Marshall University Athletics
@HerdBaseball Hosts No. 21 WVU Tuesday; Plays Ohio Wednesday
4/17/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. ââ'¬" The Marshall baseball team welcomes in-state rival No. 21 West Virginia to Appalachian Power Park in Charleston, W.Va. on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The Thundering herd returns to action the following night by traveling to Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio to face the Ohio Bobcats at 6 p.m.
ON THE MOUND
Tuesday: RHP Will Ray (1-1, 4.20 ERA) vs. Kade Strowd (1-0, 2.84 ERA)
Wednesday: TBA vs. TBA
HAVE YOU HERD?
Jacob Niggemeyer had one of the best outings on the mound for the Thundering Herd in over 13 years. The junior became the first Marshall pitcher to record a nine inning complete game shutout since Grant Harper at Bowling Green on April 25, 2004. Niggemeyer tossed a career-high nine innings and held Florida Atlantic to a season-low four hits. It was the first time FAU has been shutout at home since Rice on May 8, 2015.
Redshirt senior Billy Sager and sophomore Andrew Zban have hometown heroes for Marshall over the last couple weeks. Sager, a Kenova, W.Va., native solidified his spot in the designated hitter role after hitting a tying three-run homer to right field in game two at Southern Miss. Sager has recorded at least one hit in nine games since March 24, including a triple at WVU and a solo homer at Florida Atlantic. Zban, a Huntington, W.Va., native has started seven-straight games in the outfield. At the plate, Zban has a seven-game hitting streak with 11 total hits and 10 RBIs.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
No. 21 West Virginia (21-13, 8-4 Big 12) made program history Monday by being ranked in the Baseball American Top 25 poll for the first time since the organization began ranking college baseball teams in 1981. The Mountaineers took two-of-three from No. 3 TCU over the weekend in Morgantown, W.Va. WVU had walk-off wins on Friday and Sunday.
This will be the second and final meeting of the season between Marshall and West Virginia. WVU took game one in Morgantown on April 4, by a score of 14-7. The Mountaineers were led by Jack Cramer and Kyle Gray. Cramer went 3-for-6 with four RBIs and three runs scored, while Gray was 2-for-6 with three RBIs.
SCOUTING THE BOBCATS
Ohio (16-19, 3-6 Mid-American Conference) has been struggling over the past two weeks, losing seven of its last eight games. The Bobcats have been swept in back-to-back conference weekend series and dropped a midweek contest to the Herd last Wednesday, 12-9. Center fielder Spencer Ibarra led Ohio in its contest with Marshall by going 2-for-5 with three RBIs and one run scored.
#OneHerd
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UP NEXT
Marshall welcomes the FIU Panthers to Epling Stadium in Beckley, W.Va. for a C-USA three-game series, beginning Friday, April 21 at 6 p.m. The series continues Saturday at 4 p.m. and concludes on Sunday at Noon.
---HerdZone.com---
