Baseball Loses Series-Opener to Wichita State, 5-3

May 9, 2003

Carbondale, Ill. - Nick McCoola and Brandon Green each went 2-for-4, while Cody Clark chipped in a two-run homer to lead Wichita State (36-22, 14-11) to a 5-3 win over Southern Illinois (25-21, 16-11) earlier today in both teams' series-opener at Abe Martin Field.

WSU jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after scoring a pair of runs in each of the second and third innings.

After SIU starter Jake Alley issued a lead off walk to Bryan Erstad in the top of the second, Clark went yard over the left field wall to give the Shockers a quick 2-0 lead.

Phil Napolitan began the third with a single to center and moved to second when Nick Blasi was hit by a pitch. With one out, Drew Moffitt doubled home Napolitan and a sacrfice fly by Erstad plated Blasi to extend WSU's lead to 4-0.

Ahead by four, it appeared as if the Shockers would add to their lead in the fourth, but a controversial double play enabled the Dawgs to escape a one-out, two-baserunner jam.

McCoola singled to begin the fourth and was moved to second on a one-out hit by Green. Nopolitan then grounded into a fielder's choice at third and Nathan Boldt went to second for the force. All three runners (Green, Napolitan, McCoola), however, were ruled safe. Then, the umpires decided to confer and the call was changed and would be scored as a 5-4-3 double play. What seemed to be a runner's interference at third is what prompted the call to be changed.

Shortly after the madness, SIU went to work on freshman Mike Pelfrey. Back-to-back doubles down the left field line by Ross Kowzan and Sal Frisella (RBI) started the Dawgs' rally in the bottom of the fourth. With one out after Toby Barnett grounded into a fielder's choice, Boldt homered over the left field wall to bring SIU to within one, 4-3. Boldt's round-tripper marked his first as a Saluki.

Despite the threat, WSU added one more insurance run in the top of the seventh. The run, however, could have been avoided if it hadn't been for a mental defensive breakdown by the Salukis.

Green hit a slow-roller to second baseman Greg Andrews. After fielding the ball cleanly, Andrews went to throw the runner out at first, but Josh Markle wasn't covering the bag. Since Markle wasn't there, Alley sprinted from the mound to help fill the hole, but by the time he got to the bag, Green was safe.

The inning, which should have been over, was prolonged due to the mis-communication, and as a result, Green ended up going to third on a Napolitan single and scoring on a one-out sacrifice fly by Logan Sorensen.

From then on, things just went downhill for the Salukis, as head coach Dan Callahan was ejected from the game following a heated argument with first-base umpire Mike Grace. Callahan seemed to have a legitimate case after Frisella appeared to beat out a routine grounder to short in the bottom of the eighth.

Pelfrey struck out eight batters and scattered six hits in seven innings to improve his record to 7-2 this season. Pelfrey was relieved in the eighth by closer Mike Dennison who retired SIU's last six batters in a row to record his impressive 12th save of the season.

Alley went the distance before falling to 6-3 on the year. In nine innings, he gave up nine hits and three walks, while striking out three.

Offensively, the Salukis were led by Boldt who went 2-for-4 with a home run, one run scored and two RBI.

SIU and WSU will resume their series tomorrow in a doubleheader at 1 p.m.