Marshall University Athletics
Baseball Finishes Season With Record-Setting Win
5/23/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Baseball Finishes Season With Record-Setting Win
5/23/2004
- Box Score
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. - The Thundering Herd baseball team completed the 2004 season with a 5-1 win over the Buffalo Bulls and in doing so clinched the first non-losing season for the team since 1994.
Prior to the game, the eight seniors on the team were honored for their work with the Herd. Senior Grant Harper (Grayson, KY) started his final game, which tied him at 45 with J.R. Watts? record set in 1998. Harper made the most out of his final start, going six and a third, allowing one run on eight hits. His win made him 6-4 on the season and tied the all-time win record of 19 set by Albie DeYoung set in 1978. He also finished second in innings pitched with 299 1/3 career innings pitched.
The Herd (27-27, 10-13 MAC) got the scoring started early, recording a run in the first and second innings. In the first, Chris Monaco (Tucson, AZ) was hit by a pitch and stole second for his 39th stolen base of the season. With one out, Corie O?Bryan (Frederick, MD) hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Monaco for the first run of the game.
In the second inning, Joe Glevenyak (West Palm Beach, FL) doubled to lead off the inning. With one out, Josh McConnell (Phenix City, AL) hit into a fielder?s choice to give the Herd a 2-0 lead.
Buffalo (15-39,. 4-18 MAC) made it a one run game when David Amaro had an RBI single in the top of the sixth inning. With one out in the seventh inning, Harper was replaced by another senior, Scott Henning (Wilmington, DE). Henning got out of the inning without any runs being scored.
Marshall made it a 5-1 game in the bottom of the seventh inning. With two outs, six straight batters reached base. McConnell started it off with a single and stolen base. Mike Koitsopoulos (Markham, Ont.) singled to bring in McConnell. Next up was Monaco, who walked to bring up Francois Larmore (Magnolia, NJ), who was hit by a pitch to load the bases. The next two batters, Rich Russell (Toronto, Ont.) and O?Bryan both walked to bring in two more runs and make it a 5-1 game.
Senior pitchers Steve Ziroli (LaGrange, IL) and Chris Meadows (Huntington, WV) pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings, respectively, to finish off the Bulls. Meadows finished up his record setting career with 95 appearances, top in Marshall and MAC history. Harper earned the win to improve to 6-4 on the season. Chris McGraw took the loss for the Bulls, dropping to 2-8 on the season.
The offense for Marshall got only six hits, but managed six walks in the victory. O?Bryan notched two hits to lead the team. Chris Monaco stole two bases to set the new Marshall single season stolen base record of 40. That total is also the sixth best total in MAC history. Mike Koitsopoulos (Markham, Ont.) finished off his MU career going 1-3 with an RBI and a run scored. O?Bryan went 2-2 in his final game while Larmore went 0-2 with a walk.
With the win, Marshall finishes with a record of 27-27, the first non-losing season since 1994. The 27 wins also ties the record set in 1978.
For the first time since returning to the MAC, Marshall won four conference series. Their previous high was two series. The Herd also finished with a 7-2 record in the final three conference weekends, a school best since returning. MU took two of three from Akron and Ball State before sweeping Buffalo.
