Marshall University Athletics
Thursday, April 18
Ruston, La.
7 p.m. (6 p.m. CT)
Marshall University
22-15, 9-7
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LA Tech
25-12, 10-6
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Marshall
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Louisiana Tech
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Photo by: Cody Linn
Baseball Shows Resilience in Road Win at No. 21 Louisiana Tech
4/19/2019 2:18:00 AM | Baseball
Shapiro struck out career-high 12 batters in win
Box Score
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RUSTON, La. – With back-to-back three-run innings in the eighth and ninth, the Thundering Herd baseball team (22-15, 9-7 C-USA) took down the No. 21 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, 7-3, on the road in Ruston.
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"Other than a couple of pitches, (Joshua) Shapiro was dominant and that's what you want out of your Friday guy," 13th-year head coach Jeff Waggoner said after the win. "(Philip) Hoffman came in in a big situation and kept us right there. (D'Andre) Knight came in and did a good job, and Mike (Guerrero) came in and closed it out. We got some big hits from seniors. (Rey) Pastrana had a big hit. (Andrew) Zban had a big hit to open it up. I'm proud of the team with the way they played down a couple of runs. They didn't quit."
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Tucker Linder got the scoring started as he singled up the middle to extend his hitting streak to 22 games and brought home Erik Rodriguez to put Marshall up 1-0.
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Joshua Shapiro started his outing with two perfect innings before the Bulldogs' Chris Clayton led off the bottom of the third with a home run in the hitter friendly park to tie the game 1-1.
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Taylor Young put Louisiana Tech on top 3-1 with a two-out two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth.
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Shapiro's night came to an end in the bottom of the seventh after walking a pair of batters with two-outs. However, the senior left-handed pitcher struck out a career-high 12 batters while giving up just three hits.
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Philip Hoffman came on in relief of Shapiro in the seventh. He walked the first batter to load the bases, but stranded the bases juiced with a flyout to Linder in left to keep the deficit at 3-1.
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The Herd took Hoffman's momentum to the plate in the top of the eighth. After Linder drew a one-out walk, Zach Inskeep reached on a fielder's choice as Linder advanced to third on an error by the shortstop. Reynaldo Pastrana came to the plate and just missed a homerun, but brought home Linder with a double to pull within one of the Bulldogs, 3-2.
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Andrew Zban then came to the plate and ripped a single to right to score Kyle Schaefer, who pinch ran for Inskeep, and Pastrana to put the Herd back on top 4-3.
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"I thought as a team, we played really well," Zban said about the team's win tonight. "Shapiro came out and gave us a great opportunity to win. The bats started out slow, but in the late innings we made some adjustments, got some guys on and I had the opportunity to help the team out."
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D'Andre Knight came in for Hoffman in the bottom of the eighth and shutdown the Bulldogs despite giving up a two-out hit. Knight struck out two in the inning.
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The Herd brought its hot bats into the ninth. Rodriguez leadoff with a single and Luke Edwards followed with a bunt single for his first hit of the game. Elvis Peralta then hit a ball that appeared to be staying foul, but had a weird spin that fooled the third baseman and came back fair for a single to score Rodriguez and advance Edwards to third as Marshall led 5-3.
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Linder then came to the plate and singled through the right side on a hit-and-run to score Edwards. Evan Hurn then concluded the scoring for the Herd in the ninth when he smoked a ball down the right field line to score Edwards and put Marshall up 7-3.
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"It was good to see a guy come off the bench in Evan Hurn, who's had obstacles throughout the year, but come in and get a big hit right there," Waggoner said about Hurn's hit off the bench while seeing limited at bats during the season.
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Michael Guerrero came on to close it out in the ninth. Zban began the inning defensively with a sliding catch along the line in right for the first out. Guerrero then struck out the next Bulldog hitter and got a fly out to preserve the game with a 1-2-3 inning.
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Hoffman was credited with the win and is now 2-0 on the season.
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"Tonight meant a lot. We have a special team this year, but we have two more games to go this weekend," Zban said of the team's resilient win in game one of the series.
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NOTES
- Shapiro is now fifth in program history in strikeouts with 212. He passed Aaron Blair (2011-13) and Arik Sikula (2008-11) who had 200 and 201, respectively.
- With 22 wins, the 2019 squad is now tied for the 11th-most wins in a season in program history.
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UP NEXT
Marshall will try to take the series as they take on LA Tech in game two of the series at 5 PM EST/4 PM CST on Friday.
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For all the latest information about Marshall baseball, follow @HerdBaseball on Twitter and @HerdBSB on Instagram.
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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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                                  Â
RUSTON, La. – With back-to-back three-run innings in the eighth and ninth, the Thundering Herd baseball team (22-15, 9-7 C-USA) took down the No. 21 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, 7-3, on the road in Ruston.
