Baseball: WVU Suffers First Loss

By Grant Dovey for WVUsports.com
February 19, 2012 03:23 PM

Ryan McBroom

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The WVU baseball team fell to Michigan 14-3 on Sunday afternoon in the final game of the Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge at the Walter Fuller Complex in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The Mountaineers finished 3-1 in the tournament, previously defeating Northwestern, Penn State and Iowa.

WVU finished with three runs on five hits with one error, while Michigan scored 14 runs on 13 hits with one error.

Caleb Ross took the loss in his first career start, giving up six runs on six hits in four innings pitched. Tyler Dipzinski came on in relief and let up four runs on three hits in 1.1 innings. Ryan McBroom also pitched 2.2 innings, while Jared Hill threw one inning.

Matt Frazer led WVU at the plate with a 2-for-4 performance, while McBroom, Gabe Brown and Billy Fleming all knocked in runs.

For the first time this season, WVU failed to score first as the Wolverines took a 3-0 lead in the first inning. After walks to Will Drake and Coley Crank, John Lorenz blasted a three-run home run over the left field wall for the early lead.

WVU fought back in the bottom half of the inning and brought the game to 3-1 after a McBroom single up the middle scored Brady Wilson from third. Wilson had a leadoff walk, advancing to second on a wild pitch and third on a passed ball.

Michigan added a run to bring its lead to 4-1 in the third inning off a sacrifice fly by Crank that scored Michael O’Neill from third.

The game broke open in the fifth inning when the Wolverines scored six runs on five hits to extend lead to 10-1. The inning was highlighted by a ground rule double by Dylan Delaney that scored Derek Dennis and Crank.

Michigan scored two runs in the top of the seventh, while WVU brought the score to 12-2 in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI ground out by Brown to score Frazer from third.

The Wolverines scored one in the eighth, while Fleming flew out to right field and drove in Jon Roszel to bring the score to 13-3.

Ben Ballantine pitched a gem for Michigan, allowing just one earned run on three hits in seven innings. The right-hander struck out five and walked one.

WVU returns to action in Myrtle Beach, S.C., for the Caravelle Resort’s Baseball at the Beach Tournament from Feb. 24-26. The Mountaineers play Virginia Tech on Friday, NC State on Saturday and George Mason on Sunday.

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