Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Delaware State
Baseball Sweeps Past Delaware State In Saturday Doubleheader
5/10/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 10, 2008
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Marshall University's Victor Gomez blasted his tenth home run of the season, and Marshall pitching limited Delaware State to just one run in each game to complete the Thundering Herd's non-conference doubleheader sweep of the Hornets, Saturday afternoon.
With the victories, Marshall improves to 26-25-1 overall and is just one win shy of tying the single-season record for wins. Delaware State falls to 16-31 on the season. Marshall won the first game 6-1, and posted a 5-1 victory in the nightcap.
Marshall used a five-run third inning in game one, highlighted by the three-run blast from Gomez, to post a 5-0 lead. Delaware State mustered a run in the top of the seventh but stout pitching kept the Hornets off the board for the rest of the game.
Herd game one starter Steve Blevins (8-2) pitched 5.1 superb innings, scattering five hits and a walk, while striking out eight batters. Andrew Blain entered in relief and hurled 3.1 solid innings. He gave up just one run on two hits and fanned five Hornets, before Chad Johnson tossed the final out of the game.
The win for Blevins is the first time a Marshall pitcher has won eight games in a single season since JR Watts won nine games in 1998.
Adam Yeager picked up a stolen base for the Herd, and would add another in game two to give him a total of 36 on the season. The Conference USA leader in swipes is now just four shy of tying Marshall's single-season record for stolen bags.
The Herd got out to a quick lead in game two, plating three runs in the bottom of the first frame. Brandon Casamassima launched a one-out shot over the right field fence for his sixth long ball of the season. Gomez and Jeff Rowley added a pair of run-scoring singles in the inning to give Marshall the 3-0 advantage.
Casamassima added a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning to give the Herd a 4-0 lead. The Hornets crossed the plate in the sixth before Marshall scored its fifth run of the contest on a brilliantly executed double steal by Matt Helm (stole second) and Ben Jurevicius who stole home for the second time this season. The run gave Marshall a 5-1 lead before Tyler Gatrell shut the door on the Hornets with a perfect inning that included two strikeouts.
Game two starter Dan Straily (4-3) was unyielding on the mound. He pitched five strong innings whiffing four batters and allowing just four hits.
Delaware State starter JR McAllister (3-5) suffered the loss in game one, while game two starter Josh Schmidt (7-5) took the loss in the series finale.
Marshall concludes regular season action with a three-game series at Houston beginning Thursday, May 15-17. Thursday and Friday's games are slated for a 7:30 p.m. ET start with the series finale to take place at 2:00 p.m. ET.
