Herd Baseball Clinches Series Saturday With Win Over Red Wolves

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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall University Baseball team (8-14, 2-3 Sun Belt) took game two from the Arkansas State Red Wolves (13-12, 1-4 Sun Belt), 9-6, on Saturday at Jack Cook Field to clinch the team's first Sun Belt Conference series win of the season.

"It's good to get a series win by winning the first two games of the series, but we have to refocus and get ready to go tomorrow," Herd Baseball head coach Greg Beals said after the win. "What we talked to the guys about all week was to start climbing the ladder. Tough opening weekend down at Southern Miss, but now we can climb that ladder and get back in the thick of things."

Cam Harthan had a day at the plate going 3-for-3 with two runs scored, an RBI and a triple while also reaching on a walk. The sophomore is on a six-game hit streak since entering the everyday lineup on March 15 at Southern Miss going 11-for-23 at the dish with three multi-hit games, two ballgames with three hits, during the span.

"I've been seeing it (the ball) well and sticking to the gameplan and the process," Harthan said about his last six games. "It's great to be out here with all these fans and a great team."

Bryce Blevins picked up his first victory of the season hurling 6.1 innings while giving up two runs, only one earned, on seven hits and two walks while striking out four.

The sophomore lefty turned the tide for the Herd in the top of the sixth. Blevins allowed three straight singles to load the bases with Red Wolves as MU led 6-1. However, he forced a fly out and a ground out to get out of the jam and maintain the five-run lead.

"I left a couple balls over the plate, and they squared a couple up off me," Blevins said about the start of the sixth. "The bases loaded, you know, I had to get my team out of it. Make a couple of competitive pitches, and I did that to get us out of it."

Like clockwork, Calin Smith drew a walk to start the game again for The Herd in the bottom of the first. After Owen Ayers drew a free pass and Gio Ferraro moved the two into scoring position, Elijah Vogelsong brought home Smith with a sacrifice fly to tie the game 1-1 after A-State scored in the top of the first.

Harthan then led off the second with an infield single and a stolen base followed by a Jack Firestone walk. After the pair executed a double steal, Kebler Peralta doubled down the right-field line to bring them home and make it 3-1.

Then in the bottom of the fourth, Harthan led off with a triple and AJ Havrilla brought him home two pitches later with a single to right center.

The offensive barrage continued in the fifth and sixth. Vogelsong's second triple in as many games scored Ayers and Harthan singled home Vogelsong for two runs in the fifth.

Ayers then doubled home Smith in the sixth with Ferraro singling home Ayers after an Ayers stolen base to make it 8-1 through six innings.

In the seventh, Tre Hondras added an insurance run as he scored on an error by the A-State pitcher on a failed pickoff.

The Red Wolves plated four runs in the ninth, but The Herd held on for the 9-6 win.

POSTGAME NOTES
Vogelsong notched his fourth multi-RBI game of the season in the victory.

Ayers and Ferraro each collected their seventh multi-hit game of the season, tied for the team lead.

UP NEXT
Marshall goes for the series sweep of Arkansas State on Sunday at 1 p.m.

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---HerdZone.com---

Herd Baseball Clinches Series Saturday With Win Over Red Wolves

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Team Stats

Cam Harthan

Owen Ayers

Gio Ferraro

Calin Smith

Players Mentioned

Owen Ayers

Bryce Blevins

Gio Ferraro

Jack Firestone

Cam Harthan

AJ Havrilla

Tre Hondras

Kebler Peralta

Calin Smith

Elijah Vogelsong

Marshall University Athletics