Thundering Herd baseball team goes 1-3 in weekend tourney play

The Thundering Herd baseball team had its sights set on at least a six-game winning streak going into its weekend tournament in Rock Hill, S.C.

But the team had to go through the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first game off the Winthrop Stateline Classic Friday.

The Thundering Herd was beaten by the Buckeyes 10-7 in 14 innings.

But Marshall didn't go down without a fight against the Buckeyes.

After the two teams exchanged the lead throughout the game, Marshall had its big chance in the ninth inning to pull out the victory.

The Thundering Herd scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth off of Cory Cox, the 1999 Big Ten Conference's saves leader.

David Colangelo started the rally with a single and went to second base on a single from Jason Brooks. Designated hitter Marty Rini then singled, cutting the lead to 7-6. Ryan Kobbe followed with another single to tie the score at 7-all.

The score remained tied until the 14th inning when the Buck-eyes scored three times in the top of the inning. Marshall had one final chance in the bottom of the inning, but Cox shut down the Thundering Herd to end the game.

Marshall starter Doug Dingess pitched five innings, allowing six hits and just one earned run. Rustyn Lee entered the game in relief and allowed four runs over an inning and two-thirds.

Reliever Steve Fowler entered in the seventh and pitched the remainder of the contest. Fowler suffered the loss, evening his record at 1-1 for the season.

"I'm disappointed in our defensive effort today," Marshall Coach Dave Piepenbrink said in a press release. "We overthrew cutoffs and just didn't make the routine play. I thought our pitchers threw well and we put the bat on the ball."

Marshall returned to action Saturday and lost both contests, falling to tournament host Winthrop 5-2 in the first game and 4-1 to Fairfield in a rain-shortened second game.

"We just didn't make plays when we had to," Piepenbrink said.

In game one, the Eagles got a strong pitching performance by starter Christian Tomsich, who held Marshall hitless for four innings.

Marshall got good pitching from starter Sean Reeder, who pitched seven innings, giving up four runs on nine hits. Reeder struck out seven batters and gave up four walks.

"I pitched pretty well but I'm upset that we lost," Reeder said. "I made one mistake and it really cost us.

"I had a guy down 0-2 and I threw a curve ball up in the strike zone and he hit it up the middle, driving in a couple of runs."

The Thundering Herd started off well in the rain-shortened second game by scoring in the first inning, but the lead was short-lived.

Starting pitcher Chris Wean let the Stags gain the lead by giving up two runs on three hits in the bottom of the first inning. The Stags scored two more runs in the third to set the final score before the rain came.

"We played up and down in these games," Reeder said. "We had our chances to win these games and we couldn't capitalize when we needed to."

Marshall struggled throughout the first three games of the weekend with team defense, committing a total of six errors in the three losses.

"Our defense was not good," Reeder said. "Our pitching was good, but the team couldn't get it together on offense and defense."

Marshall and Fairfield met again in the consolation game of the tournament Sunday with the Thundering Herd looking to even the score with the Stags. Marshall won the game 8-1 to finish third in the tournament.

Marshall once again got a stellar pitching performance. Mickey Plymale allowed just three hits over eight innings to record his first career win. Plymale, a former standout at Buffalo-Wayne High School, struck out four batters while allowing only one unearned run.

"Mickey was outstanding today," Piepenbrink said. "We planned on using him for only a few innings, but he was throwing so well we had to leave him out there.

"You couldn't ask for any more from a young pitcher making his first start."

First baseman Jason Brooks was the offensive hero for the Thundering Herd, going 4-for-5 with four RBIs. Brooks also added his third home run of the season.

Matt Eldridge went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored.

Marshall (6-7) returns to action at 1 p.m. Wednesday for a doubleheader against West Virginia State at University Heights.