Marshall University Athletics
Golden Eagles Rally To Down Herd, 5-4
2/19/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Golden Eagles Rally To Down Herd, 5-4
2/19/2005
- Box Score
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - WIth the score tied 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Golden Eagles catcher Kevin Coker singled in what would later prove to be the game-winning run as Southern Mississippi downed the Thundering Herd baseball team, 5-4, Saturday at Pete Taylor Field.
Southern Mississippi remains undefeated at 2-0 while Marshall is still looking for their first win. The loss drops MU to an 0-5 record.
Roddy Stieger (Westchester, OH) started the scoring off in the top of the second inning, taking a Cole Basinger pitch out of the park in left field for his first home run of the season. It was also the first home run of the 2005 season for the Herd.
The Golden Eagles wasted no time getting their offense in gear, scoring two runs in the bottom of the inning off of Marshall starting pitcher Chris Koutsavlis (Pittsburgh, PA). After two singles and a walk loaded up the bases for USM, Trey Sutton singled to score two runs and give the Golden Eagles their first lead of the game.
Southern Miss. came back in the bottom of the inning with two more runs to take a 4-1 lead. They notched four hits, including RBI singles by Beau Griffin and Drew Carson.
Facing a three run deficit, the Herd offense got going, registering numerous scoring chances. In the top of the fourth inning, Rich Russell (Toronto, Ont.) and Tommy Johnson (Gaithersburg, MD) led off the inning with singles, but three quick outs ended that run.
In the top of the fifth inning, MU's luck finally changed. With one out, Adam Frederick (Franklin, PA) hit his second single of the day to get on base. After a strike out by Joe Glevenyak (West Palm Beach, FL), the Herd made a two-out rally that would see it score three runs to tie the game. Aaron Jamieson (Lindsay, Ont.) started things off with a walk to bring up Rich Russell. Russell hit a double off of the center field wall to bring in Frederick and Jamieson to bring MU within one run. Another double off of the outfield wall, this one by Tommy Johnson, brought in Russell to tie the game.
Both teams had opportunities over the next three innings to take the lead. After Marshall tied the game, USM came back in the bottom of the inning with their own scoring opportunity, loading up the bases on two hits and a walk, but Chris Koutsavlis Trey Sutton to fly out to right field to end the inning. MU made its attempt to take the lead in the top of the sixth. Stieger led off the inning with a double down the right field line. After a sacrifice bunt by Adam Ptacek (Assaria, KS) moved Stieger to third, USM pitcher Matt Caire got Josh McConnell (Phenix City, AL) to ground out and Adam Frederick to fly out to end the inning.
The Golden Eagles were the first to take advantage of their scoring opportunity, taking a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. With one out, Beau Griffin of USM singled off of Herd freshman David Slovak (Louisville, KY) and advanced to second on a wild pitch. After Drew Carson walked, Kevin Coker singled to left field to bring in Griffin and give USM a 5-4 lead.
Marshall made a strong effort to tie the game in the top of the eighth, but two close calls eliminated the Herd's chances. Johnson led off the inning with his third hit of the game and was pulled off of the bases in favor of the speedy runner Chris Monaco (Tucson, AZ). The move did not pay off, however, as Monaco was caught stealing second a few pitches later.
Junior Brent Mason (Sherwood, AR), at the plate when Monaco was caught stealing, kept the Herd's chances alive, hitting a single to right field. After Stieger hit into a fielder's choice, Adam Ptacek reached on a USM error. That brought Bubba Pfaff (Florence, CO) to the plate. Pfaff was pinch hitting for McConnell, and responded with a bloop single to right field. Roddy Stieger was waved around third base on the play, but was called out at home on a throw from USM 1B Marc Maddox to the catcher, Kevin Coker.
Despite singles in the ninth by Frederick and Jamieson, Golden Eagle pitcher Daniel Best kept the Herd scoreless to give Southern Miss. the 5-4 win.
Matt Caire took the win for USM while best was credited with the save. David Slovak took the loss for MU, dropping his record on the season to 0-2. Koutsavlis had a solid outing, going five innings, allowing four runs on ten hits. He threw 104 pitches in the outing. Brendon Bump (Lawrence, KS) threw a scoreless inning of relief while Slovak went two innings, giving up one run.
Marshall's offense continued its turnaround, notching a season-high 14 hits. Frederick and Johnson led the offense with three hits each. Jamieson, Russell and Stieger also had multi-hit games. Russell also led the team with two RBI's.
On Sunday, Marshall will look to take the final game of the series at Souther Mississippi. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.. Herdzone will have the result after the game.
