the game at 1-1. Belnome then hit a first-pitch, two-run single down the left field line to give the Mountaineers a 3-1 advantage.

The Penguins (14-34, 10-14) came back with one run in the fourth. John Koehnlein lay down a well-placed bunt single to the left side with two outs to score Morris.

Gyorko hit a solo home run to right center in the fifth inning. Belnome followed with a single, then scored on a throwing error by catcher Jonathan Crist on an attempt to throw out Dan DiBartolomeo at second base. Joe Agreste then hit an RBI single to right center to bring in DiBartolomeo and make it 6-2.

Agreste finished the evening 2 for 3 with an RBI. Through WVU’s nine-game homestand, the Chesapeake, Va., native raised his batting average 22 points.

The Mountaineers wrap up their regular season with a three-game set at Pitt on May 14-16. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on Thursday.

[smurph]

By Kevin Kinder
Publisher
Posted May 14, 2009


West Virginia has already clinched a spot in the Big East tournament, but it didn't do itself any favors in terms of seeding or bragging rights as it dropped an ugly 9-1 decision to Pitt on Thursday afternoon.


The Mountaineers, trying to finish as high as possible for home team advantage in the tournament, managed ten hits, but could not push a run across the plate until the ninth inning, when they were buried under a 9-0 deficit. WVU left nine runners on base as Pitt starter Nate Reed managed to get outs in key situations to keep the Mountaineers off the board.

WVU missed a chance to jump out on top early when Jedd Gyorko was cut down at the plate trying to score on Vince Belnome's single to left field, and that missed opportunity seemed to set the tone for the game. The Mountaineers stranded runners in scoring position in both the second and third innings as well, and Pitt finally opened the scoring with a single run in the latter frame to take a 1-0 lead.

Three innings later, behind 3-0, West Virginia had its best chance to close the gap, but the Mountaineers left the bases loaded in another frustrating at-bat. Pitt then put the game away with four runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth. WVU finally scratched out one run in the top of the ninth to avoid a shutout, but that turn at bat was also symbolic of the day. The Mountaineers loaded the bases with one out, but could only push one run across, via a Pitt error, before grounding into a game-ending double play.

WVU starter Jarryd Summers allowed three runs in 4 2/3 innings in taking the loss, but relief pitching was also wanting. Justin Ellis yielded nine hits and five earned runs against just 17 batters, allowing the Panthers to turn a competitive game into a laugher.

WVU faces the Panthers again in a single game on Friday at 3:00 p.m. The Mountaineers (35-15, 16-9) can now finish no better than third in the Big East. Pitt (27-18, 12-12) moved into a three-way tie for sixth with UConn and Seton Hall. All three schools are fighting for the final three positions in the tournament.

NOTE

Gyorko has been named a semifinalist for the 2009 Brooks Wallace Award, as announced by the College Baseball Foundation. The sophomore shortstop is the only Big East baseball player named to the list.

The award, given to the nation’s best shortstop, is narrowed down to 15 players from nine different conferences. Gyorko is batting .406 with eight home runs and 50 RBIs, and is among the country’s leaders with 27 doubles.

The sophomore leads the Mountaineers with 82 hits heading into their final series of the season against Pitt. He also is the team leader with 135 total bases, is slugging .668 and shows an on-base percentage of .475.

The lone Big East representative has made a smooth transition to shortstop in his second season, committing just two errors in his last 31 games while manning the infield.

The Brooks Wallace Award officially will be presented on July 2 in Lubbock, Texas, as part of the College Baseball Awards Show, which will recognize the top players in college baseball as part of the CBF’s annual celebration, which also includes the National College Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

[smurph]

By BlueGoldNews.com

Posted May 19, 2009


WVU had a school-record nine players named to the All-Big East baseball team on Monday.


The total marks a school record formally held by the 2006 team that produced six All-Big East performers. WVU produced the most representatives in the conference, as Louisville trailed with six conference performers while USF finished with five conference honorees.

The group was headlined by four All-Big East First Team players in shortstop Jedd Gyorko, outfielder Justin Parks, catcher Tobias Streich and pitcher Jarryd Summers.

Gyorko, the 2008 Big East Rookie of the Year, garnered his second conference honor after earning a spot on the second team last season. Parks is also a two-time recipient of the All-Big East Team, joining Gyorko on the second team in 2008.

Summers, a Sharpsville, Pa., native, became the first WVU pitcher to make the All-Big East First Team since Zac Cline earned the honor in 2004.

Second baseman/designated hitter Vince Belnome was WVU’s lone representative on the All-Big East Second Team. The junior from Coatesville, Pa., is hitting a team-leading .426 with nine home runs and a conference-best 82 RBIs.

Four members in third baseman Dan DiBartolomeo, outfielder Austin Markel, and pitchers Billy Gross and Chris Enourato received All-Big East Third Team honors.

West Virginia opens Big East Tournament play today against Connecticut.

[smurph]

By BlueGoldNews.com

Posted May 20, 2009


West Virginia wasted a strong outing from starter Jarryd Summers in dropping an opening round Big East tournament game to UConn by the score of 6-1 on Tuesday.


Summers pitched seven shutout innings for the Mountaineers, allowing just four hits and striking out seven. Almost two out of every three pitches he threw were for strikes as he kept Husky batters off balance throughout his stint on the mound. He walked just two hitters and preserved a 1-0 lead before giving way to Chris Enourato, who did not fare as well.

Against Enourato, UConn teed off for six hits and five earned runs in the top of the eighth inning to claim the win. The normally steady Enourato retired just one of the seven batters he faced before giving way to reliever Andy Altemus, who finally managed to stem the tide. However, trailing 6-1, the Mountaineers were unable to mount a rally in their final two at-bats.

West Virginia scored its only run of the game in the third inning, when Justin Parks, who doubled, came home on Jedd Gyorko's RBI single. That was the only dent WVU could make against UConn pitcher Elliot Glynn, who stifled West Virginia's normally booming bats. WVU managed just seven hits, with Parks, Gyorko and Dan DiBartolomeo each accounting for two. Parks' double was the Mountaineers' only extra-base hit of the contest.

West Virginia now faces elimination from the tournament, as another loss will knock it out of the post-season competition. WVU will play the loser of the Pitt-USF game on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m.