Marshall Baseball opened its 2026 home schedule by winning two of three games against Butler at Jack Cook Field highlighted by a record-setting performance Sunday, March 1.
The Herd (4-6) clinched the series with a 3-1 win behind a powerful performance from Kenyon Collins. After throwing for 8.1 innings, Collins struck out a program-record 14 batters to earn his first win of the season.
“Obviously, it’s good to get the series win here at home and just being in the winning column,” head coach Greg Beals said. “We played really clean baseball today, and it starts on the mound. Kenyon Collins just pitched a great ballgame.”
Collins recorded five three-up, three-down innings and rarely allowed Butler to build any momentum. Charlie Krebs recorded the final two outs in the ninth inning to earn his first save of the year.
Marshall scored first in Sunday’s game when Tyler Kamerer hit a solo home run in the third inning. The score remained 1-0 until the eighth when Evan Bottone hit a two-run home run to right field to extend the lead. Bottone has four home runs on the season and is tied for the team lead in RBIs at 11.
Marshall opened the series Friday with a 4-3 win. Butler scored first in the opening inning, and the Herd didn’t respond until the fourth when Jackson Golden doubled to score Ethan Murdoch and tie the game.
In the fifth inning, the Herd added three runs. Kamerer started the inning off with a single, and Cooper Hinson followed with an RBI double that gave Marshall the lead. A wild pitch and a groundout from Golden allowed two more runs to score and gave Marshall a 4-1 lead.
Senior Bryce Blevins pitched seven innings Friday, allowing one earned run and striking out six without walking a batter. Tim Baird handled the final two innings to earn his first save of the season.
“From a win-loss standpoint, we’re not where we want to be at this point in the season, but we’re playing decent baseball, and today, we found a way to win,” Beals said. “It certainly feels good being on the winning side, being in a close game and executing in a tight ball game, which we did tonight.”
Saturday did not go Marshall’s way, with Butler winning 7-2. Drew Harlow struck out 13 batters in six innings, and the team recorded 18 strikeouts overall, but Butler scored five runs between the second and fourth innings to build a lead.
AJ Havrilla scored in the first inning, and Jackson Halter added a solo home run in the sixth, but the Bulldogs added two more runs in the eighth to securely come out with the win.
After a competitive weekend, the Herd leaves its first home series of the season with two wins and some momentum heading into the week.
“It’s nice to be able to get back home,” Collins said after Sunday’s game. “Everbody was excited to get back and play here in the Jack. We had a good crowd all weekend, and that was awesome. This is home; we’re comfortable here. It makes a big difference.”
Marshall will return home for another weekend series against St. Bonaventure March 6-8 at Jack Cook Field.
Ella Hatfield can be contacted at [email protected].
