May 16, 2010
Marshall Baseball Earns Twinbill Split with 5-3 Victory at Houston
Mason and Gomez Lead Thundering Herd to 12th C-USA Win
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Houston, TX (HNN) – Mike Mason fired his best Conference USA outing of the season and Victor Gomez went 4-for-5 at the plate as Marshall earned a doubleheader split with Houston thanks to a 5-3 victory at Cougar Field on Saturday night, May 15. The Herd had dropped game one of the twinbill 11-6.
MU is now 23-27 overall and more importantly moved above the .500 plateau in Conference USA at 12-11. The Cougars sit at 21-28 and 8-12 in the league.
Mason (3-6) twirled a career-high 7.0 innings and fanned six to pick up his first C-USA victory of the season. The Maumee, Ohio, native scattered six hits and allowed two runs, both earned, as he kept the Cougars offense that had pounded out 11 runs on16 hits earlier in the day to just a run in the first and seventh frames.
V. Gomez continued to feast on anyone that toed the rubber for Houston. He recorded his sixth career four-hit game, while knocking in two runs as the cleanup hitter. Kurt Lipton registered a 3-for-4 day and Justin Maynard chipped in with a pair of base knocks.
Two-out rallies were the early theme in the second game of the doubleheader between the Thundering Herd and Cougars. In the bottom of the first, Mason retired the first two batters of the game before issuing a walk to Zac Presley. He would come around and score on a RBI single through the left side from Caleb Ramsey to take the one-run edge.
The Herd evened the score, 1-1, when Josh Valle produced a RBI groundout to score Rhett Stafford, who had doubled earlier in the top of the second off UH hurler William Kankel (2-6).
Mason sent the Cougars down in order in the second, before the Herd utilized a two-out spurt of its own. Lipton lined a two-strike pitch to right for a single in front of V. Gomez. The junior backstop delivered again as he did in game one, with a run scoring double that nailed off the right-field wall giving the Herd its first lead of the day, 2-1.
V. Gomez continued his offensive onslaught at the dish for the Herd, by way of another two-out rally. Maynard lined a two-out single to center and Lipton walked, setting the stage for V. Gomez. The Miami, Fla., native smoked a single to center to score Maynard and extend the lead 3-1.
Another two-out hit took place in the top of the seventh for the Herd. Kenny Socorro drew a leadoff walk before back-to-back strikeouts from the MU lineup. Lipton lined a base hit between first and second base to own a three-run cushion heading to the seventh-inning stretch.
Mason had mowed down the UH lineup as he did not allow a base runner past second base after the first inning until the seventh. The southpaw yielded an infield single to third base to start the rally, before another two-out hit, a RBI triple off the bat of Joel Ansley, cut the Herd advantage to 4-2.
MU manufactured a run in the top of the eighth without the courtesy of a hit. Stafford walked and moved up a base thanks to a sac bunt by Nathan Gomez. After Valle reached, Socorro dropped a perfect safety squeeze, allotting enough time for Stafford to barrel home with an insurance run.
The Cougars would not quit, even with two outs in the bottom of the eighth frame. Tyler Gatrell induced the first two outs before UH loaded the bases thanks to a single and consecutive walks. MU called up on Kyle Blank to get the final out of the frame. Blank retired pinch-hitter Chase Dempsay with a fly out to escape the scare and silence the fans at Cougar Field.
Austin Coan was put in a bind in the bottom of the ninth, but the senior closer shut the door, recording his ninth save of the year to set the school single-season record.
MU will look to take the series on Sunday, May 16 with first pitch slated for 10 a.m. CT.
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Marshall Baseball Earns Twinbill Split with 5-3 Victory at Houston
Mason and Gomez Lead Thundering Herd to 12th C-USA Win
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Houston, TX (HNN) – Mike Mason fired his best Conference USA outing of the season and Victor Gomez went 4-for-5 at the plate as Marshall earned a doubleheader split with Houston thanks to a 5-3 victory at Cougar Field on Saturday night, May 15. The Herd had dropped game one of the twinbill 11-6.
MU is now 23-27 overall and more importantly moved above the .500 plateau in Conference USA at 12-11. The Cougars sit at 21-28 and 8-12 in the league.
Mason (3-6) twirled a career-high 7.0 innings and fanned six to pick up his first C-USA victory of the season. The Maumee, Ohio, native scattered six hits and allowed two runs, both earned, as he kept the Cougars offense that had pounded out 11 runs on16 hits earlier in the day to just a run in the first and seventh frames.
V. Gomez continued to feast on anyone that toed the rubber for Houston. He recorded his sixth career four-hit game, while knocking in two runs as the cleanup hitter. Kurt Lipton registered a 3-for-4 day and Justin Maynard chipped in with a pair of base knocks.
Two-out rallies were the early theme in the second game of the doubleheader between the Thundering Herd and Cougars. In the bottom of the first, Mason retired the first two batters of the game before issuing a walk to Zac Presley. He would come around and score on a RBI single through the left side from Caleb Ramsey to take the one-run edge.
The Herd evened the score, 1-1, when Josh Valle produced a RBI groundout to score Rhett Stafford, who had doubled earlier in the top of the second off UH hurler William Kankel (2-6).
Mason sent the Cougars down in order in the second, before the Herd utilized a two-out spurt of its own. Lipton lined a two-strike pitch to right for a single in front of V. Gomez. The junior backstop delivered again as he did in game one, with a run scoring double that nailed off the right-field wall giving the Herd its first lead of the day, 2-1.
V. Gomez continued his offensive onslaught at the dish for the Herd, by way of another two-out rally. Maynard lined a two-out single to center and Lipton walked, setting the stage for V. Gomez. The Miami, Fla., native smoked a single to center to score Maynard and extend the lead 3-1.
Another two-out hit took place in the top of the seventh for the Herd. Kenny Socorro drew a leadoff walk before back-to-back strikeouts from the MU lineup. Lipton lined a base hit between first and second base to own a three-run cushion heading to the seventh-inning stretch.
Mason had mowed down the UH lineup as he did not allow a base runner past second base after the first inning until the seventh. The southpaw yielded an infield single to third base to start the rally, before another two-out hit, a RBI triple off the bat of Joel Ansley, cut the Herd advantage to 4-2.
MU manufactured a run in the top of the eighth without the courtesy of a hit. Stafford walked and moved up a base thanks to a sac bunt by Nathan Gomez. After Valle reached, Socorro dropped a perfect safety squeeze, allotting enough time for Stafford to barrel home with an insurance run.
The Cougars would not quit, even with two outs in the bottom of the eighth frame. Tyler Gatrell induced the first two outs before UH loaded the bases thanks to a single and consecutive walks. MU called up on Kyle Blank to get the final out of the frame. Blank retired pinch-hitter Chase Dempsay with a fly out to escape the scare and silence the fans at Cougar Field.
Austin Coan was put in a bind in the bottom of the ninth, but the senior closer shut the door, recording his ninth save of the year to set the school single-season record.
MU will look to take the series on Sunday, May 16 with first pitch slated for 10 a.m. CT.
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