Marshall University Athletics
Sunday, March 31
Huntington, W.Va.
1 p.m.
Marshall University
7
vs
0
Middle Tennessee
Photo by: Cody Linn
Dominant Pitching Leads Baseball to Shutout Win Over Middle Tennessee
3/31/2019 6:42:00 PM | Baseball
Herd takes third consecutive series to begin Conference USA play for first-time in program history
Box Score
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Herd baseball (17-10, 6-3 C-USA) shuts out Middle Tennessee, 7-0, in the rubber game on Sunday to take the series at the Kennedy Center.
"It was good to see Wade come back as we try to build him up. He looked sharp," 13th-year head coach Jeff Waggoner said. "Ryan Falls did a great job of attacking the zone and had a good tempo today. (Robert) Kwiatkowski and (Michael) Guerrero did what they were supposed to do. They came in with aggressiveness and did a good job. We played good defense and had a good approach at the plate. We had a different focus today and guys came prepared before the game. It feels good to get the series win"
Winning the series marks the first time in program history that the Herd have won its first three series to begin conference in program history.
Wade Martin returned to the hill for the second time this season as the starting pitcher. After recording the first two outs, Martin gave up a pair of singles as the Blue Raiders had runners at first and second with two outs in the top of the first. However, Martin struck out the final batter on a 2-2 pitch to close out the inning.
Ryan Falls come on in relief of Martin to begin the second. The first batter he faced hit a ball in the hole to Elvis Peralta at short, but he gunned out the MT baserunner to start the inning. Falls set down the next two batters looking on strikeouts to keep the game 0-0.
The Herd got the scoring started in bottom of third. Geordon Blanton lead the inning off with a single and then stole both second and third. One batter later, Luke Edwards brought Blanton home on a fielder's choice as Blanton beat the throw home from the shortstop.
A couple batters later, Peralta reached on a fielder's choice to prevent a Blue Raider double play and score Edwards. Two pitches later Reyanldo Pastrana singled on a tweener to second to score Zach Inskeep and put Marshall up 3-0 after the third inning.
In the fourth, Blue Raider first baseman Brycen Thomas fell victim to another tremendous play by Peralta to end the inning with the Herd still leading 3-0.
"He (Peralta) played really well. That's what you expect out of your middle infielders," Waggoner said about Peralta's defensive efforts today.
After singles by Tucker Linder and Peralta, Pastrana drew a walk to load the bases with one out for Marshall in the bottom of the fifth. Andrew Zban then brought home Linder and Peralta with a single to right to extend the lead to 5-0 with one of his three hits in the game.
Falls closed out his outing in the sixth after five-scoreless innings of work. The lefty allowed just one hit with another runner reaching on an error, giving up no free passes and striking out five Blue Raiders.
"I was just attacking the zone," Falls said about his outing. "I wanted to keep a good tempo and a good pace. I trusted my defense and just went after it."
The Herd concluded the scoring in the game when Peralta smoked a double down the right-field line to score Linder and Pastrana, the next batter, brought home Peralta to put Marshall up 7-0.
Robert Kwiatkowski came on to pitch scoreless seventh and eighth innings, striking out a pair of batters and giving up just two hits with no walks.
Michael Guerrero struck out two and walked two as he pitched a scoreless- and hitless-ninth inning to close out the game.
"Now we just focus on this week and worry about Western Carolina on Wednesday," Waggoner commented on the next game.
NOTES
- The Herd has now won three straight three-game series for the third time in program history since joining C-USA.
- This was Marshall's second shutout of the season.
- Falls joined Shapiro for the team-lead in wins with four. His five innings pitched and five strikeouts each tied career-highs.
- Linder extended his hit streak to 12 games, tied with Inskeep for the longest Herd hit streak of the season.
- Zban's three-game tied his career-high which he has now done six times.
- Blanton and Pastrana each collected their seventh multi-hit game of the season.
- Peralta had at least three hits in a game for the second time this season.
- Linder has now had 11 multi-hit games this season, third most on the team.
- Zban collected his second multi-RBI game of the season, while Pastrana and Peralta collected their fourth and fifth such game, respectively.
- Marshall pitching gave up just two walks today after issuing eight free bases on Saturday, four walks and four hit batters.
UP NEXT
The Herd will return to action at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday against Western Carolina. First pitch is scheduled for 3 pm.
