Villanova two sport standout Matt Szczur returned to the Villanova lineup Thursday night after missing ten games following a proceeded to donate his bone marrow to 19-month-old girl who is a leukemia patient. Szczur made a heroic return, in fact, as he hit a home run with his first swing of the bat Thursday night at WVU’s Hawley Field. Szczur later drove in two more runs with a single as Villanova handed the Mountaineer baseball team a 5-4 loss.
A reporter and camera crew from the ESPN network show E60 documented Szczur’s return to the field. Szczur was also a standout receiver for the Villanova national championship football team.
The loss further damaged WVU’s hopes of reaching the Big East Conference post season tournament. The Mountaineers are two games back with two games to play. WVU got help from Louisville Thursday night as the Cardinals beat Notre Dame 6-3 in come from behind fashion. WVU needs to win the final two games of the Villanova series and have Louisville beat Notre Dame twice more.
A couple of notes from Thursday night’s game:
–A double by Jedd Gyorko in first inning was the 70th of his WVU career. That is a new school record as he moved past Justin Jenkins on the list. Jenkins had 69 career doubles.
–Fellow Morgantown native Andy Altemus extended his single season school record with his 27th appearance on the mound. Altemus was brilliant in pitching 5 2/3 innings of relief. He did not allow a hit as he faced 17 batters and recorded 17 outs.
–Nitro High School graduate Matt Frazer got his first at bat since April 23. Frazer has missed time with a strained oblique muscle. He drove in a run with a pinch-single in the bottom of the 9th as WVU’s three run rally fell short.