Marshall University Athletics
Baseball Travels to James Madison Tuesday
3/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 19, 2007
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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall baseball team looks to continue its hot play this week, as it visits James Madison for 2:30 p.m. games Tuesday and Wednesday at Long Field/Mauck Stadium. Live statistics of both games and the audio broadcast of the Wednesday game will be available at www.jmusports.com.
With its 13-4 start, Marshall is off to its best start since the 1988 campaign, when the Thundering Herd started 14-4 to begin the year. Winners of four straight, Marshall swept a three-game series from Canisius last weekend. Matt Helm (Jr., Downingtown, Pa.) went 5-for-8 in the series and had the game-winning hit in the first game Saturday. He also scored the winning run Sunday on a single by Mason Chapman (Fr., Barboursville, W.Va.) in the eighth inning.
Brandon Casamassima (So., Colleyville, Texas) owns a nine-game hitting streak, tied for the longest hit streak on the team this year with Brit Vincent (Sr., Bowling Green, Ky.). Casamassima is 16-for-36 (.444) with four home runs and 11 RBI during that stretch.
With his save Wednesday against Youngstown State, Nick Wolle (Sr., Coatesville, Pa.) is now 6-for-6 in save opportunities this season and already has tied the Marshall single-season saves record. Chris Meadows holds the single-season record of six, set in 2003. Wolle is second in Conference USA in saves, behind only East Carolina's Shane Mathews (7).
Marshall has struggled in weekday contests this year, going 1-3. The Herd is 12-1 in weekend baseball, including 10-0 at home.
James Madison enters with a 5-13 record after splitting a doubleheader (L, 9-8; W, 10-8) Sunday at league foe VCU. All-American Kellen Kulbacki paces JMU with a .412 batting average, five homers, seven doubles and 14 runs batted in this year. Steven Caseres is hitting .367 with 13 RBI. The Dukes sport a .300 team batting average and 7.07 team ERA.
JMU is coached by 10th-year head coach Spanky McFarland, who is 287-246-2 at JMU and 463-470-3 in 18 years of coaching.
The two teams met last season in Huntington, as Marshall swept a doubleheader against then-No. 25 James Madison at University Heights, winning by 8-6 and 9-8 counts. Marshall hit five home runs in the doubleheader, including a key three-run blast in the first game by Tommy Johnson (Jr., Gaithersburg, Md.). The Herd has played in Harrisonburg just once, defeating then-No. 19 JMU, 9-6, in 1995. JMU returned the favor with a 15-3 win later that season in Huntington.
Marshall begins Conference USA play Friday against Tulane at Appalachian Power Park in Charleston, W.Va. Tickets for all home Conference USA games are available now at www.herdzone.com or by calling 1-800-THE-HERD.
