Marshall University Athletics
Chippewas Top Herd, 7-4
4/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Chippewas Top Herd, 7-4
4/30/2004
- Box Score
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. ? The Central Michigan Chippewas defeated the Marshall University baseball team by a 7-4 margin on Friday at University Heights in game one of this weekend?s series.
The Chippewas (22-20, 8-5 MAC) took an early 4-0 lead, and added three more runs, in a 7-4 victory over the Herd (19-23, 3-9 MAC).
In the top of the first inning, CMU took a 1-0 lead after a Marshall error. They added two runs on two hits in the second and one more in the fourth to take a 4-0 lead. Marshall starting pitcher Brian Chrisman (Pittsburgh, PA) pitched well, allowing only four hits through the fourth, but the defense behind him committed three errors over that span, which cost the team two runs.
The Herd offense got off to a tough start, not recording a hit until the fourth inning. With two outs, Corie O?Bryan (Frederick, MD) was hit by a pitch to bring up Rich Russell (Toronto, Ont.). Russell doubled to move O?Bryan to third. Francois Larmore (Magnolia, NJ) hit an infield single to score the Herd?s first run of the game.
CMU came right back with two more runs in the top of the fifth. Kurtis Wells led off the inning with a double to bring up Bryan Mitzel, who hit a home run to right field to bring in two more runs.
Marshall kept chipping away at the lead, scoring two in the bottom of the fifth. With one out, Brad Helm (Downington, PA) and Mike Koitsopoulos (Markham, Ont.) were both issued walks. That brought Chris Monaco (Tucson, AZ) to the plate. Monaco hit a double to bring in Helm and move Koitsopoulos to third. Corie O?Bryan hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Koitsopoulos.
In the bottom of the sixth, Marshall came to within two runs of the Chippewas when Chris Monaco notched his second RBI hit of the day. Central came right back in the top of the seventh to score one more run. Their pitching staff was able to keep the Herd hitters in check for the rest of the game and earn a 7-4 win.
CMU starting pitcher T.J. Johnson went 7 2/3 innings, giving up four runs on six MU hits. David Lemieux finished the game and earned his sixth save of the season. For Marshall, Brian Chrisman went 5 2/3 allowing six runs, four of which were earned. He took the loss, dropping his record to 3-2. Grant Harper (Grayson, KY) pitched 1 1/3, allowing one run on one hit. Scott Henning (Wilmington, DE) pitched two scoreless innings to finish the game.
Marshall was out hit by CMU, 9-7. Monaco had three of the seven hits while four others had one apiece. Monaco?s two RBI?s also led the team.
The two teams will be back at it again on Saturday when Marshall will host the second game of the three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at University Heights
