— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — When Marshall first-year head baseball coach Greg Beals looks across the diamond at GoMart Ballpark in Charleston on Wednesday, he’ll see a lot of familiar faces in the opposing dugout.
The Herd (8-5) will host Beals’ former team, the Ohio State Buckeyes, at 1 p.m. Wednesday in Charleston. The teams were originally scheduled to play on Tuesday as well, but that game was canceled due to expected cold weather.
Marshall took two games in a three-game series last weekend over Canisius, with wins over the Golden Griffins on Friday and Saturday. Canisius won the final game of the series, 4-3. The Thundering Herd has won four of its last six games.
The Buckeyes (8-6) swept Cal-State Bakersfield in a weekend series and are on a four-game win streak.
Beals was fired as Ohio State head coach following the 2022 season. He led the Buckeyes program for 12 seasons, compiling a .600 winning percentage. His Buckeyes’ teams won the 2016 and 2019 Big Ten championships and made three NCAA Regional Tournament appearances.
Bill Mosiello, former head coach at Texas Christian, was hired to replace Beals in Columbus.
Beals was hired in January to lead the Marshall program following the dismissal of Jeff Waggoner. Beals had earlier been hired to lead the Akron Zips, but instead accepted the offer to lead the Herd.
Beals told Buckeyes baseball writer Sonny Fulks that he has no regrets about his move to Huntington.
“It’s a chance to build something,” Beals said. “I get a new school, a new athletic director, a new conference and a new $15 million dollar ballpark next year.”
Ohio State is hitting .285 as a team, while limiting opponents to a .234 average. Catcher Cole Andrews is the Buckeyes’ top hitter with a .467 average.
OSU’s pitchers have tallied a 5.49 earned run average with 130 strikeouts as opposed to 77 walks.
Marshall is hitting .267 so far while allowing opponents a .233 batting average.
Freshman Cam Harthan is the Herd’s top hitter with a .344 average. Junior Drew Harlow is leading Marshall pitchers with a 4-0 record. He’s allowed no runs in 15 1/3 innings of work. Marshall’s team ERA is 4.54 and the Herd has picked up 137 strikeouts as opposed to 51 walks.
Marshall plays its initial Sun Belt Conference series this weekend, hosting Appalachian State on Friday and Saturday nights at 7 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m., at GoMart Ballpark.