CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Marshall baseball won its 11th straight Conference USA game with a 4-3 victory over Old Dominion Friday afternoon at Appalachian Power Park. The Herd (32-18, 21-8) came in to the day tied with Southern Miss for first place in C-USA. The Monarchs fall to 31-22 and 14-15 in conference play.
Marshall got the scoring started in the bottom of the first with two runs off of four hits and taking advantage of one Monarch error. Junior Corey Bird (Elkview, W.Va.) led off the inning with a single to center. After advancing to second, Bird took third base on an errant throw by the pitcher in an attempt to pick off Bird at second. Next, junior Tommy Lane (Pendleton, Ore.) drilled a pitch into right center that scored Bird.
Two batters later with two away, sophomore Tyler Ratliff (Alexandria, Va.) singled up the middle moving Lane to second. Senior Ryne Dean (Fresno, Calif.) followed up with a single to right center and Lane crossed the plate giving the Herd the early 2-0 lead.
Both teams were shut out during the next two innings but then Old Dominion put up two runs off of three hits in the fourth. The Monarchs tied the game by a double steal with runners in the corners.
Marshall responded in the fifth as senior DJ Gee (Seattle) came home after a sac fly to right center by Ratliff. The Herd held the lead 3-2 and never looked back.
The Thundering added one more insurance run in the sixth after ODU made a pitching change. Freshman catcher Reynaldo Pastrana (Miami) recorded his 22nd hit of the season and then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from senior Robert Fajardo (Miami). Bird stepped up two batters later and drilled his second hit of the game up the middle that scored Pastrana. Bird finished the game 3-for-5 with a run, one RBI and two stolen bases. He now has 33 steals this season.
The extra run in the sixth proved necessary as Old Dominion pulled back within one with a solo home run in the eighth.
Junior pitcher Parker Danciu (Palm Beach, Fla.) got the start on the mound for Marshall and went seven innings spreading out eight hits and allowing just three runs. Danciu (5-3) collected five strikeouts in the win.
Junior Burris Warner (Auburndale, Fla.) came in to pitch for Marshall in the eighth. He pitched two shutout innings and the defense ended the game with a 5-4-3 double play to grab the win.
The Herd offense sports five hitters all over 60 hits this season. Senior Aaron Bossi (St. Louis) leads the team with 67 hits after collecting two in the game. Gee is second with 62. Bird, Lane and Ratliff joined the 60 hit club in the Friday win. Bird and Lane both have 61 and Ratliff has 60.
COACH’S CORNER
Quotes from Head Coach Jeff Waggoner
On Parker Danciu…“Parker has been doing that the last half of the year. We knew what we were going to get, he was going to attack the zone and pitch to contact. He was going to give us a chance to win and he did that today.”
On the offense…They’ve been doing it all year, all the way down through the lineup. They expect to have great at bats, and have good approaches in RBI situations. It’s someone new every day and that’s what makes a good team. Just extremely proud of our seniors in a special weekend to see these guys play the way they are.”
UP NEXT
Marshall will finish the series with the Monarchs Saturday at 11 a.m. at Appalachian Power Park. It will be senior day as 20 minutes prior to first pitch, Marshall will honor its 10 seniors on the field.
Live video stream can be purchased through C-USA. A live audio stream will be available through WMUL and the Thundering Herd IMG Sports Network on Tunein.com or the Tunein app.
