WVU gets a big win vs. St. John this weekend. Apparently WVU hasn’t won a series against St. Johns in years. Good work Mounties. Anytime we beat a team named the “Red Storm” it’s a good day. What a stupid mascot.
From Bob Hertzels from the Times West Virginian report on the game/series:
Straying from what they had done so often in the past when St. John’s was the opponent, West Virginia University’s baseball team avoided laying an Easter egg, proving they are for real as they won two of three games from the Red Storm over the weekend at Hawley Field to increase their hold on first place to two games in the Big East.
The Mountaineers had not won a series from St. John’s in five years, but left no doubt in Saturday’s rubber game by burying the Johnnies 16-2, sealing the victory with tidal wave of eighth-inning runs, nine in all.
“This is huge,” said centerfielder Austin Markel, who got the Mountaineers going with a two-run home run in the first inning and finished with a pair of hits and three RBI. “This gives us a lot of momentum going into another big series at Notre Dame next weekend. We now have 10 wins in the conference. That’s enormous.”
“We’ve been waiting for this one for a while,” added winning pitcher Billy Gross, who worked his way out of early trouble to allow the onslaught to take place. “I’m sure we’ll hear from some of the guys who have played against St. John’s in the past after this one.”
“This is big for our confidence,” said coach Greg Van Zant. “You know, they swept us last year and that hurt our confidence at the end of the season.”
“I wouldn’t call this a confidence builder, but I would say it’s a building block,” Gross said.
Interestingly, considering the final score of 16-2, this game was probably won before the Mountaineers ever swung a bat.