Â
"Other than a couple of pitches, (Joshua) Shapiro was dominant and that's what you want out of your Friday guy," 13th-year head coach Jeff Waggoner said after the win. "(Philip) Hoffman came in in a big situation and kept us right there. (D'Andre) Knight came in and did a good job, and Mike (Guerrero) came in and closed it out. We got some big hits from seniors. (Rey) Pastrana had a big hit. (Andrew) Zban had a big hit to open it up. I'm proud of the team with the way they played down a couple of runs. They didn't quit."
Â
Tucker Linder got the scoring started as he singled up the middle to extend his hitting streak to 22 games and brought home Erik Rodriguez to put Marshall up 1-0.
Â
Joshua Shapiro started his outing with two perfect innings before the Bulldogs' Chris Clayton led off the bottom of the third with a home run in the hitter friendly park to tie the game 1-1.
Â
Taylor Young put Louisiana Tech on top 3-1 with a two-out two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth.
Â
Shapiro's night came to an end in the bottom of the seventh after walking a pair of batters with two-outs. However, the senior left-handed pitcher struck out a career-high 12 batters while giving up just three hits.
Â
Philip Hoffman came on in relief of Shapiro in the seventh. He walked the first batter to load the bases, but stranded the bases juiced with a flyout to Linder in left to keep the deficit at 3-1.
Â
The Herd took Hoffman's momentum to the plate in the top of the eighth. After Linder drew a one-out walk, Zach Inskeep reached on a fielder's choice as Linder advanced to third on an error by the shortstop. Reynaldo Pastrana came to the plate and just missed a homerun, but brought home Linder with a double to pull within one of the Bulldogs, 3-2.
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Andrew Zban then came to the plate and ripped a single to right to score Kyle Schaefer, who pinch ran for Inskeep, and Pastrana to put the Herd back on top 4-3.
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"I thought as a team, we played really well," Zban said about the team's win tonight. "Shapiro came out and gave us a great opportunity to win. The bats started out slow, but in the late innings we made some adjustments, got some guys on and I had the opportunity to help the team out."
Â
D'Andre Knight came in for Hoffman in the bottom of the eighth and shutdown the Bulldogs despite giving up a two-out hit. Knight struck out two in the inning.
Â
The Herd brought its hot bats into the ninth. Rodriguez leadoff with a single and Luke Edwards followed with a bunt single for his first hit of the game. Elvis Peralta then hit a ball that appeared to be staying foul, but had a weird spin that fooled the third baseman and came back fair for a single to score Rodriguez and advance Edwards to third as Marshall led 5-3.
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Linder then came to the plate and singled through the right side on a hit-and-run to score Edwards. Evan Hurn then concluded the scoring for the Herd in the ninth when he smoked a ball down the right field line to score Edwards and put Marshall up 7-3.
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"It was good to see a guy come off the bench in Evan Hurn, who's had obstacles throughout the year, but come in and get a big hit right there," Waggoner said about Hurn's hit off the bench while seeing limited at bats during the season.
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Michael Guerrero came on to close it out in the ninth. Zban began the inning defensively with a sliding catch along the line in right for the first out. Guerrero then struck out the next Bulldog hitter and got a fly out to preserve the game with a 1-2-3 inning.
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Hoffman was credited with the win and is now 2-0 on the season.
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"Tonight meant a lot. We have a special team this year, but we have two more games to go this weekend," Zban said of the team's resilient win in game one of the series.
Â
NOTES
- Shapiro is now fifth in program history in strikeouts with 212. He passed Aaron Blair (2011-13) and Arik Sikula (2008-11) who had 200 and 201, respectively.
- With 22 wins, the 2019 squad is now tied for the 11th-most wins in a season in program history.
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UP NEXT
Marshall will try to take the series as they take on LA Tech in game two of the series at 5 PM EST/4 PM CST on Friday.
Â
For all the latest information about Marshall baseball, follow @HerdBaseball on Twitter and @HerdBSB on Instagram.
Â
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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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hoffman, Philip (2-0)
L: Braxton Smith (1-2)
Batting:
2B: Hurn, Evan 1 ; Pastrana, Reynaldo 1
RBI: Peralta Jr., Elvis 1 ; Linder, Tucker 2 ; Hurn, Evan 1 ; Pastrana, Reynaldo 1 ; Zban, Andrew 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Rodriguez, Erik 2 ; Edwards, Luke 1 ; Peralta Jr., Elvis 1 ; Linder, Tucker 1 ; Schaefer, Kyle 1 ; Pastrana, Reynaldo 1
SB: Linder, Tucker 1 ; Zban, Andrew 1
Batting:
HR: Taylor Young 1 ; Chris Clayton 1
RBI: Taylor Young 2 ; Chris Clayton 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Taylor Young 1 ; Mason Robinson 1 ; Chris Clayton 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
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AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF/OF
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RHP
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RHP
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C/INF
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RHP
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OF/INF
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LHP
/ Baseball
OF
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