Marshall University Athletics
Baseball Continues Road Swing With Two Midweek Games
4/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 7, 2008
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Thundering Herd baseball team will continue its road swing this week when it plays a pair of non-conference games beginning Tuesday, April 8 at Morehead State. First-pitch is slated for 3:00 p.m. ET.
Marshall also picked up a non-conference road game against Louisville. That contest is set for Wednesday, April 9 at 6:00 p.m. ET.
The Herd goes into the week riding the momentum of the program's first ever victory over Tulane, Saturday. Junior right-hander Steve Blevins struck out a collegiate-career high 12 batters in a complete-game effort to guide Marshall to a 7-4 victory over the Green Wave.
Marshall was led offensively by senior catcher Tommy Johnson, junior shortstop Adam Yeager, and junior third baseman Brandon Casamassima, who all provided three hits in the win.
The Herd lost a heartbreaker in the series opener Friday night, as late-game rally fell short.
Trailing 4-3 in the top of the ninth, Herd junior shortstop Adam Yeager led off the top of the ninth with a single. Following a strikeout, Yeager advanced to second on a groundout to bring up junior center fielder Nate Lape who was hit by a pitch before junior right fielder Kurt Lipton provided his late-game dramatics with a game-tying two-RBI double to give the Herd a 5-4 advantage.
Tulane came right back with a run in the bottom of the ninth when infielder Seth Henry laced a one-out RBI double to left center field to tie the game at 5-5. Tulane loaded the bases with one-out before outfielder Scott Powell tallied a walk-off sacrifice fly to shallow center field to win the game 6-5. Tulane right-handed reliever Mason Griffin (2-1), who entered in the seventh, picked up the win while freshman right-handed hurler Arik Sikula (1-2), who also entered in the seventh, suffered the loss. Yeager and Lipton, who tied the game with a two-RBI double in the ninth, finished with two hits apiece for the Herd in the losing effort.
The team rallied again in the ninth inning of the series finale Sunday, when sophomore first baseman Josh Valle drilled a two-out, two-RBI single in the ninth inning to tie the game at 5-5 and. After a scoreless 10th inning, the two teams were forced to settle for a tie per C-USA rules, stating that an inning cannot start after 4:30 p.m. local time on a Sunday travel day.
Morehead enters Tuesday's contest with an 8-19 overall record that includes a win over the Herd earlier this season.
Since beating Marshall 6-3, April 2, the Eagles have dropped three-straight games since then (all to Austin Peay).
Pitcher/designated hitter Michael Bottoms has a .309 batting average and a 3.45 ERA so far this season. Bottoms pulled double duty against Marshall as he went 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI at the plate, and pitched a scoreless seventh inning of relief in the weekday clash. Eric Parker leads the team with a .316 batting average, and had a pair of pinch hits in the game against the Herd earlier this month.
Marshall sophomore right-handed pitcher Tyler Gatrell will make his first start of the season, and had only one start all of last season. Gatrell (0-1) will take the mound Tuesday with a 5.65 ERA in 11 appearances this year and has fanned eight batters in 14.1 innings of relief work.
Marshall will take on Louisville, Wednesday evening for the eleventh all-time meeting between the two teams. The Cardinals (16-12) own a 3-7 record against the Herd, including a 17-1 victory in 2007.
Second baseman Chris Dominguez leads the team with a .387 batting average and has a team-best 8 home runs and 26 RBIs. He also has seven doubles and is 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts. Dominguez is also slugging at a Cardinals best, .667 clip.
Right-hander James Belanger will likely get the start for the Cardinals Wednesday. He has a 6.58 ERA and is 3-1 in six appearances (five starts) on the season. Belanger has struck out 21 in 26.0 innings on the mound for Louisville.
Herd righty Justin Moore (1-1) will make his fifth start of the season (seventh appearance) against the Cardinals, Wednesday. Moore, backed by a strong offensive performance, picked up the win April 1 at Dayton. He allowed four runs on five hits while striking out two Flyers in the winning effort.
Following the midweek games, Marshall returns to conference action with a three-game set at East Carolina. The Herd and Pirates will square off starting Friday, April 11 at 6:00 p.m. ET. Saturday's contest will begin at 6:00 p.m. ET, and Sunday's series finale is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET.
