Marshall University Athletics
Harper's Dominance Fuels Herd Victory Over BGSU
4/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Harper's Dominance Fuels Herd Victory Over BGSU
4/25/2003
- Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio ? Thundering Herd right-hander Grant Harper (Grayson, Ky.) led Marshall to a 5-0 victory over Bowling Green with his first career complete-game shutout Friday at Warren Steller Field.
Harper (3-7) dominated the Falcon lineup, allowing only four hits in nine innings and striking out four hitters to snap Marshall?s six-game losing streak to Mid-American Conference foe BGSU.
?My change-up was working well today and it allowed me to keep the hitters off balance,? Harper, a junior, said.
Harper threw 133 pitches in his team-high 11th start of 2003.
?Every time I step on the mound I?d like to throw nine innings, but the most important thing is that we were able to win an important MAC game,? he said.
?Grant was phenomenal today,? Marshall pitching coach Tom Carty said. ?It was the best outing we?ve had all year, a MAC Pitcher of the Week-type performance.?
Marshall seized a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Corie O?Bryan (Frederick, Md.) blooped a single into center field to score Francois Larmore (Magnolia, N.J.). Larmore laced a two-out double to left-center field for the Thundering Herd?s first hit of the game.
O?Bryan added his second and third RBIs of the game on a double down the left field line in the fifth inning. Larmore and Mike Koitsopoulos (Markham, Ont.) hit consecutive singles before scoring on O?Bryan?s extra base hit for a 3-0 Herd lead.
O?Bryan, a junior, went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and one run scored. Larmore was 3-for-4 with two runs scored.
Harper sat the Falcons down in order after the seventh-inning stretch, gearing the top of the eighth that saw Scott Henning (Wilmington, Del.) drive in pinch runner Roddy Stieger (Westchester, Ohio) for a 4-0 MU advantage. Stieger replaced designated hitter Matt LaFleur (Chesapeake, Va.), who reached base courtesy of a Kyle Knoblauch walk.
Henning?s RBI hit ended Knoblauch?s day on the mound. The BGSU right-hander struck out seven Marshall hitters, but allowed seven hits and three earned runs to drop his record to 2-4.
Reigning MAC Player of the Year Kelly Hunt of Bowling Green went 0-for-3 with a walk.
Marshall plated its fifth run on a Stieger RBI single in the top of the ninth.
Herd skipper Dave Piepenbrink was ecstatic to grab game one of this four-game series.
?Going up 1-0 is huge for us,? Piepenbrink said. ?It gives us confidence and, more importantly, keeps us alive in our division. We?ve got plenty of work yet to do, though.?
Marshall and Bowling Green will play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. Henning (1-2) will face BGSU sophomore Keith Laughlin (4-1) in game one, while Fritz Conrad (Ocoee, Fla.) will battle right-hander Tyler Sancholtz (3-3) in game two. Conrad is 1-3 on the year.
