Marshall University Athletics
Charleston Southern Rallies to Defeat Baseball 8-7
2/23/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Charleston Southern Rallies to Defeat Baseball 8-7
2/23/2003
Charleston, S.C.-Charleston Southern University used a five run sixth inning to rally from a 5-1 deficit to defeat the Marshall University Thundering Herd 8-7 in action at Buccaneer Field and Patriots Point Field. The venues were changed due to poor field conditions at Buccaneer Field following the suspension of play on Saturday.
Marshall was able to grab an early 5-1 lead after a single run in the second and a pair of runs in the fifth and sixth. Francois Larmore (Magnolia, N.J.) put Marshall on the board early after his second inning home run gave MU a 1-0 lead. Larmore, the 2002 Division III Junior College New Jersey Player-of-the-Year, blasted a shot over the left field wall for his first career home run.
In the fifth inning, Marshall extended the lead to 3-0 on a pair of runs. Bryan Helmer (Huntington, W. Va.) scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Corie O'Bryan (Frederick, Md.) to give MU a 2-0 lead. The Thundering Herd extended the lead to 3-0 on a perfectly executed double steal that scored Adam Frederick (Franklin, Pa.).
After a run by CSU cut the Thundering Herd lead to 3-1, Marshall scored two in the sixth to extend the lead to four runs. Rich Russell (Toronto, Ont.) followed a Joe Glevenyak (West Palm Beach, Fla.) single with a shot over the left field wall to make the score 5-1.
However, the Buccaneers scored five runs in the bottom of the inning to make the four run lead short-lived. Jordan Harr put CSU on top when he hit a two run homer to right field with two outs in the inning to give the Buccaneers a 6-5 lead.
After both teams scored single runs in the seventh, Marshall was able to tie the game in the eighth when Larmore scored on a Craig Dziedziejko (Kitchener, Ont.) single.
The Buccaneers held Marshall scoreless in the ninth, and were able to get the victory with a one out single in the bottom of the inning off the bat of Michael Blankenship to score Brandon Massey.
Scott Henning (Wilmington, Del.) took the loss for Marshall. Robert Parnell pitched one and two-thirds scoreless innings for Charleston Southern to get the victory. Henning (0-1) was responsible for the winning run when Chris Meadows (Huntington, W. Va.) entered the contest to atempt to send the game into extra innings.
Marshall starter Rick Suter (St. Clairsville, Ohio) pitched three innings without allowing a hit, striking out six, before the game was postponed on Saturday due to weather.
Larmore led the Thundering Herd attack, going 4-for-5 with two runs and one RBI.
Marshall will return to action on Friday, Feb. 28, when they face the University of Kentucky in the University of Alabama-Birmingham tournament in Birmingham, Ala.
