Marshall University Athletics
@HerdBaseball Travels to ETSU on Wednesday
3/7/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Live Stats
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall baseball team heads south to former Southern Conference foe East Tennessee State University for a midweek contest at Thomas Stadium on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
ON THE MOUND
RHP Will Ray (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Griffin Krieg (0-0, 4.50 ERA)
It will be the first appearance on the mound for the right-handed pitcher Will Ray. Ray has made seven starts for the Herd this season, but in the infield. The Evansville, Ind., native is hitting .409 (9-for-22) at the plate with three RBIs and one home run.
ETSU's starting pitcher Griffin Krieg has made five appearances on the mound this season, all in relief. Krieg holds a 4.50 ERA through 10 innings pitched. He has allowed five runs on six hits. He is holding opposing hitters to a .176 batting average.
HAVE YOU HERD?
Marshall improved to .500 (5-5) this past weekend with a three-game series sweep over the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. The Herd shutout Lehigh on Saturday, while winning both games of a doubleheader on Sunday. Marshall featured four players with a batting average over .300 in the series, including senior Leo Valenti, junior Tyler Ratliff, sophomore Andrew Zban and Ray. Valenti had a team-best .375 batting average. Ratliff led the Herd with five RBIs off of four doubles.
Senior Sam Finfer continues to impress early on this season at the plate. The Bellevue, Wash., native leads the Herd in hits (11), runs (9), home runs (4), RBIs (15), total bases (26) and slugging percentage (.839). Finfer ranks third in the NCAA for RBIs per game with 1.88. He ranks 38th in the country for total RBIs.
SCOUTING THE BUCS
ETSU (7-4) returns home after suffering its first series loss off the season to Florida A&M in Tallahassee, Fla. The Buccaneers dropped the first game, 7-3, but bounced back in game two, 10-8. ETSU came up short in the rubber game, 13-12.
The Bucs are 6-2 at home this season and holds the fifth-best team batting average (.346) and on-base percentage (.438) in the nation. ETSU features four players with a batting average over .400. Hunter Parker leads the team by batting .526 (20-for-38).
UP NEXT
Marshall returns home to host the Niagara Purple Eagles in a three-game series at the Kennedy YMCA Center Field on Route 2. First game is scheduled for Friday at 3 p.m.
