March 16, 2008

Box Score

LEXINGTON, Va. - Marshall University junior center fielder Nate Lape went 4-for-5 with a double and scored three runs to help lift the Herd to a 7-2 victory and series sweep of VMI in Sunday afternoon's non-conference baseball game at Gray-Minor Stadium.

With the win, Marshall extends its winning streak to six games and improves to 8-6 overall, while VMI falls to 4-12 on the season with its ninth loss in a row. The Herd now leads the all-time series 45-33.

The sweep of VMI is Marshall's first three-game sweep of an opponent on the road since the Herd dispatched UAB April 14-16 in 2006.

Marshall sophomore right-handed starter Dan Straily allowed just one run, scattered five hits and struck out six Keydets in 6.1 innings of work, including five consecutive shutout innings, en route to his second victory of the season.

Sophomore right-handed reliever Tyler Gatrell entered the game in the seventh with runners on first and second and forced an inning-ending double-play to give the Herd six straight shutout innings in the contest.

VMI cut the lead to 5-2 in the bottom of the eighth when junior shortstop AJ Yoder doubled and then scored on freshman right fielder Sam Roberts' RBI single to center field. The Keydets loaded the bases with two outs before Herd freshman right-handed reliever Arik Sikula came in to end the VMI threat with a strikeout. Herd senior right-handed reliever Andrew Hancock then came in and pitched a one-two-three ninth inning to seal the victory.

Marshall added two runs to its lead in the top of the ninth when junior right fielder Kurt Lipton knocked in junior shortstop Adam Yeager, who walked and then reached third on a single. Junior third baseman Brandon Casamassima followed that with an RBI double to right, scoring Lape on the play, and increasing the Herd lead to 7-2.

VMI responded in the home half of the first by loading the bases before senior second baseman Shane Geisslinger scored from third on a throwing error. Straily then struck out the side to end the Keydet threat in the first.

Marshall plated a run in the third inning when Lape tallied a one-out single, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and then scored on an RBI groundout by Lipton to give the Herd a 2-1 advantage.

The Herd pushed across three more runs in the top of the fifth when senior left fielder Jeff Rowley scored on Lipton's second RBI groundout of the game. Casamassima laced a single into right field before sophomore first baseman Josh Valle reached on a walk. Freshman catcher Victor Gomez then launched a two-out triple (the first of his collegiate career) down the right field line, scoring Casamassima and Valle on the play to extend the Marshall lead to 5-1.

The Herd returns to action for a pair of non-conference games Tuesday, March 18 and Wednesday when it hosts Kent State. First-pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m. at the Kennedy Center on Route 2.