Marshall University Athletics
@HerdBaseball Hosts Morehead State on Tuesday
3/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. ââ'¬" Marshall baseball hosts I-64 rival Morehead State for a midweek game on Tuesday at 3 p.m. (ET) at the Kennedy Center field on Route 2.
The Herd is coming off a second straight weekend of sweeping its opponents. This past weekend, Marshall swept the Brown Bears in a four-game series. It was the first four-game series sweep since WVU Tech in 2014, while it was the first time Marshall had back-to-back series sweeps since 2008 (Valparaiso, VMI).
Marshall was powered by its defense and pitching throughout the weekend. In the four-game set, the Herd pitching staff had a 0.86 ERA in 42 innings. Starting pitchers Parker Danciu (Palm Beach, Fla.) and Patrick Murphy (Massillon, Ohio) each tossed five innings with zero runs allowed. JD Hammer (Fort Collins, Colo.) threw the Herd's first complete game since 2014 (Matt Margaritonda vs East Carolina on March 9), while Chase Boster (Stafford, Va.) went seven innings and only allowed two runs on six hits.
After scoring 12 runs through the first three games of the series, Marshall's offense had an outburst in the final game with 14 runs. Leading the way was freshman Andrew Zban (Huntington, W.Va.) who went 5-for-10 with three RBIs and the game-winning hit on Friday in the 17th inning. Tommy Lane (Pendleton, Ore.) was 6-for-17 with two home runs and four RBIs.
Freshman Joshua Shapiro (Columbus, Ohio) will take the mound against Morehead in the second start of his career. Last week, Shapiro (0-1) went 4.1 innings with three runs allowed on seven hits against Ohio.
Morehead State enters the midweek clash with a 12-3 overall and a six-game win streak. The Eagles opened Ohio Valley Conference play this past weekend with a home series sweep against Tennessee Tech. Morehead holds a .335 batting average and is led by Alex Stephens, who is 30-for-67 (.448). Getting the start for the Eagles is Curtis Wilson (0-1).
Up next, Marshall begins conference play this weekend, as it welcomes Southern Miss to Appalachian Power Park for a three-game series beginning Friday at 6 p.m. ET.
