Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
8-28, 4-20
Western Kentucky
23-21, 13-11
WKU Ninth Inning Hurts Herd in Series Finale
5/2/2021 5:52:00 PM | Baseball
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Herd baseball (8-28, 4-20 C-USA) drops series finale, 10-6, after the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (23-21, 13-11 C-USA) have a big ninth inning at the Kennedy Center on Sunday afternoon.
Herd starting pitcher Zac Addkison started the game with a pair of scoreless innings, including a 1-2-3 top of the second.
After the Hilltoppers scored in the top of the third, Marshall didn't wait long to answer in the bottom half of the inning. Second baseman Devin Ward doubled to right center with one out and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Right fielder Josh Billups was the then hit by a pitch to have runners at the corner.
Two pitches later center fielder Luke Edwards singled through the left side to score Ward and tie the game. Three batters later, third baseman Travis Sankovich collected a two-out single up the middle scoring Edwards and left fielder Kyle Schaefer to take a 3-1 lead.
After throwing a 1-2-3 top of the fourth, Addkison recorded the first two outs in the top of the fifth and after exiting with the bases loaded, reliever Josh Zeboskey recorded the final out of the inning to leave them full of Hilltoppers.
After Zeboskey threw a scoreless top of the sixth, catcher Ryan Leitch led off the bottom of the inning with a single and Sankovich tripled to right to make it 4-1 Herd as Leitch crossed the plate.
WKU struck for an unearned run off reliever Nick Adkins in the top of the seventh, but Edwards answered with a two-run blast to dead center for his fourth homer of the season to put MU up 6-2 with his team-leading 21st RBI.
Relief pitcher John Cheatwood came on for Adkins in the top of the eighth and threw a scoreless frame, allowing just one hit to keep it 6-2 Marshall.
The top of the ninth proved to be costly for MU as the Hilltoppers struck for eight runs to take the contest as the Herd couldn't overcome the 10-6 deficit in the bottom of the ninth.
UP NEXT
Marshall is scheduled to be back in action on Friday to start a four-game series at Charlotte against the 49ers. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
For all the latest information about Marshall baseball, follow @HerdBaseball on Twitter and @herdbsb on Instagram.
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---HerdZone.com---
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Mason Vinyard (5-3)
L: Dando, Will (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Ty Crittenberger 2
HR: Jackson Swiney 1 ; Matt Phipps 1
RBI: Jackson Gray 1 ; Matthew Meyer 1 ; Kevin Lambert 1 ; Jackson Swiney 4 ; Matt Phipps 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ray Zuberer III 1 ; Justin Carlin 1 ; Jackson Gray 1 ; Junior Coleman 1 ; Kevin Lambert 1 ; Jackson Swiney 1 ; Matt Phipps 2 ; Ty Crittenberger 2
HBP: Ray Zuberer III 1 ; Jackson Gray 1 ; Richard Constantine 1
Batting:
2B: Ward, Devin 1
3B: Sankovich, Travis 1
HR: Edwards, Luke 1
RBI: Edwards, Luke 3 ; Sankovich, Travis 3
SH: Billups, Jordon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ward, Devin 2 ; Edwards, Luke 2 ; Schaefer, Kyle 1 ; Leitch, Ryan 1
SB: Leitch, Ryan 1
HBP: Billups, Jordon 1
