Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Elon
Marshall Wins Series opener 8-6 in Extra Innings
2/23/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Elon, North Carolina-Marshall opened its series against Elon University with an extra innings win Friday to move to 3-1 on the season.
It took ten innings and three lead changes but the Herd walked away victorious thanks to two runs in the final inning, where it forced Elon to face eight different batters.
The game looked to be a low-scoring pitcher's duel as neither team got anything going for the first 3.5 innings, but Elon drew first blood in the bottom of the third when Ryne Ogren hit an RBI-single for his team's first lead of the night at 1-0.
It didn't take long for the Herd to answer with some runs of its own in the top of the fourth. Tucker Linder was first on base when he was hit by a pitch on a 3-1 count. Dakota Robbins came in and hit an RBI double deep into the outfield, allowing Linder to score from first. Reynaldo Pastrana singled, and a wild throw by the second baseman to first allowed him to get to second base while Dakota Robbins scored amidst the confusion on the error. Marshall ended the fourth inning up 2-1.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Elon once again found batting success which allowed it to take the lead. The leadoff man Zach Evers singled, then advanced to second on a balk. A well-placed bunt by Josh Broughton advanced Evers to third base while also allowing Broughton to reach first. Ryne Ogren followed a sacrifice fly to allow Evers to score. Broughton stole second base, which set him up for the score when Joe Satterfield hit a double to left field. A pop fly advanced Satterfield to third where he would eventually score thanks to an RBI double by James Venuto, giving Elon a 4-2 lead in what would be the last run of the inning.
Elon's lead expanded in the sixth when Liam O'Regan hit a 2-run homer to give Elon 6-2 lead.
Down four runs, Marshall began its comeback in the seventh inning. Peter Hutzal was the leadoff man and singled to get things going. Andrew Zban then came in and doubled to score Rodriguez. Another hit, this time a single by Shane Hanon, moved Zban to third where he would score on a Raul Cabrera groundout. The 3-run inning gave the Herd a much more manageable 1-run deficit heading into the tail end of the game.
The ninth inning was do or die time with a 1-run deficit still on the board after a quiet eighth.
Erik Rodriguez hit a leadoff single to put the tying run on base. Andrew Zban then drew a 3-1 walk moving Rodriguez into scoring position. Both runners advanced to second and third on Elon's second balk of the night. Shane Hanon then hit a groundout to second base, but the balk was costly as Rodriguez scored from third giving Hanon the tying RBI. It looked as if the Herd could take the lead with Zban on third, but two quick groundouts had Marshall looking to avoid a walk-off loss.
Pitcher Gordon Cardenas, who collected his first win of the season in tonight's matchup, didn't allow a winning run anywhere close to home plate as he struck out the first two batters he faced before forcing a groundout for an easy three up, three down inning.
The tenth inning would be all the Herd would need.
Will Ray made his first appearance at the plate this season as a pinch hitter, and delivered with a quick 2-pitch single. Reynaldo Pastrana didn't waste any time, scoring Ray the very next at bat with an RBI double to right field. Geordon Blanton gave Marshall some extra cushion with an RBI single to score Pastrana in what turned out to be the final run of the game.
After trailing for a total of six innings, Marshall pulled out the 8-6 extra innings win.
The Herd finished with 8 runs on 12 hits and no errors. Elon has 6 runs, 11 hits, and 2 errors that proved to be costly in hindsight.
Gordon Cardenas earned the win on the mound, pitching 2.2 innings against nine batters. He allowed just one hit and one walk, while striking out two. Elon's Ryan Conroy picks up a loss after pitching 1.2 innings and allowing four hits, three runs (three earned) and walking three batters.
The win moves Marshall to 3-1 on the season, a record they will look to improve on tomorrow at 2 p.m. when they take on Elon in Game 2 of their three game series.
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