Marshall University Athletics
Baseball Falls In Series Finale
3/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Baseball Falls In Series Finale
3/20/2005
- Box Score
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. - St. Bonaventure first baseman Joe Rizzo hit a three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning to help the Bonnies defeat the Thundering Herd baseball team and take game three of the series by a 7-6 score at University Heights on Sunday.
The win gave SBU (7-3) the final game of the series following MU's (4-12) doubleheader sweep on Saturday.
The Bonnies opened up the scoring in the top of the third, tagging Herd starter Mike Marchyshyn (Markham, Ont.) for two runs. Craig King led off the inning with a single and was brought in on a double to center by Kieran Malone. One out later, Malone scored on a single by Brian Pellegrini.
Marshall chopped the lead in half in the bottom of the inning. Brent Mason (Sherwood, AR) recorded a one out double and with two outs, Adam Frederick (Franklin, PA) singled to score the run.
In the top of the fifth, St. Bonaventure registered two more runs off of Marchyshyn. Malone and Pellegrini struck again, both notching RBI doubles to give SBU a 4-1 lead.
Joe Glevenyak (West Palm Beach, FL) started the bottom of the sixth inning with a solo home run to cut the lead to two. After Aaron Levinson (Seattle, WA) reached on an error and Tommy Johnson (Gaithersburg, MD) singled, Nick Wolle (Coatesville, PA) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. That brought up Mason, who doubled to left to bring in two runs to tie the game.
The Bonnies grabbed the momentum right back, scoring three runs in the top of the seventh off of Brian Knippelmeyer (Lincoln, NE). With two outs, Matt Marteusz singled to left and Brian Pellegrini followed that up with a walk. Up next was Joe Rizzo, who took a Knippelmeyer pitch to deep center field for a three run home run to take a 7-4 lead.
MU's resilient offense made another run in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Adam Frederick singled and Aaron Jamieson (Lindsay, Ont.) followed that up with a two run home run to left field to cut SBU's lead to one run.
Looking for some insurance in the top of the ninth, the Bonnies put runners on second and third to lead off the inning. Brendon Bump (Lawrence, KS) was brought into the game, and put forth a solid effort, notching the final three outs without a run being scored.
Up by a run, St. Bonaventure brought in right fielder Brian Pellegrini to pitch the final two innings, and it turned out to be a smart move as he retired six of seven batters, striking out five to put the game away.
Knippelmeyer, who gave up three runs in 2 2/3 innings, took the loss, dropping to 1-4. Cody Vincent, who pitched two innings for the Bonnies, was credited with the win, his second of the season. Pellegrini notched his first save of the season.
Both offenses recorded ten hits on the day. Four players, Frederick, Jamieson, Glevenyak and Mason, each had two hits. Mason and Jamieson also had two RBI's apiece. Joe Rizzo led the Bonnies with three RBI's while Pellegrini and Malone batted in two.
On Tuesday, the Herd will be in Durham, N.C. to take on the Duke Blue Devils. They will play games on Tuesday and Wednesday with both games scheduled for 3 p.m. starts. On Friday, MU's final Mid-American Conference season will start with Eastern Michigan traveling to Huntington for three games. Friday's game will start at 3 p.m. with the games on Saturday and Sunday being slated for 1 p.m. starts.
