THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
12 | SPORTS
Friday March 11, 2011
baseball
WVU welcomes Rider to Hawley Field this weekend by Ethan Rohrbaugh sports writer
The West Virginia baseball team will host a three-game series with Rider this weekend as part of the Mountaineers’ current 15-game home stand at Hawley Field. West Virginia (5-6) took both games of its home-opening twin bill against Bryant on Tuesday, as WVU won 7-6 in
the first game and 6-1 in the night cap. The freshman pitching duo of Marshall Thompson and Corey Walter earned the wins for WVU. Both in their collegiate debuts, Thompson went six innings and Walter went for eight, neither surrendering a run as they turned things around for a Mountaineer pitching staff that had been struggling away
from home. West Virginia head coach Greg Van Zant said he could see a difference in the team’s preparedness at home. “This is the first time we actually were able to get on our field for batting practice,” he said after Tuesday’s games. “That makes a big difference. We’re coming off an 11-game road trip and finally got an opportunity to play at home. I
think that really helped us out. “We looked more comfortable in those two games than we have all season.” This weekend’s series was originally scheduled for four games with the first game slated for today at 3 p.m., but the game was canceled due to a threat of inclement weather. The remaining three games will go ahead as planned, with a doubleheader tomorrow be-
ginning at 1 p.m. and the series wrapping up on Sunday, again with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. Rider (4-4) has yet to play a game at home in Lawrenceville, N.J., as the Broncs opened the season 1-2 in a three-game set with East Tennessee State before heading to Charlottesville, Va., for a four-game series split between Cornell and Virginia.
Rider knocked off Cornell in both meetings but dropped both pairings with the No. 8 Cavaliers by a combined score of 16-1. The Broncs come into this weekend as winners of backto-back contests, beating Cornell 8-2 on Saturday, March 5, and Lafayette 8-7 on Wednesday, March 9. ethan.rohrbaugh@mail.wvu.edu
women’s basketball
West Virginia likely to be 8-or 9-seed in tournament By John Terry Multimedia Editor
West Virginia women’s basketball coach Mike Carey would have liked to get one more win at last weekend’s Big East Conference Tournament. Even when the 10th-seeded Mountaineers lost to seventhseed St. John’s 59-51 Saturday in the second round of the Big East Tournament, Carey was confident he was in the NCAA Tournament. “Not at all,” Carey said following the loss, when asked if he was nervous about Selection Monday. “We were in before this game. We’ve won 23 basketball games, and we were .500 in the Big East. We’ve been top 25 all year. I don’t see why we wouldn’t be in.” West Virginia could have used another win for seeing purposes, though. A team that once was ranked as high as No. 6 in the nation would now be lucky to get a top-seven seed in the NCAA Tournament. According to ESPN.com’s most recent edition of Bracke-
track
Continued from page 9 has been rewriting record books all season, will compete in the pentathlon and 60-meter hurdles. “Carrier has her sights on a podium finish. In the multi she has the opportunity to gain momentum as the day progresses,” Cleary said. “One mistake is not the end of the world, as she has five events meshed into one to create an overall performance. We are very confident in her preparations.” In 2010, Carrier earned AllAmerican status in both events after finishing fourth in the pentathlon and sixth in the 60-meter hurdles. “In the hurdles, Carrier has one brief moment to solidify herself. In an event that lasts eight seconds, there is no room
tology, West Virginia is currently a 9-seed playing in Stanford, Calif., against Texas Tech. Another site, realtimeRPI. com, has West Virginia as a 7-seed playing mid-major powerhouse Wisconsin-Green Bay. West Virginia would likely be happy win a 7 or 10-seed, though, considering the winner of the 8 and 9-seed game will matchup against a No. 1 seed in the second round barring an upset by a 16 seed. The Mountaineers have an RPI of 27, which will certainly help their cause, but their record against the RPI top 35 will not. WVU is just 1-9 against those teams. The NCAA Selection Committee takes multiple criteria into consideration when selecting the field – overall record, strength of schedule, RPI and recent performance. The recent performance will hurt the Mountaineers the most. Even though the team finished 23-9, including a 9-9 mark in the Big East, West Virginia went icecold down the stretch, finishing the regular season on a 3-7 skid.
West Virginia was able to earn a must-win game against St. John’s on Senior Night in the regular season finale 69-49 but then fell to the Red Storm 5951 in the second round of the Big East Tournament less than a week later. West Virginia’s strength of schedule is 49, but its affiliation to the Big East should help its seeding come selection time, as it’s arguably the most competitive conference in college basketball. Many head coaches around the Big East think the conference will get a record 10 teams in the NCAA Tournament. “If you put Syracuse, St. John’s, Georgetown or West Virginia up against any team in the country, and take out the top three teams in the nation, I bet one of us can win any one of those games,” said St. John’s head coach Kim Barnes-Arico following her team’s win over the Mountaineers Saturday. “I think our league is deserving of 10 teams.”
for error,” Cleary said. “If she runs a clean and explosive race, she certainly has the ability to qualify for the finals.” Senior Keri Bland will join Carrier in College Station, her fourth appearance at the Indoor Championships. Bland will compete in the mile and finished in eighth place last season, earning allAmerican honors. “To be this consist e nt is re ma rk ab l e,” Cleary said. “Keri had a very late start to training this year after having trouble with injuries through the summer and fall, so it’s great to see her here.” Bland has an opportunity to join former Mountaineer Megan Metcalfe as WVU’s most decorated women’s athlete with nine all-American honors. Bland currently has eight between her cross country, indoor and outdoor track careers.
The final Mountaineer traveling to College Station is junior Jessica O’Connell. She is coming off a firstplace showing at the Big East Conference Championship in the 3,000-meter run. “After winning the Big East 3,000 (meter) and setting a lifetime best last weekend, Jess appears very ready to do just that,” Cleary said. Cleary said he has nothing but confidence in his runners and is looking forward to seeing how the weekend plays out. “We have an opportunity to return home with three allAmericans,” he said. “These girls have worked hard all season for this, and now they are here. It’s their chance to prove they belong. I have full confidence that each one of them will run their best race.”
john.terry@mail.wvu.edu
derek.denneny@mail.wvu.edu
rifle
Continued from page 9 all year. If we have good performances, the results will be there.” While the mindset of the team is different than last season, the expectations that come with the West Virginia rifle program do not change. Although the Mountaineers lost to only Texas Christian and Kentucky, respectively, this season, Hammond is excited for his opportunity to continue the program’s greatness. “The tough competition definitely gives us motivation to have a strong showing,” Hammond said. “Coming in undefeated last year, I’m not sure it necessarily brought added expectations. “This year we hope to beat those teams that beat us in the regular season and come home with better results.” brad.joyal@mail.wvu.edu
m.bball
Continued from page 9 think any of them know,” said Marquette coach Buzz Williams. “The best thing is to continue to win, because the teams that are continuing to play this late in March are typically going to play next week. Our guys are smart enough to deduct all of that.” anthony.dobies@mail.wvu.edu