Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
19-24-1, 8-13
Charlotte
28-16, 11-10
49ers Outlast Herd in Slugfest
5/1/2022 10:31:00 PM | Baseball
Billups hit pair of home runs
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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall University baseball team (19-24-1, 8-13 C-USA) fell in the series finale to the Charlotte 49ers (28-16, 11-10 C-USA), 14-12, in a slugfest at the Kennedy Center on Sunday afternoon.
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Charlotte got on the board first with five runs on six hits in the top of the first.
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The Herd quickly loaded the bases the next half inning as Travis Sankovich was hit by a pitch, Jordon Billups singled through the right side and Luke Edwards drew a walk on five pitches. Edwards reached base for the 53rd straight game with the free pass. After a pair of strikeouts, Drew Steelhammer drew a two-out walk with a 3-2 count to score Sankovich as Marshall trailed 5-1.
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Starting pitcher Ryan Capuano settled in and struck out a pair of 49ers in a scoreless top of the second. Daniel Carinci and Geordon Blanton each drew walks to begin the bottom of the frame. Sankovich followed with a double to right center, scoring Carinci and moving Blanton to third with no outs. Billups then grounded out to short, but scored Blanton to cut the deficit to two, 5-3.
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Cole Agemy came on from the bullpen and threw a 1-2-3 top of the third.
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Charlotte's Cam Fisher hit a two-out, three-run homer to extend his side's lead to 8-3 in the top of the fourth. After Blanton led off the bottom of the inning with a single and a stolen base, Edwards hit a two-out single to left center to score Blanton as the Herd sat at an 8-4 disadvantage.
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Agemy rebounded the next inning as he faced the minimum after catching Hunter Baker stealing to end the frame. Marshall proceeded to load the bases after a Steelhammer single, Christian Lucio was hit by a pitch and Blanton drew a walk with two outs in the bottom of the fifth. Marshall scored a run on bases loaded walk issued to Sankovich as Billups stepped up to the plate. Billups sent a 1-0 offering over the wall in right center for a grand slam to give the Herd a 9-8 lead.
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David McCabe tied the contest with a solo homer in the sixth and the 49ers added three runs in the seventh to regain the lead, 12-9.
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Billups cut the deficit to one, 12-11, with his second two-out long ball of the contest in the bottom of the seventh on a 2-2 pitch.
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Charlotte took advantage of a Marshall error in the eighth to plate a pair of runs and extend its lead to 14-11. Carnici tallied a run for the Herd on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning, but it couldn't overcome the deficit in the ninth.
Billups finished the ballgame 3-for-6 with a pair of long balls and seven RBI.
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UP NEXT
Marshall is back in action on Wednesday at the Kennedy Center against Virginia Tech at 3 p.m.
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For all the latest information about Marshall baseball, follow @HerdBaseball on Twitter and @herdbsb on Instagram.
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To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS and Android.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Tony Rossi (4-0)
L: Agemy, Cole (2-2)
S: Quinton Martinez (1)
Batting:
2B: David McCabe 1
HR: David McCabe 1 ; Cam Fisher 1
RBI: David McCabe 2 ; Josh Madole 1 ; Cam Fisher 3 ; Will Butcher 2 ; Austin Knight 1 ; Kaden Hopson 1 ; Hunter Baker 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nate Furman 1 ; David McCabe 2 ; Jack Dragum 2 ; Josh Madole 3 ; Cam Fisher 4 ; Will Butcher 1 ; Austin Knight 1
CS: Jack Dragum 1 ; Hunter Baker 1
Batting:
2B: Sankovich, Travis 1 ; Steelhammer, Drew 1 ; Lucio, Christian 1
HR: Billups, Jordon 2
RBI: Sankovich, Travis 2 ; Billups, Jordon 7 ; Edwards, Luke 1 ; Steelhammer, Drew 1 ; Carinci, Daniel 1
SF: Carinci, Daniel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sankovich, Travis 3 ; Billups, Jordon 2 ; Leitch, Ryan 1 ; Steelhammer, Drew 1 ; Lucio, Christian 1 ; Carinci, Daniel 1 ; Blanton, Geordon 3
SB: Blanton, Geordon 1
HBP: Sankovich, Travis 1 ; Lucio, Christian 1
