Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Florida Atlantic
Shapiro Shines in @HerdBaseball's Win over No. 16 Florida Atlantic
4/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BECKLEY, W.Va. - Freshman pitcher Joshua Shapiro (Columbus, Ohio) shined in his first Conference USA start with a 7-2 win for the Marshall Thundering Herd over No. 16 Florida Atlantic on Sunday at Epling Stadium.
The left-hander went seven scoreless innings for Marshall (18-15, 8-7 C-USA) with five strikeouts and four hits allowed. Shapiro (1-2) earned his first collegiate win.
The Herd struck first in the ballgame with a run in the bottom of the second. Senior Aaron Bossi (St. Louis) led things off in the inning with a single up the middle. During the next at-bat, Bossi moved over on a passed ball. After a Ryne Dean (Fresno, Calif.) single to put runners on the corners, Tyler Ratliff (Alexandria, Va.) singled through the right side to score Bossi.
In the ensuing inning for Marshall, Ratliff came through with the big hit again. With Dean and Tommy Lane (Pendleton, Ore.) already on base, the sophomore hit a three-run home run that left the park in a hurry. Through three innings, Ratliff batted in all four of Marshall's runs.
The Thundering Herd continued to keep the pressure on with two more runs coming across in the fourth. Bossi singled to right field with the bases loaded that scored Robert Fajardo (Miami) and Corey Bird (Elkview, W.Va.) to put Marshall ahead, 6-0.
The Herd pushed its lead to seven runs in the sixth inning with a Bird single through the right side that scored Leo Valenti (Olympia, Wash.) from second.
Florida Atlantic chipped away at the Herd's lead in the top of the eighth with a two-run home run by CJ Chatham.
After the home run was allowed, Marshall elected to go to Burris Warner (Auburndale, Fla.) to close out the Owls. Warner did just that with 1.2 innings pitched and one hit allowed with a strikeout.
The Herd led the way at the plate with 12 hits from eight players. Bossi, Dean, Ratliff and Valenti each had two hits. Dean is on an eight-game hitting streak.
Florida Atlantic (25-8, 11-4 C-USA) had eight hits on the day. Starting pitcher Sean Labsan suffered his first loss of the season, and moves to 4-1 overall.
This is the first win for the Herd against a ranked opponent since April 6, 2016 against No. 19 Houston.
COACH'S CORNER
Quotes from head coach Jeff Waggoner
On the win and Joshua Shapiro's performance...
I think it was a team effort after losing two tough games earlier in the weekend. The guys were able to keep their confidence, and it all started with Josh. As a freshman to be able to come out and throw like that is impressive. He's only allowed four hits in his last two outings. The confidence he has, the swagger, to throw any pitch in any count, just really shows his maturity as a pitcher.
UP NEXT
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.
