May 14, 2008

HOUSTON, Texas - The Thundering Herd baseball team will conclude its regular season schedule with a three-game Conference USA series at Houston beginning Thursday, May 15-17. Thursday's first-pitch is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET.

With a pair of non-conference wins against Delaware State last weekend, Marshall is 26-25-1 overall and poised to tie the single-season win total of 27 last reached in 2004. The Herd (10-10-1 in C-USA) has also doubled its conference win total from a year ago with three games left in the regular season.

After finishing last season in ninth place, Marshall is currently sitting in the sixth spot in the C-USA standings just one game back from Houston and East Carolina, and will return to post-season action for the first time since the 2006 season.

Herd shortstop Adam Yeager, who has 36 stolen bases, is on pace to break the single-season stolen base record of 40, which was set by Chris Monaco in 2004. Yeager's 36 swipes lead C-USA, and tie him for sixth in the nation.

Marshall is led offensively by Nate Lape who is batting .379 with 69 hits, 15 doubles, 14 homers and 52 RBIs. Victor Gomez is hitting at a .376 clip with 67 hits, nine doubles, three triples and 10 long balls to go along with 42 RBIs.

Tommy Johnson has upped his average to .340 and now has 54 hits, including 13 doubles, a triple and eight home runs. He also had 43 runs knocked in to help anchor a potent Herd offense.

The Herd will throw Steve Blevins (8-2) in Thursday's contest with Houston. The junior has a 4.44 ERA and a 5-1 record in conference play. In 75 innings pitched, he has hurled a team-high 58 strikeouts, and is holding opponents to a modest .249 collective batting average. Blevins' eight wins is the most in a single season by a Marshall pitcher since JR Watts won nine games in 1998.

Dan Straily (4-3) will get the nod in Friday's game against the Cougars. Straily has a 4.72 ERA in 61 innings of work (12 appearances and 12 starts) so far this season, and has fanned 48 batters in his first season with the Herd.

Houston (31-21) enters weekend competition fresh off a 14-4 victory over the University of Texas at San Antonio after being swept by cross-town rival Rice last weekend.

The Cougars are led offensively by Ryan Pounds, who leads the team in average with a .370 clip. He has 74 hits including 15 doubles, a triple, 54 RBIs and eight long balls, and is 7-of-10 in stolen base attempts.

Houston's Jake Stewart has a .366 batting average with 74 hits, 21 doubles, a pair of triples and 13 home runs to compliment 45 RBIs and a .683 slugging percentage. He also has 22 stolen bags in 25 attempts and has a team-best .472 on-base percentage.

The Cougars' Wes Musick will take the mound Thursday with a 4.32 ERA in 75 innings pitched so far this season. He has a 7-4 record that includes a team-high 67 punch-outs in 13 appearances (12 starts) this year.

John Touchton has a 3.83 ERA and a 4-3 record on the hill in 19 appearances during the 2008 campaign. In 51.2 innings, he has 51 strikeouts and has allowed just 16 walks for the Cougars. He will start Friday's contest.

Marshall and Houston are both yet to determine the starter for Saturday's game.

Marshall will return to action at the 2008 Entergy Conference USA Baseball Championship, hosted by Tulane University. Games begin May 21-25 and seeding for the tournament is yet to be determined.