Marshall University Athletics
Miami's 8-5 Win Clinches Series for RedHawks
5/4/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Miami's 8-5 Win Clinches Series for RedHawks
5/4/2003
- Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio ? Miami utilized back-to-back three-run innings, the third and fourth, to down Marshall 8-5 on Sunday in baseball action at McKie Field.
Marshall starting pitcher Chris Koutsavlis (Pittsburgh, Pa.) registered a 1-2-3 inning to start the game and the Herd followed suit in the top of the second, sitting down in order.
Miami (28-18-1, 15-5 MAC) seized a 1-0 lead in the second inning when John Slone knocked in Michael Carlin with a single through the left side of the infield.
Marshall (19-29-1, 9-15 MAC) posted two runs in the fourth inning to take a short lived 2-1 lead. Mike Koitsopoulos (Markham, Ont.) and Adam Frederick (Franklin, Pa.) led off the frame with singles, followed by back-to-back Herd sacrifices. Gregg Hiller (Greenville, Ohio) bunted the runners to second and third base and Scott Henning (Wilmington, Del.) recorded his first career RBI sacrifice fly, bringing Koitsopoulos home. Roddy Stieger (Westchester, Ohio) promptly drove Frederick home with a single to right-center field, his 14th RBI of 2003.
Miami retook the lead in the bottom of the frame with a three-run burst, highlighted by a Jason Brown two RBI single to left field. Carlin, a former Mt. Lebanon High School standout, hit a solo home-run off Koutsavlis, who is also a product of the Pittsburgh prep school.
Koitsopoulos lofted a ball into right field in the fifth to plate Corie O?Bryan (Frederick, Md.) and narrow the RedHawk lead to one run.
O?Bryan went 3-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored.
The RedHawks, however, would increase their lead to four runs in the bottom of the fifth with the assistance of a couple of Herd throwing errors. Two Miami runs scored on a failed 5-4-3 inning-ending double play attempt when second baseman Stieger threw a wild ball to Henning at first base. Koutsavlis would not make it out of the inning, getting replaced by Andrew Davis (Charleston, W.Va.).
Koutsavlis (4-3) pitched 4.1 innings in a losing effort, allowing seven hits and six earned runs.
The first three Marshall hitters reached base in the sixth, loading the bases for the Thundering Herd?s leading hitter, O?Bryan. The Herd designated hitter delivered an RBI single to right field that scored Stieger, who led off the inning with a double. Francois Larmore (Magnolia, N.J.) would cross the plate next on Matt LaFleur's (Chesapeake, Va.) RBI to cut the Miami lead to 7-5.
Marshall?s Chris Meadows (Huntington, W.Va.) took the mound with two RedHawks on base and two outs in the sixth inning to successfully get out of the frame by striking out the MAC?s leading home run producer in Carlin. The RedHawks managed to add one run earlier in the inning to take an 8-5 lead.
Miami right-hander Matt Long shut down the Herd offense in the game?s late innings, pitching four innings with only two hits allowed with three strikeouts to record his first career save.
LaFleur was issued a free pass to first base to lead off the ninth. Koitsopoulos singled to right field to bring the game-tying run to the plate, but Frederick, Hiller and Craig Dziedziejko (Kitchener, Ont.) sat down in succession to end the series.
Adam Keel picked up his third win of 2003 to even his record at 3-3.
Marshall will play its final MAC series on May 9-11 when the Akron Zips visit University Heights for a four-game series.
