Baseball | 4/30/2014 9:22:00 AM
WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – West Liberty University's historic Kovalick Field figures to be a beehive of activity on Saturday afternoon when the Hilltopper baseball team closes out the regular season in a crucial Mountain East Conference showdown against Ohio County rival Wheeling Jesuit.
The weekend series consists of twin doubleheaders, each beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. All four games are scheduled for the Kovalick Field diamond as the neighboring schools battle for the final MEC Tournament berth.
"With the two schools being so close, this series has always meant a lot to both teams," West Liberty head coach Eric Burkle said. "It's even more special this year with all the activities we have scheduled and the fact that when the games are done, one of us will be going to the tournament next week and the other one will be going home." Post-season play isn't all that's up for grabs. This weekend also marks the introduction of the University Diamond Series Cup, a traveling trophy which will be presented each year to the winner of the season series between the two rivals.
If the season series finishes in a tie, the trophy stays with the previous winner.
"Since we split last year, we looked back in the records and Wheeling was the last team to win a season series," Burkle said. "That means we would have to win at least three of the four games this weekend to keep the trophy here on campus."
Saturday will be an especially busy afternoon. Along with the special pre-game event with the Miracle League of the Ohio Valley announced earlier this week, it will be Senior Day with a ceremony honoring seven Hilltopper veterans at their final home series and it's also Fan Appreciation Day.
"We had a little fun with the Fan Appreciation Day thing," Burkle said with a smile, referring to a tweet offering "the first 2,500 fans a chance to have their picture taken with their favorite Hilltopper."
"We really do appreciate all the support we've had from our fans," Burkle added. "I don't know where we'd put 2,500 people but if anybody wants to have their picture taken with one of our kids before the game on Saturday, we're all in for that."
The seven seniors to be honored during the Senior Day ceremony are: Scott Castilow of Wheeling, W.Va., Jon Entenmann of Cross Lanes, W.Va., Dylan Grosul of Stoney Creek, Ont., Wes Howell of Los Gatos, Calif., Michael Johnson of Pittsburgh, Josh Nagel of Martins Ferry, Ohio and Michael Roach, also of Martins Ferry. West Liberty and Wheeling Jesuit are battling for the sixth and final spot in next week's MEC Tournament. The Hilltoppers hold down sixth place in the MEC standings with a 20-17 league mark while the Cardinals are seventh at 16-20.
"Basically, we have a 3 ½-game lead (for the sixth spot) with four games to play," Burkle said. "We only need one win to clinch a tournament berth. In fact, Notre Dame's only a game ahead of us at 20-15 so we have a chance to finish as high as fifth if we take care of business and things break right for us.
"I'm really proud of the way our kids have overcome adversity with the injuries we've had to key players this season to put themselves in this position. The 20 conference wins is a school record and we're 23-22 overall so we're just two wins away from clinching West Liberty's first winning regular season in baseball since 1998. Earning a spot in the first MEC Tournament would be a great reward for all their hard work."
