Marshall University Athletics
@HerdBaseball Welcomes No. 16 Florida Atlantic to Beckley
4/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Marshall baseball welcomes No. 16 Florida Atlantic to Epling Stadium in Beckley for a three-game series beginning Friday at 6 p.m. Saturday's game is set for 4 p.m. and Sunday's game is at noon.
The Thundering Herd (17-13, 7-5) is coming off its third straight Conference USA series win this past weekend in San Antonio against UTSA. Marshall was powered by four-run innings on Friday and Sunday that clinched the series.
ON THE MOUND
Friday: RHP Chase Boster (2-2, 5.36 ERA) vs. RHP Marc Stewart (5-0, 2.15 ERA)
Saturday: LHP Parker Danciu (2-2, 5.84 ERA) vs. LHP Brandon Rhodes (4-3, 5.18 ERA)
Sunday: TBA vs. LHP Sean Labsan (4-0, 0.67 ERA)
HAVE YOU HERD?
Marshall looks to make history this weekend. If the Herd wins the series against FAU, it will become the first time that it has won four Conference USA series in a row. Marshall is currently in fourth place in C-USA, trailing Southern Miss (11-1), Florida Atlantic (9-3) and Rice (9-3).
The Thundering Herd sits at 101 in the latest RPI rankings by the NCAA, good for eighth in the conference.
Corey Bird (Elkview, W.Va.), Aaron Bossi (St. Louis), DJ Gee (Seattle) and Tommy Lane (Pendleton, Ore.) have started all 30 games for the Herd this season. Bossi and Lane lead the way at the plate with .325 and .312 batting averages, respectively. Bird paces the Herd on the basepaths with a team-high 15 stolen bases. Gee is third on the team in hits (35), while first in triples (2).
BEST START IN 15 YEARS
With its win last Sunday, Marshall is off to its best 30-game start since the 2001 season.
Best records through 30 games:
22-8, 1978
21-9, 1975
19-11, 1979
18-10, 1973 (only played 28 games)
18-12, twice (1974 and 1988)
17-13, five times (1976, 1981, 1983, 1990, 2001, 2016)
SCOUTING THE OWLS
Florida Atlantic (23-7, 9-3) dropped its first series of the season last weekend, losing a pair to Charlotte, including a one-run game in 15 innings on Sunday. The Owls' woes continued during the week with an extra-inning loss to Florida Gulf Coast.
FAU is led by preseason all-conference selection CJ Chatman with a .383 batting average and a team-high 10 doubles. The Owls have outscored their opponents 209-104 on the year with 80 extra base hits.
UP NEXT
After the weekend series, Marshall hosts Eastern Kentucky at the Kennedy Center Field on Route 2 in Huntington on Tuesday at 3 p.m. The Herd defeated the Colonels, 5-4, earlier this season.
