Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Georgia Southern
Baseball Blanks Georgia Southern, 8-0
3/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 7, 2010
STATESBORO, Ga. - Mike Mason fired 6.2 innings of shutout work on the mound with a career-high nine strikeouts and the top five batters in the Thundering Herd lineup combine for 12 hits to lead the Marshall University baseball team past Georgia Southern 8-0 on Sunday afternoon at J.I. Clements Stadium.
Mason (2-0) not only notched a new career-high in punch outs, he reset his career-best with 6.2 innings on the hill for the Herd, which evened its record to 5-5 on the season. The lefty tallied six of his nine strikeouts swinging and only surrendered six hits and two walks.
Tyler Gatrell tossed 1.1 innings with three strikeouts and Austin Coan pumped a scoreless ninth to help preserve the first MU shutout since the squad blanked Youngstown State, 4-0, on March 13, 2009.
Trent Franzago (1-1) was saddled with the loss as the Eagles fall to 5-7 overall. The right-hander worked the first 4.0 innings allowing four runs, only one earned, on eight hits with two strikeouts.
The top five hitters in the MU lineup combine for 12 of team's 14 hits against the Eagles. Josh Valle (two doubles) and Kurt Lipton each went 3-for-5 at the dish, while Isaac Ballou, Victor Gomez and Alfredo Brito each tallied a pair of hits. V. Gomez launched a two-run bomb, the 31st of his career.
The Herd showed life in the top of the second inning when Lipton began the frame with a single to right. Brito lined a two-strike base knock to left to put two runners on with no outs. GS starter Franzago buckled down and retired Rhett Stafford on a pop up and induced a ground ball double play off the bat of Nathan Gomez to escape the early threat from the Herd.
MU finally busted out in the top of the third with a two-out spurt. Ballou lined a base hit to right field and promptly stole second on the first pitch to the next batter Valle. The senior third baseman Valle roped a line drive off the first base bag into the right field corner for a double, scoring Ballou for the first mark of the game.
In the bottom of the third, the Eagles put MU starter Mason in a jam. After the lefty chucker struck out the first batter, GS loaded the bases thanks to consecutive singles and a walk. Mason stared in worked his way out of the challenge, striking out cleanup hitter A.J. Wirnsberger and retiring Kevin Bowles by fly out to keep GS off the scoreboard.
The Herd had struggled to find home plate offensively in the first two games of the series, until MU managed a three-run breakthrough in the top of the fourth. Kris Hecktor slapped a clutch two-out double down the leftfield line to plate Stafford and N. Gomez for the freshman's first extra base hit of his collegiate career. Hecktor would race home on a bloop single to left by Ballou to round out the scoring spree with the Herd up, 4-0.
Stafford tattooed his first homer of the season to right field starting the sixth against GS reliever Andy Moye to extend the Herd advantage, 5-0.
In the eighth, MU tacked on another run to make the lead 6-0. Brito dunked a base hit into leftfield, his second safety of the game. Pinch runner Justin Maynard entered and swiped second and third base before scampering home on a sac fly from N. Gomez.
V. Gomez launched a two-run bomb in the top of the ninth to round out the scoring on the day, 8-0.
MU is off until next Friday with a trip to Knoxville, Tenn. to take part in a tournament that includes Ohio State, Connecticut and the host, Tennessee.
