Marshall University Athletics
Baseball To Host Kent State
4/7/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Baseball To Host Kent State
4/7/2005
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. - With series wins in both of its home series in 2005, the Thundering Herd baseball team will look to keep the string going, playing host to conference rival Kent State for a three game series this weekend.
Friday's game is set for a 3 p.m. start while the games on Saturday and Sunday are set for 1 p.m. start times.
Marshall comes into the weekend with a record of 8-16 and 3-3 in the MAC. After taking two of three from Eastern Michigan two weeks ago, the Herd went 1-3, falling in a game at Eastern Kentucky before losing two of three at Miami.
The 3-3 start in the MAC is MU's best start since the 2001 season, when the Herd started off 7-3. The Herd is looking for a different end result, though, as the team finished up that conference season with a 4-14 record over its final 18 games. Marshall's position is much better than a year ago, when it started off 0-5.
MU's offense has picked up the pace over the last four games, batting .292 as a team. Junior Aaron Levinson (Seattle, WA) has continued his stellar play, going 8-18 with six RBI's over the last four games. Freshman Tommy Johnson (Gaithersburg, MD) has also played well, going 6-10 with two RBI's and three runs scored.
Kent State, the defending MAC tournament champions, are 16-10 on the season, with a 2-2 record in the MAC. They were victorious in their first two MAC contests at Toledo, but have lost two straight, including one to Toledo and one game last weekend against Ohio U.
MAC RBI leader Kurt Eichorn leads the Kent offense, which is ranked fourth in the MAC in team batting. Eichorn has knocked in 33 runs so far in 2005, one ahead of Nolan Reimold of Bowling Green.
Junior Drew Saylor, a transfer from the University of Cincinnati, leads KSU with a .400 average. He has recorded 42 hits on the year and also has scored 26 runs, a team high.
All three games will be played at University Heights. Chris Koutsavlis (Pittsburgh, PA) will take the mound for the Herd in game one at 3 p.m. on Friday. Admission is free.
