Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
James Madison
Marshall Offense Goes Off in 10-5 Win at JMU
3/21/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 21, 2007
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HARRISONBURG, Va. - The Marshall baseball team used a 14-hit attack and solid pitching to knock off James Madison, 10-5, Wednesday at Long Field/Mauck Stadium. Five Thundering Herd players notched two hits, led by Josh Valle (Fr., Brentwood, N.Y.), who hit two doubles and drove in three. Brendan Murphy (Sr., Chattanooga, Tenn.) homered and scored three times, while Matt Helm (Jr., Downingtown, Pa.), hitting leadoff for the first time, also scored three times.
Ryan Kiel (So., Los Gatos, Calif.) moved to 3-1 on the year after tossing 6 1/3 innings for Marshall (14-5). Kiel struck out a career-high eight batters and allowed five earned runs, five hits and three walks. Andrew Blain (So., Huntington, W.Va.) pitched 1 2/3 innings and got out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning. Nick Wolle (Sr., Coatesville, Pa.) then worked a perfect ninth to close matters.
Justin Wood (1-3) took the loss for JMU. He pitched 4 2/3 innings, giving up five earned runs, seven hits and a walk while striking out four. Steven Caseres led the Dukes' offense with two hits, including a home run.
Marshall scored in the first inning when Murphy grounded into a double play to score Helm, but James Madison (6-14) answered with two runs in the second, as Caseres scored on a Kiel balk and Matt Townsend came home on a bunt single by Rob Altieri.
Marshall put back-to-back two-run innings on the board in the fourth and fifth. In the fourth, Valle brought a run home with a double to score Murphy, and Nick Damas (Jr., Willow Springs, Ill.) plated Brandon Casamassima (So., Colleyville, Texas) with a squeeze bunt. In the fifth, Mason Chapman (Fr., Barboursville, W.Va.) scored from second base on a Wood wild pitch. Murphy then hit a solo home run to the opposite field in right for his sixth long ball of the year.
JMU scored a run in the sixth on a solo home run by Caseres, but Marshall countered with three in the seventh inning, highlighted by a two-run double to left field by Valle. Casamassima added an RBI single in the inning, and he extended his hitting streak to 11 games with his two hits.
The Dukes scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to force Kiel from the game and cut the lead to 8-5. Matt Browning and Kellen Kulbacki each had RBI hits, and the Dukes loaded the bases with two outs, but Blain was able to strike out Caseres looking on a 3-2 pitch to end the inning.
Marshall tacked on two runs in the eighth inning to provide the final margin. Thad Ledford (Sr., Yukon, Okla.) scored from third base when reliever Bobby Lasko made an errant pickoff to first base. Helm moved from first to third on the play and scored on a Brit Vincent (Sr., Bowling Green, Ky.) sacrifice fly.
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.
