Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Lehigh
@HerdBaseball Rallies to Complete Series Sweep over Lehigh
3/5/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Game One Box Score (PDF) | Game Two Box Score (PDF)
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall Thundering Herd baseball team completed its three-game series sweep over the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (1-5) on Sunday. The Herd (5-5) won the first game of the doubleheader, 6-4, while rallying in the eighth inning to win, 10-6, in game two.
Marshall was led by Sam Finfer, Tyler Ratliff and Cory Garrastazu at the plate. Finfer batted .333 (2-for-6) with two doubles and five RBIs. Ratliff also hit .333 (2-for-6) with a double and three RBIs, while Garrastazu hit .333 (2-for-6) with three RBIs. Will Ray and Leo Valenti each had two RBIs in the doubleheader, while Andrew Zban had one RBI. Zban and Ray led the Herd with a .500 batting average.
On the mound, starting pitcher Joshua Shapiro earned the win in game one. The Columbus, Ohio, native went six innings with seven strikeouts. He allowed two runs on four hits. Matt Reed picked up his first career win in relief in game two. The Purcellville, Va., native tossed one shutout inning and didn't surrender a hit. Ratliff earned his second save of the season in game one by throwing one scoreless inning with two strikeouts.
GAME ONE: Marshall 6, Lehigh 4
The Thundering Herd took control of the first game in the second inning. Damian Rodriguez singled to third base with one out. He was able to move over to second on a wild pitch during the follow at-bat. After a Shane Hanon walk, the runners moved up to scoring position on a passed ball. Garrastazu drove in the runners with a two RBI single to right field. Garrastazu came around to score later in the inning on a Ray single to center field.
Lehigh got a run back in the top half of the third inning. James Bleming singled up the middle to score Anthony Rinaldi from second.
Marshall went on to add two more runs in the fifth. Valenti led off the inning with a single through the left side. He would move to second on a Ray sacrifice bunt, and then to third on a Lehigh wild pitch. Finfer drove in Valenti with a double to left field. Ratliff followed with his own double to left field that scored Finfer.
The Herd and Mountain Hawks traded runs in the top of the sixth. Lehigh had a solo home run to left field with two outs. Marshall earned its run by a Valenti sacrifice fly that scored Hanon.
Lehigh brought the game within two runs in the top of the eighth by scoring two runs on back-to-back doubles down the left field line.
Ratliff closed the game for the Herd in the ninth with two strikeouts and a fly out.
GAME TWO: Marshall 10, Lehigh 6
The beginning of the second game of the doubleheader was all Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after four and a half innings. Connor Donovan had a solo home run in the second inning, while Stephen Fitzgerald scored on a Patrick Murphy wild pitch. John Scarr had a two-run single to right field in the top of the fifth inning.
Marshall cut its deficit to one in the bottom of the fifth. Garrastazu walked with one out. Zban followed with a single to left field to move Garrastazu to second. Valenti loaded the bases after a fielding error by the third baseman. Finfer drove in all three runners with a deep double to center field.
The Thundering Herd and Mountain Hawks exchanged runs in the sixth inning. Lehigh's Rinaldi pushed the lead to two runs with a solo homer to right field. Garrastazu brought the Herd back within one with a single through the right side that scored Tommy Lane.
Marshall took its first lead of the ballgame in the bottom of the eight by pushing across six runs on five hits. Zban tied the game with a single to left field that scored Rodriguez. Valenti gave Marshall its lead with an infield single that scored Hanon. After Lehigh hit Ray and walked Finfer with the bases loaded to give the Herd two runs, Ratliff doubled down the left field line to score Ray and Valenti.
Freshman Jacob Bradley came into pitch for the Herd in the ninth. He allowed one run on a double play groundout that scored a Lehigh runner from third.
COACH'S CORNER
Quote by head coach Jeff Waggoner
On the series and the teamââ'¬Â¦
I was proud of the guys and the way they battled. We were in a tough situation today where we were down a few runs, but was able to comeback. This team has been fighting all year. We haven't played that well early on, but to get back home and get some practices in on the field and being able to figure out roles on this team is important. We're trying to figure out what's best for this team, and this why we are playing these early home games, so this team can be ready for conference play.
#OneHerd
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UP NEXT
Marshall heads to Johnson City, Tenn., for a midweek game against East Tennessee State University on Wednesday, March 8 at 6:30 p.m.
---HerdZone.com---
