Marshall’s baseball team kept its winning streak alive on Thursday in its final midweek game of the season against No. 16 West Virginia, 7-6 on Wednesday at GoMart Ballpark.
The Thundering Herd played a resilient game, surviving three lead changes and two ties with a walk-off win on an error in the ninth.
There were certainly moments where Marshall could have faltered. WVU took a 6-4 lead over the Herd in the top of the sixth inning. The Mountaineers led 2-0 before Marshall even got a bat in its hands.
After all, WVU took the first two games in the in-state season series, and any team playing a midweek game, especially one that loses, will tell you that they don’t matter for anything other than momentum.
It’s particularly true for Marshall — a team that must keep its head above the water while it kicks in the deep end of the Sun Belt Conference standings.
Only 10 of 14 teams make the tournament, and Marshall is on the line at 10th with three series remaining. Keeping pitchers warm for the weekend while hitters get good chances is what matters most in pursuit of the SBC bid.
But there is a revitalized Herd in coach Greg Beals’ eyes — one that has now scored 67 runs in its last six games and has once again found the spark it had in an early-season nine-game win streak.
His team wanted to win.
“It’s part of our culture and the character of our ball club,†Beals said. “We’re not going to quit. We’re not going to put our heads down. We’re going to keep fighting. We strung together some tough at-bats. It wasn’t like we had any big, banging hits or anything like that. We had tough at-bats, drew some walks and were able to get that last run in the ninth inning.â€
Jackson Golden, who had four RBIs against WVU on Wednesday, said it comes from the weekend at Coastal Carolina. Marshall was swept in three games and was run-ruled in two of them.
The Herd had a moment of revival before its pair of midweek games last week against Morehead State. Marshall scored more than 40 runs in two days against the Eagles, then swept its weekend series with South Alabama.
“That Morehead game, we beat them 10-0. We played our game, hit low line drives,†Golden said. “We played good defense, and we keep doing that every game. If we do, we’re going to have good chances to win every game we can play from here on out.â€
The spark is needed to melt the wax above Marshall in the standings. The Herd will play Old Dominion, Georgia State and Georgia Southern in its last three series.
Here’s how the standings look by conference record. It paints a pretty clear picture of what a trio of wins can do for the Herd in the coming weeks:
- 7. Georgia Southern — 10-11
- 8. Old Dominion — 10-11
- 9. Georgia State — 9-12
- 10. Marshall — 9-12
- 11. Texas State — 9-12
It’s an absolute slog at the bubble, with the difference between fourth and 11th being three SBC games with nine remaining.
Georgia Southern, one game ahead of Marshall in the standings, plays No. 14 James Madison this weekend. Georgia State, tied with Marshall, will play No. 4 Louisiana.
“We’re keeping our fight after that tough weekend to get us going,†Beals said. “Now, we’re in the spot relative to our conference where we’re playing teams all around us in the standings. We can make a move right now.â€
That said, the Herd heads to Old Dominion for a series that begins on Friday. Marshall is 136th in RPI, while the Monarchs are 119th.
Through 40 games, Old Dominion has played just 10 home games due to construction at its ballpark. It’s split time between Harbor Park, the home of Baltimore Orioles Triple-A affiliate Norfolk Tides, and War Memorial Stadium.
The series will be played at War Memorial this weekend. The Monarchs are 4-6 there. Marshall is 6-15 on the road.
Ethan Murdoch leads Marshall in both home runs (nine) and RBIs (33). He also has the highest average among the typical lineup at .275.
Marshall’s lower half of the order, though, has recently been electric. The final three batters, during the six-game win streak, are hitting 28 for 63 with three homers and 26 RBIs.
Marshall has the ability to out-power its opponents, now leading in hits, triples and home runs against all opponents. Marshall has 36 home runs, 15 triples and 84 doubles as a unit.
Old Dominion is coming off a win in a road series with Louisiana-Monroe. Zack Lete leads the Monarchs with a batting average of .346. He has 44 hits. Old Dominion has two batters above .300. Efrain Morales is at .308 with 37 hits, seven doubles and a homer.
Old Dominion has 34 home runs, 62 doubles and four triples on the year. Kyle Edwards helps lead the Monarchs to a 53-of-62 steal ratio. He is 21 for 22 on the season in stolen bases and serves as an obvious speed threat. He is also tied for the lead in home runs at four. Old Dominion scored 24 runs in its last series.
Dylan Brown is the expected starting pitcher for the Monarchs in the first game. He has an ERA of 4.17 in 11 games, throwing 58 1/3 innings. He leads the team with 75 strikeouts. Blake Morgan has the most innings pitched at 61 1/3. He is the only other pitcher at least 50 strikeouts, sitting at that mark.
Marshall’s pitching rotation will stay as Bryce Blevins, Griffin Miller and Clint Moak. Miller leads Marshall in ERA at 2.56 in 63 1/3 innings. He’s struck out 47 batters and has allowed just 18 earned runs.
Moak is right with him in earned runs allowed with 15. Both Miller and Moak would lead Old Dominion in ERA. Blevins sits at 5.73 ERA and was the preseason pitcher of the year in the Sun Belt. He has struck out 37 batters.
