Marshall Baseball Preview
By Ben Anderson, FM88 Sports Director
May 14, 2025
In the final series of the regular season, Marshall Baseball aims to make history with a chance to qualify for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament for the first time in program history when it welcomes the Georgia Southern Eagles.
The last time the Thundering Herd qualified for a conference championship was in 2019 as members of Conference USA when the Herd fell to Rice in the third round.
Marshall enters at 28-24 (13-14 SBC) and currently sitting 6th in the standings, following a series sweep on the road against Georgia State. Georgia Southern enters at 27-26 (13-14 SBC) following a 6-4 loss against Kennesaw State and winning two of three games against Texas State and currently ranked 7th in the conference.
Marshall has found the most success at Jack Cook Field going 17-7 compared to 10-17 on the road. Georgia Southern has had its struggles on the road going 7-14 compared to 20-11 at home.
This is a series with conference tournament seedings on the line as only the top 10 seeds qualify. There is only a one game difference between the Thundering Herd at sixth and the last remaining seed.
This series dates back to 1992 when both teams were members of the Southern Conference. Georgia Southern leads the all-time series 23-5, including 5-1 in Sun Belt Conference play.
Leading the way for the Thundering Herd is shortstop Maika Niu, leading the way in home runs with 10 after hitting six in his last six games. Niu also leads the team with 40 RBI this season. Commanding the way for the Eagles is the duo of outfielders Josh Tate and Sean Smith who reigns as the top two hitters in the conference, batting .365, and .364 respectively.
You can tune into the series opener on WMUL-FM 88.1 or online at marshall.edu/WMUL. FM88 Sports’ Connor Brown and John Boggess will be on the call with pregame coverage at 5:45 and first pitch at 6 p.m.