Marshall Baseball Recap
By Sean Kelly, FM88 Sports Director
March 11, 2025
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. (WMUL-FM) — After its thrilling 11-7 walk-off victory over the Ohio Bobcats, Marshall baseball continued its torrid pace at the plate this past weekend in a three-game sweep of the Bradley Braves.
However, the Herd bats did not start out this way during the early innings of Friday’s series opener. Braves designated hitter Bobby Atkinson, batting a team leading .429 heading into the series, opened the scoring with a first inning RBI single to left field. Through four innings, the Herd’s lone run came from a Jackson Halter double. After a go-ahead solo shot by Eddie Leon, the home side did not look back.
Back-to-back walks set the tone for what became an explosive sixth for Marshall, ending with two hits, four walks, and a throwing error that brought in one of four runs for the home side. The Herd’s four-run cushion proved to be too much as Bradley racked up just four hits and one run on starter Bryce Blevins, and three hitless innings by the trio of Charlie Krebs, Bauer Burkart and Clint Moak solidified a 6-2 victory.
Game two featured a similar slow start for the Thundering Herd bats, while the Braves jumped out to a 5-1 lead through three innings. While Bradley totaled five of its eight hits during its first three frames, the Herd left six runners on base in a frustrating first third of the contest.
Once Bradley pulled starting pitcher Matthew Kitzman, Marshall truly broke through. From the fourth through eighth innings, the home side racked up 10 unanswered runs on eight hits and five walks, including a go-ahead single by Cam Harthan.
Though the Herd pounced during the middle innings, the Braves had chances to fight back. After a leadoff walk and single put two runners on, giving the visitors a chance to slowly climb out of a five-run hole, graduate student reliever Tim Baird shut the door after allowing a walk to his first batter faced. The Ohio State transfer ended his outing with six consecutive strikeouts, while the visiting side scored one run in the final frame to seal an 11-6 Marshall victory. With 11 hits, Saturday’s win became Marshall’s fourth with over 10 hits since the beginning of the winning streak.
Sunday’s series finale started in familiar fashion, with Atkinson opening the scoring with an RBI triple. After trading blows into the second inning, a three-run blast to right field by Elijah Vogelsong gave Marshall a lead it did not relinquish. On the back of six one-run innings, starter Fenix DiGiacomo earned his first win of the season, while the bullpen once again shined with three shutout innings across the work of three pitchers.
With the three-game sweep, the Herd earn its longest winning streak since 2022, which capped out at eight games. While the Thundering Herd improved its overall record to 9-6, the Braves fell to 2-10 on the year.
Marshall returns to action this afternoon, beginning a two-game slate against the Central Michigan Chippewas at Jack Cook Field. You can tune in to game one by visiting our website marshall.edu/wmul and clicking the stream 2 button. FM88 Sports’ Connor Brown and Anthony Doria will be on the call, with pregame coverage beginning at 4:45 p.m. and first pitch at 5 p.m. Game two will be broadcast on our website and over the air on WMUL-FM 88.1, with FM88 Sports’ Nate Courtney and Elliot Quicke on the call. Pregame coverage for Wednesday’s game begins at 2:45 p.m. with first pitch at 3 p.m.