Marshall University Athletics
@HerdBaseball Heads North to WVU on Tuesday
4/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Marshall baseball (21-16, 10-8 Conference USA) heads north to Morgantown, W.Va., to close out the season series against in-state rival West Virginia (20-18, 6-8 Big 12) on Tuesday at Monongalia County Ballpark at 6:30 p.m.
ON THE MOUND
RHP Wade Martin (2.61 ERA, 1-0, 10.1 IP, 14 K) vs. RHP Braden Zarbnisky (5.73 ERA, 1-0, 11.0 IP, 8 K)
Martin, a freshman right-hander, made his first collegiate start last week against Eastern Kentucky. The Portsmouth, Ohio, native went three innings and allowed two hits, with three strikeouts. Zarbnisky went three innings with two hits allowed against Youngstown State last week.
HAVE YOU HERD?
The Thundering Herd won its third straight road Conference USA series this past weekend by taking two of three at Charlotte. Marshall has tied the best 37-game start since the 1988 season that was coached by Jack Cook. The 1988 team finished the season with a 23-17 record.
Marshall first baseman Tommy Lane is tied for first in C-USA home runs with 10. Lane hit his 10th homer of the season at Charlotte in a 10-5 win on Saturday. Lane is tied with Taylor Braley of Southern Miss.
WHERE WE RANK
Marshall is No. 99 in the latest RPI release by the NCAA, good for seventh in Conference USA. The Herd trails Rice (18), Southern Miss (19), Florida Atlantic (27), Old Dominion (56), Louisiana Tech (74), and WKU (79). Marshall is 20 spots ahead of West Virginia, at 119.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
West Virginia dropped two of three at Oklahoma this past weekend. The Mountaineers were able to win the final game of the series by scoring 10 unanswered runs to win, 12-7.
Outfielder Darius Hill is the lone Mountaineer to start in all 38 games this season. Hill holds a .349 batting average with a team-high 52 hits and 28 RBIs.
HERD IN THE PROS
Marshall baseball history was made on Sunday. Former pitchers Dan Straily and Aaron Blair became the first Herd duo to start in back-to-back Major League games. Straily started for the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday night against the Chicago Cubs, while Blair made his MLB debut for the Atlanta Braves against the New York Mets.
Outfielder Isaac Ballou (2010-13) was called up to Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs, a Washington Nationals' affiliate, on April 21.
ON THE AIR
Tuesday's game against the Mountaineers can be heard on the Thundering Herd IMG Sports Network with play-by-play from Dave Wilson on ESPN Radio FMs 93.3 and 94.1, and also on AMs 930 and 1340.
UP NEXT
The Herd hits the road for a Conference USA series in Murfreesboro, Tenn., against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (16-24, 4-14 C-USA), beginning on Friday at 7 p.m. (ET). Marshall is scheduled for games Saturday at 5 p.m. (ET) and Sunday at 2 p.m. (ET).
