Marshall University Athletics
Baseball Takes Part in Arby's Classic Hosted by Tennessee
3/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 11, 2010
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall University baseball team hopes to surpass the .500 plateau by taking part in the Arby's Classic Tournament hosted by the University of Tennessee. The Thundering Herd sits at 5-5 on the season after winning the series finale of a three-game set at Georgia Southern last weekend. MU will play No. 17 Ohio State (Fri.), Connecticut (Sat.) and tournament-host Tennessee (Sun.) all at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.
Game 1 - March 12 (1 p.m.)
Marshall at No. 17 Ohio State
MU: Ian Kadish, RHP (0-2, 9.49 ERA) vs. OSU: Dean Wolosiansky, RHP (1-1, 6.35 ERA)
Game 2 - March 13 (12 p.m.)
Connecticut at Marshall
UC: Greg Nappo, LHP (2-0, 2.08 ERA) vs. MU: Shane Farrell, RHP (1-1, 4.70 ERA)
Game 3 - March 14 (4 p.m.)
Marshall at Tennessee
MU: Mike Mason, LHP (2-0, 3.38 ERA) vs. UT: Stephen McCray, RHP (2-1, 0.89 ERA)
Marshall (5-5)
The Thundering Herd enters the tournament after dropping two-of-three against Southern Conference opponent Georgia Southern. MU received a career-best pitching performance from sophomore LHP Mike Mason in the final game against the Eagles. The southpaw fired 6.2 shutout innings on the bump, a career-high, while also setting a personal best with nine strikeouts.
The Herd offense is led by Johnny Bench Watch List selection Victor Gomez. The junior catcher is hitting .325 in 10 games with two homers, three doubles and eight RBI. Senior Josh Valle has turned it on offensively as of late. In the final two games of the GS series, the third baseman went 5-for-9 with two doubles and two RBI.
No. 17 Ohio State (8-2)
The 17th ranked Buckeyes have been slugging their way past competition this season. The OSU offense is averaging 10.6 runs per game and boasts a .367 team batting average. The two-headed monster of Michael Stephens and Brian DeLucia are the major contributors at the plate. Stephens tops the team in homers (3) and batting average (.481) and DeLucia is the leader in RBI (14) along with owning a .459 average.
Connecticut (6-2)
The Big East representative at the tournament is coming off a 5-4 victory against USC on Wednesday prior to taking three-of-four versus Cal State Northridge. Greg Nappo (2-0) takes the hill for the Huskies on Saturday vs. the Herd. The lefty has tossed 13.0 innings in two starts, allowing just three earned runs with 10 strikeouts to three walks.
Tennessee (7-6)
P.J. Polk has been the catalyst for the Volunteers in 2010. The speedy centerfielder has 17 hits in 44 at bats (.386) and has walked a team-best 14 times with eight stolen bases.
Right-hander Stephen McCray (2-1) has statistically been the top pitcher for UT. In three starts, McCray has logged 20.1 frames surrendering just seven hits and two earned runs for a minuscule 0.89 ERA.
Live stats and audio are available for the series in its entirety at HerdZone.com.
