Marshall University Athletics
Baseball's Pitching Staff Silences Tulane, 7-3
3/27/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 27, 2010
NEW ORELEANS - Victor Gomez launched a three-run homer and six relievers combine to hold Tulane to one hit during the final five innings and off the scoreboard over the final six frames as the Marshall University baseball team evened the series with a 7-3 victory at Turchin Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The win was just what Marshall (10-11, 1-1 C-USA) needed after a walk-off loss that slipped away to the Tulane (16-8, 1-1 C-USA) Green Wave on Friday night. As seemingly almost every player on the Herd roster contributed to the victory, a total of 22 players in all were used as MU looks to take the three game road series tomorrow at 11 a.m. CST.
V. Gomez provided the offensive pop, finishing the game 2-for-5, including his seventh homer of the season and three RBI. The MU backstop is now tied with Dave McAnallen (1988-91) for the most runs knocked in a career with 139.
Josh Valle, Kenny Socorro, Isaac Ballou and James Lavinskas all added a hit and a RBI as the team collected 10 base hits from nine different players.
After Ben Jurevicius (1-0) worked 2.0 scoreless innings in relief of Herd starter Ryan Kiel, Kyle Blank, James White III and Ben Frith all recorded an out in the seventh. Tyler Gatrell and Austin Coan each fired a scoreless frame as the Green Wave left 12 runners on base.
Kiel, who did not figure in the decision, worked the first 4.0 innings giving up three earned runs on six hits with two strikeouts.
A two-run bottom of the second aided the Green Wave in taking the first punch on the scoreboard. Brennan Middleton laced a single to center to bring around Garrett Cannizaro and Matt Ryan as TU put pressure on the Herd in the early goings.
The Herd responded in the top of the third with a three-spot. Socorro and Ballou hit consecutive singles to start the frame. Both runners moved up 90-feet thanks to a two-strike sacrifice bunt from leadoff man Kirby Pellant. Green Wave starter Matt Petiton induced Josh Valle to fly out for the second out of the inning, setting the stage for V. Gomez. With first base open, Petiton appeared to pitch around the MU slugger with the first pitch sailing way outside. However, V. Gomez connected on the next offering from the lefty for a three-run no doubt shot into the palm trees in the left to take a 3-2 lead. The one-run cushion was short lived as TU's Blake Crohan launched a solo shot off the scoreboard to knot the score, 3-3.
TU put Kiel in a jam in the bottom of the fourth by loading the bases without the courtesy of a hit. An error, hit's batsman and walk made the sacks packed of Green Wave base runners with one out. Kiel got off the hook by getting a ground ball double play from reigning C-USA co-Hitter of the Week Rob Segedin to escape with the score still tied.
MU made Green Wave reliever Drew Zizinia's (0-1) eighth appearance of the season an unmemorable one in the top of the sixth. Six-straight batters reached base including a pinch-hit RBI single from Lavinskas and bases loaded walk to Socorro to chase the righty in favor of lefty David Napoli. Ballou plated Alfredo Brito on a RBI fielder's choice to extend the lead, 6-3, for the second three-run frame of the afternoon.
An insurance run was added by the Herd in the top of the ninth to push the advantage to 7-3. Pellant started the frame smoking a triple into the left-center field gap. He would trot home on a RBI single to right off the bat of Valle, the 200th hit of his career.
