Marshall University Athletics
Eagles Top Herd Baseball Squad, 12-8
4/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Eagles Top Herd Baseball Squad, 12-8
4/15/2003
- Box Score
MOREHEAD, Ky. ? Morehead State?s eight-run first inning sparked the Eagles to a 12-8 win over the visiting Marshall Thundering Herd in baseball action Tuesday at Allen Field.
Matt LaFleur (Chesapeake, Va.) got Marshall (13-21-1, 4-8 MAC) off to a 1-0 lead with a solo home run in the top of the first inning, but the lead would be short lived as the Eagles (10-19, 2-4 OVC) would plate eight runs in its half of the first on six hits, three of which were doubles.
Marshall starting pitcher Patrick Molinari (Plainfield, Ill.) surrendered five hits while walking and hitting a pair of Morehead State batters in one-third of the first inning. All eight runs were charged to Molinari (0-1), but only one run was earned due to two Herd errors. MSU?s Brandon Baarstad and Nate Lowe both contributed two-run doubles to the Eagle onslaught. Rick Suter (St. Clairsville, Ohio) relieved the right-hander and gave up a Kevin Bryant single that plated the eighth run of the inning, but the Herd senior forced a ground out with the bases loaded to end the pivotal frame.
Gregg Hiller (Greenville, Ohio) hit a two-out home run to center field, his second of 2003, in the second inning. The Herd catcher scored one of his team-high three runs in the fourth inning to close the gap at 8-3.
Suter would cruise through the next three innings without allowing a hit while striking out three Eagles. Andrew Davis (Charleston, W.Va.) would enter the game to relieve Suter in the fifth, and forced an inning-ending double play that would launch the Herd to a four-run top of the sixth and pull Marshall to within one run at 8-7.
Adam Crawford entered the game to relieve Morehead State starting pitcher Chad Parsons in the sixth inning. Corie O?Bryan (Frederick, Md.) was hit by a pitch and driven home when pinch hitter Craig Dziedziejko (Kitchener, Ont.) hit his fourth home run of the season, this one to center field. LaFleur would register his second RBI of the game when the throw to complete a double play went awry, allowing Hiller and Adam Frederick (Franklin, Pa.) to score.
Frederick went 3-for-4 on the night to up his batting average to .320, which is good enough for second on the team. Dziedziejko, who entered the game as a pinch hitter before becoming the designated hitter, went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and one run scored.
Parsons (2-1) pitched five innings and gave up five hits and two earned runs while striking out three Herd hitters for the victory.
Morehead State added a run in the bottom of the sixth inning to obtain a 9-7 edge, but would put the game out of reach for Marshall by adding three runs in the eighth to get the decisive 12-8 advantage.
LaFleur gave MU its eighth run in the top of the eighth with his second home run of the game, his fifth of 2003.
Marshall returns to Mid-American Conference play this weekend as the defending MAC tournament champion Kent State Golden Flashes invade Huntington, W.Va., for a four-game swing beginning Friday at 3 p.m. at University Heights.
