Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
8-30, 4-22
Charlotte
33-14, 20-6
Herd Baseball Falls in Both Games of Doubleheader at No. 19 Charlotte
5/8/2021 7:38:00 PM | Baseball
GM 2: Box Score
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Herd baseball (8-31, 4-23 C-USA) dropped both games of Saturday's doubleheader at No. 19 Charlotte 49ers (33-14, 20-6 C-USA), 10-8 in game one and 12-3 in game two.
Game 1
After a three up, three down bottom of the first from starting pitcher Patrick Copen, Marshall got the offense going in the top of the second. Left fielder Kyle Schaefer and right fielder Josh Pigozzo each singled with one out and shortstop Geordon Blanton was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Schaefer then scored on a wild pitch to give MU an early 1-0 lead.
Copen again faced the minimum inducing a 4-6-3 double play to end the bottom of the second.
Center fielder Luke Edwards led off the third with a double and catcher Ryan Leitch followed with a single to put runners at the corners with no outs.
A batter later first baseman Zach Inskeep reached on a fielder's choice scoring Edwards. Then Schaefer blasted a 1-2 pitch over the right-center wall for a two-run homer to make it 4-0 Marshall. It was the sophomore's seventh long ball of the season.
Copen closed the third with a no-hitter through the first three frames.
However, Charlotte struck for four runs in the bottom of the fourth and another pair of runs in the fifth to go up 6-4 on MU.
But the Herd bats weren't ready to go silently in the night. Blanton singled through the left side with one out in the sixth. Third baseman Travis Sankovich then drew a two-out walk and then Edwards was beaned to load the bases. A wild pitch then scored Blanton with Leitch at the plate. After the wild pitch, Leitch hit the 3-1 pitch for a three-run dinger to left, his team-leading ninth of the season, to give Marshall an 8-6 advantage.
The 49ers then plated four runs in the bottom of the sixth to go up two runs, 10-8, on Marshall.
Pinch hitter Jordon Billups led off with a double, but MU failed to score and fell in game two of the series.
Game 2
The 49ers started the game with two runs in the first and five in the third as Marshall trailed 7-0 through three innings.
Edwards doubled down the left-field line to lead off the fourth and first baseman Peter Hutzal then drew a walk. Inskeep then sent the 2-2 offering over the left-field wall for his third homer of the season to cut the deficit to 7-3.
However, Charlotte plated two runs in the bottom of the fourth, two in the fifth and another in the sixth as it defeated MU in the second game of the double header.
UP NEXT
Marshall looks to salvage the series with a win in game four on Sunday at Charlotte. First pitch is scheduled for 1 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: Trae Starnes (3-1)
L: Knight, D'Andre (0-3)
Batting:
2B: Edwards, Luke 1 ; Billups, Jordon 1
HR: Leitch, Ryan 1 ; Schaefer, Kyle 1
RBI: Leitch, Ryan 3 ; Inskeep, Zach 1 ; Schaefer, Kyle 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Sankovich, Travis 1 ; Edwards, Luke 2 ; Leitch, Ryan 1 ; Inskeep, Zach 1 ; Schaefer, Kyle 2 ; Blanton, Geordon 1
SB: Ward, Devin 1 ; Schaefer, Kyle 1
HBP: Edwards, Luke 1 ; Blanton, Geordon 1
Batting:
2B: LuJames Groover III 1 ; Austin Knight 2 ; Todd Elwood 1 ; Aaron McKeithan 1
HR: Will Butcher 1
RBI: Carson Johnson 1 ; Austin Knight 2 ; Will Butcher 3 ; Aaron McKeithan 2 ; Craig Keuchel 1
SF: Aaron McKeithan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: LuJames Groover III 1 ; Austin Knight 2 ; Will Butcher 1 ; Jack Dragum 1 ; Todd Elwood 2 ; Parker Stinnett 1 ; Craig Keuchel 1 ; Nate Furman 1
SB: Austin Knight 1 ; Todd Elwood 1 ; Craig Keuchel 1
CS: Craig Keuchel 1
HBP: Carson Johnson 1
