Baseball Sweeps Twin Bill Over Northeastern at Snowbird Classic

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – The Marshall University baseball team (4-3) swept the Northeastern Huskies (2-5) in a pair of games at the Snowbird Classic on Saturday in Port Charlotte, Florida. The Herd won 13-3 in game one and took game two 3-2 in an extra-inning triumph.

"I'm proud of our guys," Marshall baseball head coach Jeff Waggoner said after the sweep. "They stayed focused for every pitch during the 19 innings today. It was a great pair of wins over a really good Northeastern team."

Game 1 – Marshall 13, Northeastern 3

Marshall starting pitcher Raymond Pacella started the game with a bang. The lefty threw three perfect innings to start his outing.

Then in the top of the fourth, the Herd offense gave him some support. Second baseman Christian Lucio reached on an error by Northeastern third baseman Luke Beckstein and advanced to second on a pick-off error by Husky starting pitcher Sebastian Keane. First baseman Daniel Carinci then smacked a ball for a double to center to plate Lucio. Right fielder Jordon Billups drew a walk. After a passed ball advanced the Herd baserunners to second and third, third baseman Travis Sankovich hit a pitch to right for a two-RBI single to have Herd leading 3-0.

Pacella lost his no-hit bid in the fourth inning, but threw perfect fifth and sixth frames to help maintain the 3-0 lead.

The top of the seventh saw Marshall add four runs to its lead. A sacrifice fly by Luke Edwards brought home Sankovich. A RBI-single by catcher Ryan Leitch saw shortstop Geordon Blanton cross home. Lucio then reached on another error by Beckstein and scored left fielder Kyle Schaefer as Carinci reached on a fielder's choice to score Leitch for the final run of the inning to give MU a 7-0 lead.

NU designated hitter Mark Darakjy ended the Herd shutout with a two-run homer to left. Pacella's outing came to an end after seven innings, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

Reliever Louis Davenport came on to begin the bottom of the eighth. He threw a 1-2-3 frame, ending it with a strikeout of NU center fielder Mike Sirota.

Marshall had another big inning in the top of the ninth. Billups brought home a pair of runs with a single. Blanton helped add a run on a sacrifice fly. Then Schaefer gave the Herd a 13-2 lead with a three-run blast to right for his second-long ball of the season.

Davenport returned to the hill for the bottom of the ninth. After giving up a run on a wild pitch, he struck out the final two Huskies he faced to seal the victory.

Game 2 – Marshall 3, Northeastern 2 (10 inn.)

Game two Herd starter Zac Addkison threw a perfect top of the first inning as he recorded three fly outs. Blanton then led off the bottom half of the inning with a double to center and was moved over to third on a fly out by Schaefer. Edwards then grounded out, but Blanton crossed home to give the Green and White a 1-0 lead.

Addkison continued his dominance on the hill with a scoreless second inning. However, NU pulled even, 1-1, with a run in the top of the third. However, Marshall was quick to answer when Lucio doubled to right to score Edwards putting the lead back at one run, 2-1.

The sophomore righty got himself into a jam in the top of the fourth. The Huskies used a single, double and walk to load the bases with no outs, but Addkison proceeded to strikeout Spenser Smith looking and induced a 6-4-3 double play to get of the jam and keep the score 2-1 Herd.

Addkison concluded his outing with a scoreless top of the fifth. He finsihed with four strikeouts, giving up one run on four hits and a pair walks.

Right-handed relief pitcher Patrick Copen came on for Addkison to begin the sixth. He threw scoreless sixth and seventh innings as he faced just seven batters in his first two innings of work.

NU struck for a run in the top of the eighth, but Copen settled down in the top of the ninth, throwing a perfect inning with a pair of strikeouts to keep the game tied 2-2. The Herd was unable to score in the next half inning and the game went into extra innings.

Copen threw a second consecutive perfect inning in the top of the 10th to give Marshall a chance to walk it off in the bottom of the inning.

Leitch leadoff off the inning by reaching base on an error. Elijah Vogelsong pinch ran for Leitch and Zach Gardiner then pinch hit for Avery Lee. Gardiner reached base on a fielder's choice with Vogelsong out at second. Lucio then drew a walk and Carinci loaded the bases with a single. Northeastern reliever Dennis Colleran threw a wild pitch with Sankovich at the plate, allowing Gardiner to score for a walk-off victory for Marshall.

UP NEXT
The Herd closes out action at the Snowbird Classic at 11 a.m. against St. Bonaventure on Sunday.

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---

Baseball Sweeps Twin Bill Over Northeastern at Snowbird Classic

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Team Stats

Travis Sankovich

Kyle Schaefer

Daniel Carinci

Geordon Blanton

Players Mentioned

Zac Addkison

Jordon Billups

Geordon Blanton

Daniel Carinci

Patrick Copen

Louis Davenport

Luke Edwards

Zach Gardiner

Avery Lee

Ryan Leitch

Christian Lucio

Raymond Pacella

Travis Sankovich

Kyle Schaefer

Elijah Vogelsong

Players Mentioned

Zac Addkison

Jordon Billups

Geordon Blanton

Daniel Carinci

Patrick Copen

Louis Davenport

Luke Edwards

Zach Gardiner

Avery Lee

Ryan Leitch

Christian Lucio

Raymond Pacella

Travis Sankovich

Kyle Schaefer

Elijah Vogelsong

Marshall University Athletics