WVU swept by Seton Hall, drops to No. 11 in Big East

West Virginia had no answers at the plate for Seton Hall starting pitcher Brian Gilbert, who threw a perfect game into the sixth inning, as the WVU lost game three of the series 9-4.

The Mountaineers (17-27, 5-13 Big East) finally broke the Pirates sophomore pitcher in the top of the sixth when junior shortstop John Polonius doubled into the corner in left field, starting a rally of four runs in the inning.

Gilbert finished the day with seven strikeouts, four earned runs and six hits in seven innings of work.

"Their starting pitcher was really good," said West Virginia head coach Greg Van Zant. "He threw a perfect game through five innings. He hit 95 miles per hour on the radar gun early in the game. He was pretty consistent, 90 to 92 (mph) and was throwing a real sharp slider. He was just really good."

Seton Hall (26-18, 11-7 Big East) posted the opposite of WVU in the scoring department.

The Pirates scored at least one run in four straight innings, including six in the third.

Three Pirates’ players had at two RBIs, while three others had one a piece.

Second baseman Mike Genovese went 2-for-5 with one run scored and two RBIs. Designated hitter Sal Annunziata went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and first baseman Michael Betz went 1-for-3
with two RBIs and one run scored.

Seton Hall gathered their nine runs on 12 hits, nine RBIs to go against just three strikeouts on the day.

The Mountaineers struggled on the mound for games one and three on the weekend.

Friday, WVU redshirt sophomore starter Zach Bergeron earned a no decision, throwing just 3.1 innings before getting relieved by sophomore right-hander
Josh Harlow, who took the loss.

Bergeron gave up seven runs on seven hits, with five walks and only one strikeout. Harlow allowed two runs on eight hits, striking out three and walking two Pirates batters.

"Our guys tried," Van Zant said. "We didn’t get good enough pitching in any of the games except in game two, Corey Walter pitched well enough for us to win, but that game we weren’t able to score any runs. We got beat 3-1.

"Seton Hall really did a good job of situational hitting. They got runners on, and they moved them around. They had key base hits when they needed them. You have to give them a lot of credit; they played really well."

Walter gave WVU a chance in game two, but the Mountaineer hitters could not find a way to score runs when they needed to – something that has been a problem all year long.

"Obviously, very disappointing to lose all three, but our guys tried. They’re trying their best," Van Zant said.

West Virginia will take today and Tuesday off to prepare for final exams, then get back to work Wednesday to prepare for a three-game series with Louisville, which is currently second in the Big East.

The Cardinals have 31 wins on the season.