Marshall Baseball lost two of three games to James Madison over the weekend, falling just short in both losses while picking up a huge win in between.
The series opened Friday, May 1, with a 4-3 loss that came down to an early deficit. James Madison scored four runs in the first inning, forcing Marshall to play from behind right away.
After that, starting pitcher Bryce Blevins settled in and kept the Dukes from adding on. He went seven innings and allowed no runs after the first, giving the Herd a chance to get back into the game.
Marshall started to respond in the second inning when Mason Onate drove in a run with a two-out double. The team added two more runs in the sixth, cutting the lead to one. Evan Bottone scored on a double by Jackson Halter, and Tyler Kamerer later crossed home on a groundout.
That was as close as Marshall would get. A few missed chances earlier in the game made an impact in the final score.
“The difference between winning and losing in this conference is a very thin line, and tonight we missed a few opportunities to win that fine line,” head coach Greg Beals said. “We miss-played a ball in the outfield that cost us a run, we slid past the bag on a stolen base and we didn’t execute situational offense a few times. We will bounce back and be ready to even the series tomorrow.”
Saturday’s performance turned out much better from the Herd.
Marshall evened the series with a 9-0 win, its first shutout of the season. The team avoided the mistakes that showed up the day before with consistent hitting and strong pitching.
Drew Harlow started on the mound and threw seven scoreless innings. He allowed only three hits and struck out five. Alex Caudill pitched the final two innings to finish the shutout.
Marshall also heavily produced at the plate. Kamerer had four hits, including two doubles, an RBI, and he scored twice. Halter, Onate and Jack Smith each had two hits, and both Onate and Smith hit home runs.
Marshall scored in seven different innings and never let James Madison get into the game.
The series was decided Sunday, and it followed a similar pattern to the opener.
James Madison scored early again, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning and adding another run in the third. Marshall got on the board in the fifth when Onate led off with a triple and later scored on a groundout. The Dukes answered to make it 3-1.
Marshall made its final push in the eighth. Jackson Golden reached on a single, and Bottone followed with a double to put two runners in scoring position with no outs. Kamerer drove in one run with a groundout, and AJ Havrilla added another with a single to cut the lead to 4-3.
James Madison added an extra run in the bottom of the inning, and Marshall was unable to respond in the ninth.
Havrilla finished the game 4-for-4 at the plate. Onate and Bottone also had multiple hits, with Onate continuing a consistent series at the plate.
Marshall is now 21-26 overall and 11-13 in conference play. The Herd will return to Huntington for a weekend series against ULM Friday, May 8.
Ella Hatfield can be contacted at [email protected].
