Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Southern Miss
Baseball Wins Thriller Over Southern Miss, 7-6
4/4/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 4, 2009
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Sophomore designated hitter Victor Gomez blasted a two-run homer and added a double to help pace Marshall to a thrilling 7-6 victory over Southern Miss in Saturday afternoon's Conference USA baseball game at Hill Denson Field at Pete Taylor park.
With the win, Marshall improves to 12-16 on the season, 4-4 in C-USA, while Southern Miss falls to 19-10 overall, 5-3 in league action.
Leading 7-6 in the bottom of the ninth, Marshall closer Austin Coan entered the game and forced three groundouts to complete a three-up, three-down inning and seal the victory for the Herd.
Marshall starter Dan Straily earned his third victory of the season and improves to 3-0 on the season after tossing seven strong innings, highlighted by five strikeouts. Coan earned his fourth save of the season after tossing a perfect final frame.
Southern Miss starter Todd McInnis suffered the loss and moves to 4-2 on the year.
Marshall scored quickly in the top of the first when senior shortstop Adam Yeager singled through the left side to lead off the game. He then raced to third on an errant throw by McInnis, trying to pick him off at first base. Junior third baseman Josh Valle then drilled a one-out single through the right side, allowing Yeager to trot home with the Herd's first run of the game. From there, freshman catcher Thor Meeks drove in Valle, who had advanced to second on a wild pitch, making the score 2-0 with two outs. A two-out free pass to senior first baseman Brandon Casamassima gave Marshall two runners on, but a fly out to deep left field ended the inning.
Southern Miss took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the second frame thanks to two hits and a pair of errors before Straily was able to get out of the inning by retiring three straight batters.
The Golden Eagles added to its lead when Taylor Walker took the first pitch of the Southern Miss third deep over the wall in left field for his first-career homer, lifting the lead to 4-2. From there, three infield groundouts got the Herd out of the inning without further damage.
The Herd evened the contest at 4-4 in the top of the fifth inning when Valle earned a one-out walk and then came full circle on a two-run moon-shot by Gomez to left field. The homer was his seventh of the season and ties him with Meeks for the team lead in long balls. McInnis then got out of the stanza by forcing a fly out and a groundout.
Marshall regained the lead in top of the sixth inning when red-shirt freshman left fielder Rhett Stafford legged out a double to right field, and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Freshman right fielder Eric Semeniuk then picked up his first collegiate RBI with a single up the middle, giving the Herd a 5-4 lead. Sophomore shortstop Kenny Socorro followed that with a sacrifice bunt, advancing Semeniuk to second and chasing McInnis from the game in favor of reliever Wade Weathers. From there, a strikeout and a ground out stranded Semeniuk at second and got the Golden Eagles out of the jam.
The Herd looked to up its lead in the top of the seventh frame when Valle beat out an infield single and then advanced to third on a double down the right field line by Gomez, giving Marshall two runners in scoring position with no outs. A groundout to short kept the runners at bay but chased Weathers from the game in favor of reliever Jonathan Johnston. An intentional walk to Casamassima loaded the bases before Southern Miss was able to get the force out at home on a fielder's choice by Stafford, keeping the score 5-4 with two outs. From there, Semeniuk reached on a two-run infield throwing error, giving the Herd a 7-4 lead before a fielder's choice ended the inning.
Southern Miss responded in the home half of the seventh when Tyler Koelling poked a two-out single into left center and then advanced to second on a single up the middle by Walker. A double to left field by Brian Dozier cut the lead to 7-5 with two runners in scoring position before a wild pitch brought Walker home with the second run of the frame, cutting the gap to one at 7-6 with a runner on third. From there, Straily fanned his fifth batter of the game to preserve the one-run lead.
The Golden Eagles got back to work in bottom of the eighth stanza when James Ewing ripped a leadoff single up the middle, chasing Straily from the game in favor of red-shirt senior lefty Andrew Blain. Pinch-hitter Michael Ewing then fouled out to the catcher on a bunt attempt, giving the Herd one out. That brought in junior right-hander Tyler Gatrell who issued a strikeout and induced an inning-ending pop out to shallow left field.
Yeager, Valle and Gomez each had two hits, while Gomez drove in a team-high two runs in the victory over the Golden Eagles.
Marshall and Southern Miss will play the series finale, Sunday with first-pitch slated for 12:00 p.m. ET. The Herd will send freshman left-hander Greg Williams on the mound to face the Golden Eagles.
