Marshall University Athletics
Baseball Opens 2004 Season at Belmont
2/11/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Baseball Opens 2004 Season at Belmont
2/11/2004
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall University baseball team will travel to Nashville, Tenn., for a four game season-opening series against the Bruins of Belmont University.
The teams will play two doubleheaders, the first taking place at 1 p.m. on Saturday and finishing up with another doubleheader on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Belmont's Greer Stadium.
The Thundering Herd is coming off of a 22-31-1 campaign in 2003. They start the 2004 season off with a great deal of enthusiasm as they have several key players returning along with a strong group of newcomers.
Senior Corie O'Bryan (Frederick, MD) led the team in 2003 with a .376 batting average. O'Bryan along with seniors Francois Larmore (Magnolia, NJ) and 2003 team MVP Mike Koitsopoulos (Markham, Ontario) look to anchor one of the top offenses in the MAC.
The pitching staff also looks strong heading into the season. Senior Chris Meadows (Huntington, WV) needs one more save to break Tim Fanning's school record of nine. He is also needs five appearances to break Sean Reeder's school record of 75. Right-hander Grant Harper (Grayson, KY) also looks to put his name in the record book as he needs six wins to tie Albie DeYoung's record of 19.
Belmont come into 2004 after posting a 29-23 record in 2003. They finished third in the Atlantic Sun Conference standings. This will mark the first meeting between Marshall and Belmont.
Senior Scott Henning (Wilmington, DE) will take the mound for game 1. Henning saw time as a pitcher and third baseman in 2003, but will concentrate solely on pitching in 2004. He will face right-hander Justing Jordan. The probable starting rotations for the series are as follows:
Game 1--LHP Scott Henning vs. RHP Justin Jordan
Game 2--LHP Chris Koutsavlis vs. LHP Ryan Herzberg
Game 3--RHP Grant Harper vs. RHP Charles Lee
Game 4--LHP Brian Chrisman vs. LHP Alex Renes
The games on Saturday will be broadcast over the internet and can be accessed by clicking on the Live Game Broadcast link. The games on Sunday will not be available over the internet. Log on to to www.HerdZone.com for updates on both doubleheaders.
The team will also be signing autographs at Wednesday night's men's basketball game against Eastern Michigan. Tip off is set for 7 p.m.
