Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Baseball Bounces Concord in Home-Opener
3/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Marshall Baseball Bounces Concord in Home-Opener
3/22/2003
- Box Score
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. ? Marshall broke out of the gates early in its 2003 home-opener, scoring six runs in the second inning to snap a two-game losing streak and defeat Concord College by a 7-1 final score at University Heights on Saturday.
Right-hander Steve Ziroli (LaGrange, Ill.) was the story for Marshall (6-11-1), pitching six innings with three hits and one earned run in his first career start at the Division I level.
Ziroli (2-0) did not allow a hit until Concord?s Joe Lawston drove a single up the middle to lead off the fifth inning. Wes Meeteer then singled through the left side of the infield to give the Mountain Lions (5-9) men on first and second base with no outs. The Herd junior promptly retired the next three Concord hitters to end the potential threat.
?We?re looking for another starter to add to our staff,? Marshall head coach Dave Piepenbrink said. ?Steve?s performance today will give us a lot to think about.?
Ziroli has primarily been used as a middle reliever thus far in 2003, but the first-year transfer from Parkland College enjoyed the starting role on Saturday.
?It was nice to be able to get into a rhythm as a starter rather than coming out of the bullpen,? Ziroli said, ?but I?m happy to fill whatever role the coaches feel will help us win.?
Marshall?s big second inning was due in part to clutch two-out hits that kept the frame alive. Mike Koitsopoulos (Markham, Ont.) and Craig Dziedziejko (Kitchener, Ont.) hit back-to-back two-run doubles to give the Herd a 4-0 lead. The flurry of hits continued when Francois Larmore (Magnolia, N.J.) belted his Mid-American Conference-leading sixth home run of the year, a two-run shot, to give MU six runs on six hits in the inning.
?I really think that the offense is ready to pick it up,? Dziedziejko said, after Marshall registered 10 hits on the day compared to only nine hits in its previous two games combined.
Zach Graybill led off the sixth inning for Concord with a solo home run to cut Marshall?s lead to 6-1. Adam Frederick (Franklin, Pa.) quickly answered back in the seventh with his first career home run to give the Herd a six-run edge once again.
Frederick was 2-for-4 in his leadoff spot debut, while Larmore and Scott Henning (Wilmington, Del.) were also 2-for-4 on the day.
Marshall received solid relief pitching in the form of Andrew Davis (Charleston, W. Va.) and Chris Cummings (Huntington, W. Va.), both of whom did not allow a Mountain Lion hit. Davis pitched the seventh and eighth frames while Cummings closed out Concord in the ninth.
The Herd will return to University Heights on Sunday to face Drexel University at 3 p.m. The game marks the first of a three-game series with the 3-10 Dragons.
