Marshall University Athletics
Buffalo Completes Sweep With 1-0 Win Over Baseball
5/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Buffalo Completes Sweep With 1-0 Win Over Baseball
5/22/2005
- Box Score
BUFFALO, N.Y. ? Marshall pitcher Chris Koutsavlis (Pittsburgh, PA) pitched seven innings, allowing just one run, but it was not enough as the University at Buffalo completed their sweep of the Marshall baseball team with a 1-0 win on Sunday afternoon.
Koutsavlis gave up just three hits in the outing, but an RBI single by UB second baseman Mike Folli in the seventh inning gave Buffalo (19-30-1, 5-14-1) the only run it would need as it would earn its first conference sweep since joining the Mid-American Conference in 2001.
For Marshall (16-34, 8-16 MAC), it marks the end of its tenure in the MAC. Baseball finishes its eight-year stint in the conference with a record of 67-149-1.
Today?s game was a defensive struggle from the beginning. Koutsavlis, along with UB pitcher Chris McGraw, each pitched gems for their respective teams. Koutsavlis went seven strong innings while McGraw went the distance, shutting out the Herd. He gave up only seven hits while fanning 12 Marshall batters.
The offenses put up a combined four hits through the first four innings, with each team recording two hits. That changed in the top of the fifth when the Thundering Herd had a good scoring chance. Marshall Murray (Walnut Creek, CA) singled to lead off, but after a Josh McConnell (Phenix City, AL) strikeout, was caught stealing second base. That would be a big play for the Bulls as the next batter, catcher Nick Wolle (Coatesville, PA) would register a single to center. That was followed by another single, this one by Adam Ptacek (Assaria, KS). The run was halted when a Brad Helm (Downingtown, PA) strikeout ended the inning.
Another scoring chance for Marshall came in the sixth when Aaron Jamieson (Lindsay, Ont.) reached on an error by the UB catcher after striking out. Joe Glevenyak (West Palm Beach, FL) reached on a single with Jamieson moving to second. Adam Frederick (Franklin, PA) put down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners for the first out of the inning, but Chris McGraw was able to record two quick outs to keep the shutout going.
Chris Koutsavlis allowed just two hits entering the seventh inning, but made a few key mistakes that would allow the only run of the game to cross the plate. Andy Wengert drew a walk to lead off the inning and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. With two outs, Mike Folli laced a single to center that scored Wengert.
Once given the lead, McGraw shut down the Herd over the final two innings, allowing just one hit as he would go on to win his second game of the year. Koutsavlis took the loss and finishes the season with a 3-7 record. Brendon Bump (Lawrence, KS) pitched the eighth inning in relief of Koutsavlis. He gave up a hit and struck out one in the inning.
The offense, which struggled throughout the weekend, mustered up seven hits. Ptacek led the team with two hits while five other batters had one each. Buffalo had only four hits on the day, led by a 2-3 day by Joe Mihalics. Buffalo handed Marshall its second conference sweep of the season and outscored the Herd by a 14-6 margin.
Today?s game marked the final game of the careers of Marshall?s five seniors. Brad Helm, Joe Glevenyak, Josh McConnell and Marshall Murray found themselves in the starting lineup in their final games with Helm, Murray and Glevenyak each recording a hit. Helm was Marshall?s top offensive performer of the weekend, going 5-11 with two walks in his final three games.
MU finished the 2005 season with a 16-34 record, its worst season since 1999, where it finished with a 12-43-1 record.
