Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Florida Atlantic
No. 16 Florida Atlantic Cruises By @HerdBaseball
4/16/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BECKLEY, W.Va. - Marshall baseball dropped its second straight game against the No. 16 Florida Atlantic on Saturday at Epling Stadium, 10-2.
With the loss, the Herd falls to 17-15, 7-7 Conference USA. The Owls improve to 25-7, 11-3 C-USA. Left-hander Parker Danciu (Palm Beach, Fla.) falls to 2-3 on the year, while Florida Atlantic's Brandon Rhodes picked up the win and moves to 5-3.
Florida Atlantic started off the game strong with six runs in the second and third innings. In the second, FAU tacked on four runs on three hits. The Owls' Esteban Puerta hit a home run to left field after a walk to lead off the third.
Marshall chipped away at the six-run deficit in the fourth inning with one run. After an Aaron Bossi (St. Louis) single, Ryne Dean (Fresno, Calif.) doubled to left center that scored a hustling Bossi from first.
In the seventh, the two teams traded runs. FAU added its seventh run off a sacrifice fly, while the Herd scored off a double play groundout that scored Tyler Ratliff (Alexandria, Va.).
Florida Atlantic went on to push across three more runs across in the ninth to close out the game.
Leading the way at the plate for the Herd was Corey Bird (Elkview, W.Va.) and Ratliff with two hits each. Bird was 2-for-3 with two singles, while Ratliff was 2-for-4 with a single and a double.
Freshman Wade Martin (Portsmouth, Ohio) came into the game in relief and dominated play. Martin went 2.2 innings with five strikeouts. Also in relief for the Herd was Sam Hunter (Ashland, Ky.) and Shane Downey (Akron, Ohio).
Up next, Marshall and Florida Atlantic returns to Epling Stadium for the final game of the three-game series on Sunday at noon.
