Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
USF
Eleven-Run Fifth Inning Lifts USF Past Baseball, 14-5
3/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 7, 2009
TAMPA, Fla. - Marshall University sophomore right fielder Ben Jurevicius went 4-for-4 with a run scored, but the University of South Florida used an 11-run fifth inning to pace the Bulls to a 14-5 victory over the Thundering Herd in Saturday night's baseball game at Red McEwen Field in Tampa, Fla.
With the loss Marshall slides to 3-5 overall, while USF improves to 5-4 on the season.
Leading 14-5 in the top of the ninth, USF righty Andrew Salgueiro came on in the ninth, replacing Matt Quevedo who entered in the fifth frame and pitched three innings of scoreless baseball for the Bulls. Salgueiro retired the side in order to seal the victory for USF.
Quevedo earned the victory and improves to 2-0 on the season, while Marshall sophomore starter Shane Farrell suffered the loss and moves to 0-3 on the season.
Marshall wasted no time getting started in the top of the first as senior shortstop Adam Yeager led the contest off with a single into right centerfield. He then stole his fifth base of the season and moved to third on a ground out. Senior centerfielder Nate Lape then drove Yeager home with a groundout to the left side of the diamond, giving the Herd a 1-0 edge. A strikeout from Stull ended the inning.
USF answered in the bottom of the first when Ryan Lockwood and Jonathan Koscso registered back-to-back one-out singles. The runners then executed a double-steal, moving into scoring position before Farrell fired a strikeout to give Marshall two outs in the stanza. A wild pitch scored Lockwood and moved Koscso to third, but Farrell induced an inning-ending groundout to keep the score knotted at 1-1.
The Herd forged ahead in the top of the second inning when red-shirt freshman Rhett Stafford earned a two-out walk and then scored from first on a rocket launched off the bat of sophomore catcher Kevin Shackelford who slid into second with his third two-bagger of the year. Jurevicius then pushed a perfect bunt down the third baseline for a single, sending Shackelford to third. A walk to Yeager loaded the bases, but a deep fly out to the warning track in right field ended the inning with the Herd clinging to a 2-1 lead.
Marshall added to its lead in the top of the fourth inning when Jurevicius laced a one-out double in left field. Yeager then drew his second base-on-balls of the game before senior second baseman Brandon Casamassima singled through the left side, scoring Jurevicius from second. Yeager and Casamassima attempted a double-steal of their own but Casamassima was thrown out on the play. Lape then drew a walk to give the Herd runners on the corners before sophomore first baseman Victor Gomez ripped a bases-clearing single into the outfield giving Marshall its second and third runs of the inning. From there, Stull was able to toss a strikeout to end the frame, but the Herd increased its cushion to 5-1.
The Bulls got two back in the bottom of the fourth when Chris Rey led off the inning with a double ripped down the left field line and was followed by Junior Carlin who reached on an infield throwing error. The runners then moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Sam Mende before Trey Manz poked a two-run single into right center field making the score 5-3. Peter Brotons then flew out to right field and Jurevicius fired to first base to double-up Manz for an inning-ending double play.
Quevedo replaced starter Matt Stull in the top of the fifth stanza and the right-hander twirled a 1-2-3 inning.
The Bulls erupted for an 11-run fifth when Mike Consolmagno notched a leadoff single into left field. He then stole second before Lockwood walked. Consolmagno then advanced to third on a wild pitch and came around to score on an errant throw into the outfield, cutting the Marshall lead to one run. Koscso then drew a free-pass giving USF two runners on which chased Farrell from the game in favor of junior reliever Tyler Gatrell. Todd Brazeal then singled to center, scoring Lockwood and Brazeal advanced to second an outfield throwing error which sent Koscso to third. Gatrell then fanned the next batter to give Marshall its first out of the inning before being lifted in favor of red-shirt senior lefty Andrew Blain. The third walk of the frame loaded the bases and a passed ball allowed Koscso to cross the plate with the go-ahead run with just one out in the inning. Two walks later, USF staked a 7-5 lead and Blain was removed from the game for sophomore Ian Kadish. From there, a two-run double by Brotons gave the Bulls a 9-5 advantage. After an infield pop-up resulted in the second out of the inning, the Bulls exploded for five more runs, making the score 14-5 before Kadish hurled a strikeout to stop the bleeding.
Left-handed senior reliever Brian Mooney entered for Marshall in the bottom of the sixth and was able to pitch a pair of scoreless frames.
Gomez finished 2-for-5 on the day with a pair RBIs.
Marshall returns to action Sunday, March 8 for the series finale with USF at Red McEwen Field. First-pitch is slated for 11:00 a.m. ET and will see junior right-hander Dan Straily on the mound for the Herd.