For all the latest information about Marshall baseball, follow @HerdBaseball on Twitter and @HerdBSB on Instagram.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS and Android.
---HerdZone.com---
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Herd baseball (17-10, 6-3 C-USA) shuts out Middle Tennessee, 7-0, in the rubber game on Sunday to take the series at the Kennedy Center.
"It was good to see Wade come back as we try to build him up. He looked sharp," 13th-year head coach Jeff Waggoner said. "Ryan Falls did a great job of attacking the zone and had a good tempo today. (Robert) Kwiatkowski and (Michael) Guerrero did what they were supposed to do. They came in with aggressiveness and did a good job. We played good defense and had a good approach at the plate. We had a different focus today and guys came prepared before the game. It feels good to get the series win"
Winning the series marks the first time in program history that the Herd have won its first three series to begin conference in program history.
Wade Martin returned to the hill for the second time this season as the starting pitcher. After recording the first two outs, Martin gave up a pair of singles as the Blue Raiders had runners at first and second with two outs in the top of the first. However, Martin struck out the final batter on a 2-2 pitch to close out the inning.
Ryan Falls come on in relief of Martin to begin the second. The first batter he faced hit a ball in the hole to Elvis Peralta at short, but he gunned out the MT baserunner to start the inning. Falls set down the next two batters looking on strikeouts to keep the game 0-0.
The Herd got the scoring started in bottom of third. Geordon Blanton lead the inning off with a single and then stole both second and third. One batter later, Luke Edwards brought Blanton home on a fielder's choice as Blanton beat the throw home from the shortstop.
A couple batters later, Peralta reached on a fielder's choice to prevent a Blue Raider double play and score Edwards. Two pitches later Reyanldo Pastrana singled on a tweener to second to score Zach Inskeep and put Marshall up 3-0 after the third inning.
In the fourth, Blue Raider first baseman Brycen Thomas fell victim to another tremendous play by Peralta to end the inning with the Herd still leading 3-0.
"He (Peralta) played really well. That's what you expect out of your middle infielders," Waggoner said about Peralta's defensive efforts today.
After singles by Tucker Linder and Peralta, Pastrana drew a walk to load the bases with one out for Marshall in the bottom of the fifth. Andrew Zban then brought home Linder and Peralta with a single to right to extend the lead to 5-0 with one of his three hits in the game.
Falls closed out his outing in the sixth after five-scoreless innings of work. The lefty allowed just one hit with another runner reaching on an error, giving up no free passes and striking out five Blue Raiders.
"I was just attacking the zone," Falls said about his outing. "I wanted to keep a good tempo and a good pace. I trusted my defense and just went after it."
The Herd concluded the scoring in the game when Peralta smoked a double down the right-field line to score Linder and Pastrana, the next batter, brought home Peralta to put Marshall up 7-0.
Robert Kwiatkowski came on to pitch scoreless seventh and eighth innings, striking out a pair of batters and giving up just two hits with no walks.
Michael Guerrero struck out two and walked two as he pitched a scoreless- and hitless-ninth inning to close out the game.
"Now we just focus on this week and worry about Western Carolina on Wednesday," Waggoner commented on the next game.
NOTES
- The Herd has now won three straight three-game series for the third time in program history since joining C-USA.
- This was Marshall's second shutout of the season.
- Falls joined Shapiro for the team-lead in wins with four. His five innings pitched and five strikeouts each tied career-highs.
- Linder extended his hit streak to 12 games, tied with Inskeep for the longest Herd hit streak of the season.
- Zban's three-game tied his career-high which he has now done six times.
- Blanton and Pastrana each collected their seventh multi-hit game of the season.
- Peralta had at least three hits in a game for the second time this season.
- Linder has now had 11 multi-hit games this season, third most on the team.
- Zban collected his second multi-RBI game of the season, while Pastrana and Peralta collected their fourth and fifth such game, respectively.
- Marshall pitching gave up just two walks today after issuing eight free bases on Saturday, four walks and four hit batters.
UP NEXT
The Herd will return to action at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday against Western Carolina. First pitch is scheduled for 3 pm.
For all the latest information about Marshall baseball, follow @HerdBaseball on Twitter and @HerdBSB on Instagram.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS and Android.
---HerdZone.com---
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