Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Florida International
Dundon Delivers Walk-Off Win Saturday
3/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Final Stats PDF
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Â Marshall baseball (8-17, 2-6 C-USA) delivered the drama Saturday afternoon, defeating league opponent FIU (12-15, 4-4 C-USA) 5-4 in walk-off fashion at Appalachian Power Park in Charleston.
In the bottom of the ninth, with two outs and bases loaded, senior Andrew Dundon (Lincoln Park, N.J.) laced a single just inside the right field line that scored classmate TJ Diffenderfer (Mount Juliet, Tenn.) and propelled  the Herd to its first walk-off victory of the season.
Junior DJ Gee (Seattle) led the Herd offensive force, pulling in a 3-for-5 performance and providing the double that set Diffenderfer up at third during the ninth. Sophomore Matt Reed (Purcellville, Va.) collected two hits and two RBI.
Junior JD Hammer (Fort Collins, Colo.) Â tossed six innings, allowing two runs off four hits and three walks. The righty collected three punchouts.
Marshall opened the scoring game in the second, when Gee singled and stole second, and took third on a passed ball. Gee came home after three straight walks for the Herd hitters.
MU added to its lead the following inning. Senior Josh King (Troup, Ga.) boarded on a hit-by-pitch, and moved up after a Diffenderfer single. Gee then loaded the bases after another single, and then King came home courtesy of an RBI single to deep right field from sophomore Billy Sager (Kenova, W.Va.).
Two batters later, Reed smacked one to center field, bringing both Diffenderfer and Gee home to go up 4-0. The Panthers started a comeback, scoring once in the fourth and sixth, and then tying the game with two runs in the seventh.
The game then remained at a stalemate until the final frame. With two outs, Diffenderfer boarded on a walk and moved to third on Gee's double, and after Sager was intentionally walked to juice the bases, enter Dundon to the plate.
WAGGONER'S WORDS
Quotes from coach Jeff Waggoner and members of the Herd
"It was a great team win, and that couldn't have happened to a better player than Andrew [Dundon]. It was just a hard fought and successful game at home. We have to get out and get the rubber match tomorrow, and there's two great pitchers going at it so it will be a good game to watch."
Andrew Dundon, Sr., Third Baseman
"It was just a great team win all around. Their pitcher did a good job keeping us off balance all game, but those are the moments I thrive to be in. I just kept battling in that final at-bat, and got a pitch out over the plate and squared it up hard. Credit TJ [Diffenderfer] and DJ [Gee] because they did a tremendous job getting on, so none of that would have been able to happen without them."
DJ Gee, Jr., Left Fielder
"What a great team win with an exciting finish. Hopefully, we can continue with that momentum tomorrow to win our first conference series. I really just wanted to be able to find a way to help bring guys across the plate each time I was at-bat. Going 3-for-5 is great, but being able to help set up plays that allow us to score is what its about."
UP NEXT
Marshall and FIU face off in the finale of the series Sunday at Power Park. First pitch is slated for a 1 p.m. start.
