Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Radford
Baseball Swings Past Radford, 14-2
2/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 27, 2009
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Marshall sophomore right fielder Ben Jurevicius went 2-for-3 with four RBIs to help pace the Thundering Herd to a 14-2 victory over Radford in Friday evening's baseball game at The Citadel Memorial Challenge at Joseph Riley Park.
With the win, Marshall snaps a three-game losing skid and improves to 3-3 on the season, while Radford falls to 1-4 overall.
Leading 14-1 in the bottom of the ninth, Herd left-handed sophomore Kyle Blank entered at the start of the frame and allowed Reggie Keen to tag a 2-1 pitch to right center field for a one-out RBI single, scoring Jeff Kemp, who had reached on a single earlier in the frame, to make the score 14-2. From there, Blank issued his second strikeout of the inning and induced a game-ending groundout to seal the victory for the Herd.
Herd starter Ryan Kiel earned his second victory of the season in as many tries, while Shane Pysh falls to 0-1 on the season.
Marshall opened an early 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning when sophomore designated hitter Victor Gomez led off the inning with a walk. Junior third baseman Josh Valle then reached on a fielder's choice and Gomez reached second on an infield fielding error. Red-shirt freshman left fielder Rhett Stafford then singled up the middle to load the bases. From there, freshman first baseman Alfredo Brito reached on a fielder's choice as Gomez was thrown out at home trying to score on the play. Pysh struck out the next batter before Jurevicius drove in Valle with an infield single. The Herd's second run of the frame came when senior shortstop Adam Yeager earned a free pass, allowing Stafford to cross home before Pysh's second strikeout of the stanza got the Highlanders out of the early jam without further damage.
In the home half of the second, Radford got its lead man on when Will Naylor earned a walk, and then stole second. Kiel fanned the next two batters before Robert Lamas reached on an infield error, placing runners at the corners with two outs. From there, Kiel forced an inning-ending groundout to preserve the 2-0 advantage.
The Herd extended its lead in the top of the third when senior centerfielder Nate Lape laced a leadoff single up the middle. He then stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Valle earned a one-out walk to give Marshall runners on the corners before Stafford sent Lape home on an RBI groundout, moving Valle to second. From there, Valle went to third on a wild pitch and Brito drew a two-out free pass to again give the Herd runners on the corners. A double into left field by sophomore catcher Kevin Shackelford allowed Valle to score and move Brito to third, before Jurevicius singled up the middle to send both Brito and Shackelford home. Yeager then ripped a double down the right field line to score Jurevicius. A groundout ended the frame, but not before Marshall scored five runs to extend its cushion to 7-0.
Radford made some noise in the bottom of the fourth inning when Naylor earned his second leadoff walk. He then advanced to second on a Nick Minter infield single. A groundout moved both runners up 90 feet, and a sacrifice fly to right field by Robert Lamas scored Naylor and sent Minter to third, making the score 7-1. A walk by Tyren Rivers gave the Highlanders runners on the corners, before Rivers stole second, but Marshall got out of the inning after forcing an infield pop out.
Marshall added to its lead in the top of the fifth when Brito earned a one-out free pass and advanced to third on a single through the right side by Shackelford. Jurevicius then reached on an infield throwing error which brought Brito home with the Herd's eighth run of the contest and sending Shackelford to second chasing Pysh from the game. A walk to Yeager loaded the bases before reliever Josh Constable tossed a strikeout for the second out of the frame. From there, Lape drilled two-run single into left scoring Shackelford and Jurevicius, before a groundout ended the inning with the score set at 10-1.
Freshman right-hander Joe Church replaced Kiel to start the bottom sixth inning. Kiel contributed five stellar innings on the hill, fanning five batters and allowing just one run on two hits in his second start of the season. Church used a double play and hurled his first collegiate strikeout to highlight the scoreless sixth inning.
Freshman southpaw Ben Frith replaced Church to start the Radford seventh frame and delivered a scoreless inning of relief, allowing just one hit and one walk in the stanza.
Church and Frith each pitched a solid inning of relief in their collegiate debuts.
Marshall loaded the bases in the top of the eighth inning when Gomez reached first on an infield fielding error with one down. Valle and Stafford were each hit by a pitch, filling the bags and bringing Brito to the plate. The freshman earned an RBI walk, giving the Herd an 11-1 lead. Shackelford picked up his second RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly to center to score Valle, and red-shirt sophomore Ramone Tate added an RBI single to right field to score Stafford. Yeager then drew a walk to load the bases again, but a caught foul fly ball down the first base line ended the inning with the score 13-1.
The Herd brought in freshman southpaw Mike Mason to pitch the home half of the eighth inning and the freshman allowed a walk and a hit, but did not surrender a run.
Marshall scored again in the top of the ninth stanza when Valle blasted a two-out double, advanced to third on a single through the right side by Stafford, and then scored on a single up the middle by Brito, sending the score to 14-1 and giving the Herd runners on the corners. However, a fly out to centerfield ended the inning.
Stafford finished with three hits in the game while Yeager, Lape, Shackelford and Jurevicius chipped in two apiece, while Yeager, Lape, Brito and Shackelford each drove in two runs each in the winning effort.
Marshall resumes action at The Citadel Memorial Challenge, Saturday against the host Bulldogs. First-pitch is slated for 1:30 p.m. ET at Joseph Riley Park as part of a tournament schedule change. The Herd concludes action at the tournament, Sunday, with an 11:00 a.m. contest against Radford.
