Marshall raps 22 hits, wins 16-2

BULLDOGS ROUGHED UP BY MARSHALL, FALL 16-2

CARY, N.C. – A seven-run third and six-run ninth was all Marshall needed as the Thundering Herd ran away with a 16-2 victory over the Bryant University baseball team on Saturday evening at the USA Baseball Complex.

After dropping their first two games of the weekend, the Thundering Herd (1-2) released all their frustrations in the third inning, sending 12 batters to the plate and scoring seven runs on eight hits. Isaac Ballou's first hit of the game scored the first run of the game, Gray Stafford scored Ballou with a single and a Nathan Gomez ground out scored Stafford to make it 3-0. Following a Thor Meeks walk, the Thundering Herd strung four-straight hits together, the big blow a two-run double from Adrian Farris.

Handed a seven-run lead, Marshall starting pitcher Mike Mason pitched masterful baseball. The senior left-hander allowed a one-out double to Kevin Brown (Northborough, Mass.) in the bottom of the first before setting down the next 10 Bulldogs in order. A two-out walk in the fourth snapped the streak but he finished his night strong, striking out the final two batters he faced. He allowed just one hit and struck out six.

When Mason exited in the sixth Marshall was in command, 9-0. But the Bulldogs (2-1) didn't give in and quickly went to work on the reliever, mounting their only serious threat of the night. Connor Carignan (Norwich, Conn.) started the inning with a double into the right field corner and advanced to third on Brown's second hit of the night, a single to right field. With runners on the corners, no outs and a full count on the batter, Brown took off for second but Matt Hummel faked to third and threw to first in a pickoff attempt. The throw from the first baseman to second caromed into left field, allowing Carignan to score and Brown to go to third. Mike DelPonte (Tewksbury, Mass.) pushed across the second run, scorching a double down the right field line to score Brown.

That was it for the Bulldogs, though, as the trio of Joe McGillicuddy, Kyle Kessler and Jesse Fernandez combined for three hitless innings to close out the game. They issued just two walks and McGillicuddy retired the side on strikes in the seventh.

Starting the first collegiate game of his career, freshman right-hander Kevin McAvoy (Syracuse, N.Y.) pitched well before being roughed up in the third. He hit a batter and walked another in the first before inducing a pop out to end the inning and then set down the side in order in the second. Marshall hit everything he threw in the third, however.

Forced into action early, Bryant's relief corps did a good job of holding the Thundering Herd at bay. Bryan Menduke (Oakland, N.J.) came on in relief of McAvoy in the third and lasted 1.1 innings. He ended the threat in the third and then stranded runners on first and second with a strike out and a ground out in the fourth. Dan Walsh (Burlington, Mass.) and Trevor Lacosse (Watervliet, N.Y.) followed suit, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out six over the next four innings. Walsh worked a scoreless fifth before being touched up for two runs in the sixth and Lacosse – making his collegiate debut – struck out the side in the seventh and struck out the final batter of the eighth to end his night.

Offensively, Brown led the Bulldogs with a pair of hits and scored a run. Freshmen Matt Zanotta (Schenectady, N.Y.), Colin Walsh (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Alex Lagos (Wrentham, Mass.) all saw the first playing time of their careers in the defeat.

Ballou finished with five hits, one of the six Marshall players that recorded multi-hit games as part of a 22-hit attack. Stafford had two hits and scored three runs, Alfredo Brito had three hits and two RBI and Eric Semeniuk and Farris combined for seven hits and six RBI.

Bryant finishes its weekend trip on Sunday, Feb. 19 with against Youngstown St. at the USA Baseball Complex. First pitch is scheduled for 10:00 a.m.