Marshall University Athletics
No. 7 Virginia Up Next For Thundering Herd Baseball
3/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 16, 2009
CHARLOTTESVILLE, N.C. - Marshall (7-8) travels to Charlottesville, N.C. for the first time since the 2006 season for a Tuesday afternoon contest at No. 7 Virginia (15-0). Tuesday's contest marks the second midweek tilt against a nationally ranked team in as many weeks.
The Herd is 0-9 all-time against the Cavaliers with the last meeting between the teams resulting in a 12-0 rout in 2006.
Tuesday's game can be viewed via live stats which will be provided on the Virginia athletics webpage at www.virginiasports.com.
Marshall took two of three from Youngstown State during weekend action at The Kennedy Center.
Senior left-handed pitcher Andrew Blain tossed six masterful innings and sophomore first baseman Victor Gomez clouted his third home run of the season to lift the Herd to a 4-0 victory over the Penguins in game one. The win marked the first time since Feb. 29 of last season that Marshall had shutout its opponent. The Thundering Herd took a 6-0 decision over George Mason in the opening game of the Coastal Carolina Bash at the Beach tournament in 2008.
After Saturday's game got rained out, the teams split a doubleheader on Sunday, with Marshall claiming a 15-2 victory in game one, and the Penguins avoiding the sweep with a 2-1 decision in seven innings in game two.
In game one, Marshall enjoyed an impressive display of offense, plating 15 runs on 14 hits.
Marshall starter Dan Straily earned the game one win for his first decision of the season to up his record to 1-0. Rhett Stafford hit a grand slam and Nate Lape and Thor Meeks each homered in the convincing win.
Game two saw an impressive display of pitching by both sides until Marshall broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the third inning when sophomore shortstop Kenny Socorro drove Stafford home with a one-out single to left field.
The Penguins took a 2-1 lead in the seventh on and used a strikeout and a game-clinching double play to seal the game two victory.
The seventh-ranked Cavaliers (Collegiate Baseball Newspaper) enter Tuesday's game with four starters in its lineup batting over .400 for the season, four hitters with three homers, and four players with 20-plus RBIs.
Virginia has also stolen 38 bases on the season, led by Phil Gosselin's eight swipes in nine attempts.
Andrew Carraway will get the start for Virginia Tuesday. He is 3-0 with an ERA of 1.47 in four appearances (two starts) so far this season. He has issued 12 strikeouts in 15.0 innings pitched and is holding opponents to a .159 batting average.
Marshall then returns home for a Wednesday afternoon matchup against West Virginia State at The Kennedy Center. The Herd owns a 49-14-1 life-time record against WV State, but lost a 16-9 decision in the last meeting in 2005.
