Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Charlotte
Gee, Lane, Bossi Powers @HerdBaseball Past Charlotte Saturday
4/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Marshall baseball (21-15, 10-7 C-USA) clinched its third-straight road series on Saturday with a 10-5 victory over the Charlotte 49ers (16-24, 6-11 C-USA) at Hayes Stadium.
The Thundering Herd wasted no time to set the tone for the afternoon as it pushed across three runs in the first. DJ Gee (Seattle) got things rolling with a one-out double. Tommy Lane (Pendleton, Ore.) brought home Gee in the next at-bat with a single to right center. Marshall kept the pressure on with a two-run home run by Aaron Bossi (St. Louis).
Charlotte got a run back in the bottom half of the first with a home run to center field, but Marshall re-gained its three-run lead in the the third. Lane hit his team-leading 10th home run to center field to put the Herd ahead, 4-1.
Marshall added two insurance runs in the fifth. Lane collected his third RBI of the day with a sacrifice fly to right field, while Aaron Bossi earned his third RBI with a single through the right side to score Gee.
The 'Niners made things interesting in the sixth and seventh inning with three runs scored to push their deficit to two runs.
With two outs in the eighth inning, Tyler Ratliff (Alexandria, Va.) hit a ground-rule double down the left field line to score Billy Sager (Kenova, W.Va.).
The Herd opened up the game in the ninth with three runs scored. Robert Fajardo (Miami), who came in as a defensive replacement, tripled to right center, and then scored on a throwing error by the second baseman during the play. After Corey Bird (Elkview, W.Va.) had a single to center field, Gee connected on his second home run of the season with a two-run shot to left center.
Junior Parker Danciu (Palm Beach, Fla.) earned his third win of the season, as he went seven innings with four strikeouts. Danciu (3-3) allowed four runs on nine hits. Freshman Patrick Murphy (Massillon, Ohio) collected his first collegiate save with two innings pitched and one earned run on three hits.
The Thundering Herd was led by its two through four hitters in the lineup. The trio combined for eight of Marshall's nine runs batted in. Senior Gee was 3-for-5 with two RBIs and three runs scored, while Bossi and Lane each had two hits and three RBIs.
Charlotte starting pitcher Colton Laws (3-3) suffered the setback as he went 3.1 innings with four earned runs on five hits. Logan Sherer led the 49ers by going 3-for-4 with three RBIs.
COACH'S CORNER
Quotes from Head Coach Jeff Waggoner
On Parker Danciu's performanceââ'¬Â¦
"Parker has worked hard this week to make some adjustments on his secondary pitches, and he did just a tremendous job of pitching to contact today. He went seven innings today and he gave us a chance to win the game."
On the offenseââ'¬Â¦
"Well, all the way down through the lineup the guys are really preparing hard before games. They are staying with good approaches, and everyone is having quality at-bats. That's all you can ask for. We only left three runners on base today, which is a good sign that they are having good swings with runners in scoring position."
VIDEO
UP NEXT
The Herd will look for its first Conference USA series sweep since 2014 on Sunday at 1 p.m. Freshman left-hander Joshua Shapiro (1-2) is scheduled to get the start.
