Marshall University Athletics
Baseball Set For Clash At Morehead State
4/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 2, 2008
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Marshall University will travel to Morehead, Ky., Wednesday, for a mid-week baseball game against Morehead State. Game-time is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at Allen Field.
Coming off a 12-4 victory over Dayton, Tuesday, Marshall is currently on a five-game winning streak and boasts a 13-12 overall record.
Morehead State owns a 65-57-3 all-time record against the Thundering Herd, with the Eagles taking a 7-2 decision from Marshall in the last meeting between the two teams in 2007.
In that game, Morehead State jumped out to a 6-0 lead by scoring two runs in the second, fifth and sixth innings. They added a run in the eighth on a Trent Hanna double to cap the scoring. Jeff Rowley ripped his first home run for the Thundering Herd in the eighth inning, a solo shot to right-center field. Marshall's other run came on a Josh Valle sacrifice fly to score Brandon Casamassima in the seventh. The Herd had plenty of opportunities early with hits in each of the first four innings, but they failed to capitalize while stranding five base runners.
The Herd's eight-run victory Tuesday afternoon was highlighted by three monster blasts off the bat of junior center fielder Nate Lape. Lape, who has 11 home runs on the season, also notched seven RBIs against the Flyers, the most in a single game since Casamassima knocked in six against Memphis April 22, 2007. Tuesday also marked Lape's fourth multi-homer game of the season.
Freshman right-hander Shane Farrell will get the ball in his first collegiate start for Marshall, Wednesday, against Morehead State. Farrell has made two appearances so far on the season, fanning three batters in 2.1 innings of work.
The Eagles enter Wednesday's game with a 7-16 overall record. Morehead State is led by first baseman/third baseman Andrew Wertz who has tallied 16 RBIs (leads team) and is tied for the team lead in doubles (5) and is second with four home runs. With a .296 batting average and a .535 slugging percentage, Wertz has registered an impressive .350 on-base percentage. He has also posted a second-best 21 hits and has swiped two bags (2-3).
Catcher/RHP, Michael Bottoms is a double-threat for the Eagles. He is the team-leader in batting average (.319) and hits (22), and has blasted three long-balls and four doubles. On the mound, Bottoms has registered a 3.28 ERA in 24.2 innings of work. He has tallied a complete game in four starts on the year (six total appearances), and has struck out 14 batters.
Following Wednesday's tilt with Morehead State, Marshall will continue on the road for a weekend series with Conference USA opponent Tulane, starting Friday, April 4-6. The Herd will break for its second non-conference game at Morehead State before returning to conference action at East Carolina the following weekend. Marshall will round out its 10-game road swing at Eastern Kentucky, Wednesday, April 16.
